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| 6 | !Spoilers for ''all'' previous ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned! |
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| 8 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gathering_kh3.png]] |
| 9 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[ThematicThemeTune Let me face, let me face, let me face my fears!]][[note]]Clockwise from top: [[TheGoodKing Mickey Mouse]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Donald Duck]], and [[SimplemindedWisdom Goofy]]. [[TomatoInTheMirror Xion]], [[QuestForIdentity Roxas]], and [[HotBlooded Lea.]] [[IJustWantToHaveFriends Naminé.]] [[BrokenAce Aqua]], [[{{Determinator}} Terra]], and [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Ventus.]] And of course, [[AllLovingHero Sora]], [[PluckyGirl Kairi]], and [[ByronicHero Riku]].[[/note]]]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->''"They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home."'' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ''Kingdom Hearts III'' is an ActionRPG for the Platform/PlayStation4 and Platform/XboxOne, developed and published by Creator/SquareEnix. The game is the second {{Numbered Sequel|s}} in Square and Creator/{{Disney}}'s long-running ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, and the [[SequelNumberSnarl eleventh game in total]]. This game serves as the conclusion of the [[MythArc Dark Seeker Saga]] that begun in the original ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', but not of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series as a whole. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Following the events of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'', [[BigBad Master Xehanort]] has finally returned. Believing himself to be protecting [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil an even balance between light and darkness]], he sets out to instigate a war between his forces of darkness and the "tyranny of light", which will allow him to take control of Kingdom Hearts and wreak apocalyptic destruction upon the universe. To undermine Xehanort's schemes, two groups set out into the worlds: Riku and King Mickey investigate the whereabouts of potential allies; while Sora, Donald, and Goofy seek to revive Sora's power of waking, sabotaged by Xehanort during his revival, to rescue those allies. Will the light be strong enough to face the darkness when the time for the fated clash arrives? |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ''Kingdom Hearts III'' returns to the core gameplay of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI Kingdom Hearts]]'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': actions selected through a Command Menu with MP-based magic spells, the ability to summon allies, and Donald and Goofy at Sora's side. However, it also integrates elements from the more experimental handheld games. The crowd-controlling Shotlock from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]'' returns, while Sora's new Formchanges--[[MorphWeapon alternative weapons locked within his Keyblades]]--are similar to that game's Command Styles. A reworked Flowmotion from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'' allows for freedom of movement. The highly contextual Reaction Commands of ''II'' are replaced by less specialized Situation Commands (introduced in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage 0.2]]''), which can trigger the aforementioned Formchanges, powerful [[LimitBreak Grand Magic]], and Attraction Flow, another new feature that summons spectral [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks amusement park rides]]. The Gummi Ship mode also returns in an expanded form, featuring exploration on an RPG-esque [[TheOverworld "overworld"]] and PreexistingEncounters. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | The game features all new worlds based on ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', ''Franchise/ToyStory'', ''Franchise/MonstersInc'', and ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}''. Returning worlds include [[OriginalGeneration Twilight Town]] and expansions of previous worlds with new levels based on ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean: [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsend At World's End]]'' and ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh''. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | After many years of anticipation, the game was released on January 25, 2019 in Japan, and on January 29 elsewhere. Critical Mode was released in April 2019 as a free update. A {{downloadable content}} pack, titled ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIIIReMind Re𝄌Mind]]'', was released in January 23, 2020 on the [=PS4=] and February 25, 2020 on the Xbox One, and explains some of the game's story and brings in more bosses and scenarios. The original game (with ''Re𝄌Mind'' included), along with the previous installments, became available on Windows PC via the Platform/EpicGamesStore on March 30, 2021. A cloud-based version was released on the Platform/NintendoSwitch in February 2022. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | In April 29th 2019, a manga adaptation by Shiro Amano was released, despite previous reports of his retirement from the series. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | On April 10, 2022, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIV'' was announced, alongside a new mobile spin-off called ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMissingLink''. |
| 26 | ---- |
| 27 | !!''Kingdom Hearts III'' provides examples of: |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 30 | |
| 31 | [[folder:Tropes A-D]] |
| 32 | * AbilityRequiredToProceed: Your Gummi Ship must have a sufficient Speed stat in order to challenge the OptionalBoss battles in the first two areas. Attempting to access them with a slower Gummi Ship causes it to turn around. |
| 33 | * AbortedArc: A few them serve as potential {{Sequel Hook}}s. |
| 34 | ** ''2.8'' implied Sora would be going to Olympus to train with Hercules to regain his strength training with someone who went through a similar ordeal. This is discussed and resolved in the first conversation Sora has when he meets Hercules, with Herc admitting he has no advice to give and can't be of help. Once Hades is defeated, Sora goes back to Yen Sid with no further ideas on what to do. |
| 35 | ** The secret ending of ''3D'' briefly mentioned that Lea returned back to Radiant Garden after learning to summon his Keyblade, except at the start of this game, he's shown training in the Secret Forest with Kairi and an explanation as to exactly what he was doing in Radiant Garden is never given. |
| 36 | ** Tia Dalma guides Sora to the ''Leviathan'' so he'll agree to release her from her human form with the Keyblade. It doesn't go anywhere since Barbossa's crew end up doing it themselves like in the film. |
| 37 | ** Previous games set up hooks for ''Final Fantasy'' characters. ''II''[='s=] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud and Sephiroth]] subplot ended on an ambiguous note, with ''Birth by Sleep'' implying Zack would be roped into it. ''II''[='s=] end credits also implied that [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Rinoa]] would make a future appearance. However, no human ''Final Fantasy'' characters appear in this game until the ''Re𝄌Mind'' DLC, and the position of Sora's consultant in Radiant Garden is taken over by Ienzo. |
| 38 | ** ''3D'' implied the Princesses of Heart would become targets of Xehanort's Seekers, and this game addresses that seven new Princesses will rise since the originals fulfilled their purpose. Only half of the Princesses appear in this game, and while the Seekers do investigate them, they're only a backup plan for the seven Guardians; the Organization simply monitors the princesses to keep them safe and viable. At most, it only gives Sora incentive to assemble the seven guardians of light to prevent the Organization from roping the princesses into the conflict. |
| 39 | ** Likewise, the topic of the girl Ansem the Wise experimented on in Radiant Garden years before is an important plot point in the first half of the game, only to get awkwardly dropped during the final confrontation. It is last mentioned in the aftermath of Saïx's boss battle, after which it is never brought up again. |
| 40 | ** The mysterious Black Box is mentioned again, with the Organization and Maleficent looking for it. It's never seen until the ending and plays no role in the story, being explicitly left for future games to explore. |
| 41 | ** The Lingering Will [[spoiler:vanished off-screen without explanation. ''Re𝄌Mind'' has an expanded scene of the battle between it and Terra-Xehanort, only for Terra-Xehanort to [[DroppedABridgeOnHim destroy him]]; the Will plays no role in Terra getting his body back.]] |
| 42 | ** Early on, the Seekers still plan on making Sora their last vessel, as evidenced by Xigbar’s taunt about a reward for Sora, and Xemnas and Ansem’s comments at the end of the Twilight Town episode. However, after Young Xehanort’s research in Toy Box, they conclude that they don’t have to try to wait for Sora to fall to darkness again, and wholly turn their attention to the Replica Program [[spoiler:which eventually produces Xion as their last vessel.]] |
| 43 | *** [[spoiler:The matters of nobody remembering Xion exists but her heart being within Sora's are both discarded. Vexen kept notes on Xion and the Replica Program, so even if the Organization doesn't remember Xion directly, they have enough knowledge of her to recreate her. Xion's heart being trapped within Sora is ignored and she awakens after fighting him and her memories return, and the ''Ultmania'' gives a HandWave that her heart within Sora returned to her at this time (nothing in the scene would indicate this happened).]] |
| 44 | ** In ''Birth by Sleep'', Master Xehanort went after Terra specifically because he wanted to abandon his old, weakened body and take a younger, stronger one to carry out his plans with. [[spoiler:Here, after being revived, he gives up Terra's body to be used as a vessel by one of his past incarnations and seemingly has no problem with being an old man again. He likely learned from experience that Terra's body is unstable and makes him vulnerable to being overtaken, which is what happens both when he fights Aqua in ''Birth by Sleep'' and when he fights Sora and changed his plans because he would be the one to wield the χ-Blade this time, not Vanitas. In any case, once he does attain the χ-Blade, he has more than enough strength and power to be an even more ferocious opponent than Terra-Xehanort ever was.]] |
| 45 | ** ''Dream Drop Distance'' seemed to strongly imply that every Seeker of Darkness would’ve gradually transformed into a much closer approximation of Xehanort the longer they spent with a piece of Xehanort’s heart in theirs, as evidenced by Xigbar’s change in appearance and his infamous declaration that he was “already half-Xehanort”. Perhaps it’s because they don’t have enough time to properly transform, but none of the Seekers of Darkness change their physical appearance during the game besides the trademark golden eyes and slightly lighter hair. |
| 46 | * AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: |
| 47 | ** Like in previous titles, the maximum level Sora and his party can reach is 99. By the time you get to the end of the game, you'll likely be around level 45, and most of the {{superboss}}es can be beaten without too much trouble at around level 55. |
| 48 | ** The maximum level for the Leviathan in the Caribbean is 9. You can beat the world when the ship is at level 4, and doing everything there is to do in the stage will bump it up to around level 6. It doesn't help that the only way to level up the ship is by getting white crabs, which are earned through ship battles or island exploration. |
| 49 | ** Gaining Gummi ship levels increases the amount of parts you're allowed to have, allowing access to better parts with custom builds. The maximum level is 99, and leveling up past 40 is largely unnecessary unless you feel like taking out the {{superboss}}es scattered across the worlds, which have [[AbilityRequiredToProceed stat requirements your ship must have before you're allowed to challenge them]]. Even then, you can ignore your level entirely if you're using a blueprint, which don't require you to have the points or parts to use them. Most of the plans sold by Huey, Dewey and Louie are serviceable enough, and photographing the Endymion constellation will give you a ship ''intended'' for fighting said superbosses, with all the necessary stats to do it. |
| 50 | * AccidentalMisnaming: During the visit to [[Franchise/MonstersInc Monstropolis]], Boo mistakenly addresses Donald as Mike Wazowski. Mike Wazowski himself takes umbrage. Justified by Boo's age and the fact that both of them are currently short and [[{{Cyclops}} only have a single eye]]. |
| 51 | * ActionCommands: In addition to an expanded Situation Command selection from the ones in ''0.2'', the game also adds some regular Reaction Commands to be used in specific boss battles. |
| 52 | * ActionGirl: This game has the most number of action girls in the series. |
| 53 | ** [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Rapunzel]] is one of your party members in the Kingdom of Corona, attacking Heartless and swinging around with her hair. |
| 54 | ** After suffering from {{Chickification}} in her appearance in ''II'' due to her world having less significance, [[Franchise/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]] returns as one of your summons. |
| 55 | ** Elizabeth Swann has [[TookALevelInBadass taken the levels in badass]] she took in the films since ''II''. Sadly, she is not a party member, but at least you get to see her kick ass in the cutscenes. |
| 56 | ** Aqua is still one, though [[spoiler:at first you fight her as a ''boss''. [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent You briefly control her]] for the Vanitas boss battle in the Land of Departure and she is a party member in the fight against Vanitas and Terra-Xehanort in the Keyblade Graveyard]]. |
| 57 | ** Kairi has been put through Keyblade training by Yen Sid since the events of ''Dream Drop Distance''. In the confrontation at Keyblade Graveyard, she is your party member in the first boss battle against Saïx [[spoiler:and Xion]]. |
| 58 | ** To cap it off, your party member in the second boss battle against Saïx is [[spoiler:Xion, who has come BackFromTheDead and pulled a HeelFaceTurn thanks to actions undertaken in the first battle against him]]. |
| 59 | * ActionizedSequel: It goes even ''farther'' than ''II'', with powerful new attacks and abilities being unlocked at every turn. |
| 60 | * AdaptationalHeroism: PlayedWith; as The Caribbean excises most of the plot of ''At World's End'', largely focusing on Sora's adventures at sea until the climax, much of the deception and betrayal instigated by the main cast of the film is left out, particularly in Will's case. However, an establishing shot of Elizabeth when Tia Dalma retells how Jack was killed by the Kraken, as well as dialogue from the parley scene, indicates that these events indeed still happened off-screen. Tia Dalma herself treats Sora much more kindly than she did to anyone in the films, but that's probably because [[spoiler:she thinks the Keyblade might be able to unlock her godly power]]. |
| 61 | * AdaptationDistillation: The Caribbean's plot jumps from ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl The Curse of the Black Pearl]]'' straight to ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd At World's End]]''. According to WordOfGod, ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest Dead Man's Chest]]''[='s=] plot is [[TwoPartTrilogy too focused on setting up its sequel]] to be adapted on its own. That said, the game does feature some elements from ''Dead Man's Chest'' such as the Kraken and the game's version of the song "Yo ho! (A Pirate's Life For Me)" does have new verses recapping these skipped over events. |
| 62 | * AdaptationExpansion: A good portion of the Disney worlds feature new story content and areas not seen before in the original films, acting as sequels to the original films as opposed to just retelling an abridged version of the movie plots. ''Big Hero 6'' takes place after the film, where the Baymax left behind in the portal gets turned into a Heartless. ''Toy Story'' takes place in between ''2'' and ''3'' and features a new toy store called "Galaxy Toys". ''Monsters, Inc.'' takes place after the movie and allows the player to explore more areas of the factory up close, something that was barely touched upon in the original movies. |
| 63 | * AdaptationExplanationExtrication: |
| 64 | ** The ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' world cuts out Mother Gothel giving Rapunzel the tiara, leaving it unknown how she got the tiara back during the lantern scene. It also cuts out the Stabbington brothers, giving Flynn no reason to take the tiara to the shore and making it look like he really was abandoning her for the tiara. |
| 65 | *** Additionally, the crown and satchel taken from Flynn is somewhat lost. All that is left is Flynn asking Rapunzel where his satchel is, Gothel finding it with the crown inside, and Rapunzel giving it to Flynn later on the boat (with no explanation of how Rapunzel got it again after Gothel saw it). The game doesn't explain that Flynn stole it, he's a wanted man, why the crown is important, or why Maximus is chasing Flynn. |
| 66 | *** Further, Flynn's real name of Eugene is mentioned, but never explained as the scene that explained it was also cut. The final scene of Corona tells us he did reveal his name, but the situation that pushed him to reveal it to Rapunzel couldn't happen anymore leaving it up in the air as to when it happened. All of the characters take it without question that Flynn's real name is Eugene. |
| 67 | ** The game leaves out a major chunk of ''Frozen''[='=]s plot, which includes almost anything related to Hans. He just appears near the end without explanation to provide an excuse for a boss fight. |
| 68 | ** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' skips over the middle of the film, leaving only two unrelated cutscences of Jack and Beckett talking on the ''Endevour'' and the parley on the sandbar. Unless you've seen the film you're left baffled by the lack of context. Likewise, Elizabeth becomming the Pirate King goes unexplained, leaving the reference to it in the sandbar parley unexplained. |
| 69 | * AdaptationInducedPlotHole: |
| 70 | ** The narrator at the beginning of the Olympus world explains the part of the movie’s plot that the reason Hades waited eighteen years was that WhenThePlanetsAlign, he would be able to free the Titans from their imprisonment, while also mentioning that Sora and company had beaten some of those Titans before back in the first game. No explanation is given for how the Titans were available to be fought back then if Hades couldn’t free them until now. |
| 71 | *** Previous games also subtly implied that the events of the movie happened prior to the series, such as Hercules already knowing what made a true hero in ''Kingdom Hearts''. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' continues this with Megara not being employed by Hades and Hercules defeating the Hydra while intentionally avoiding decapitation. |
| 72 | ** Three important scenes are entirely removed from ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', creating some continuity issues: |
| 73 | *** The Canyon Chase into the Overnight Camp is cut, resulting in two plot holes. One, Rapunzel's Magic Healing Hair is never mentioned in the plot until Sora reaches the climax. This also means Flynn doesn't know about it until the plot needs him to. Two, Mother Gothel never shows up to sing her Reprise and give Rapunzel the crown. Instead, Rapunzel inexplicably has it for the climax despite an earlier scene showing Gothel finding it like in the film. Since a NPC in The Kingdom does reference the Forest Dam breaking like the movie, it's likely that similar events did occur offscreen but none of this is ever explained. |
| 74 | *** The Snuggly Duckling is excised (except for the sign in the background of the Hills area and the tunnel exit in the Marsh Area). This is important because the Snuggly Duckling Crew is how Flynn escapes his imprisonment before the climax. Instead, Marluxia inexplicably puts Sora to sleep and he doesn't wake up until Flynn is riding out of Corona for the climax, while Marluxia interferes no further. It's never explained how Flynn broke out of prison. |
| 75 | *** The Stabbington Brothers are completely AdaptedOut, meaning Flynn has no reason to leave the boat as soon as Rapunzel hands him the crown. Marluxia takes over their duties in confronting Rapunzel, but the original hole still stands. |
| 76 | * AdaptedOut: |
| 77 | ** Inverted in regards to Joshamee Gibbs. After being conspicuously missing from the cast of Port Royal in ''II'', he makes his debut here. Same goes for Tia Dalma, especially considering ''Dead Man's Chest'', where she was introduced, was cut from adaptation. However, Bootstrap Bill and the rest of Davy Jones's crew are missing with Sora, Donald, and Goofy taking Bootstrap’s place in attacking Jones after he stabs Will. Sao Feng is also absent, given he was an AdvertisedExtra in the film, and the Brethren Court are only mentioned in passing and make background appearances as generic ships in the pirates' fleet. Admiral James Norington and Govenor Weatherby Swan are once again absent, understandably considering their reduced roles in the third film. |
| 78 | ** In the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' world, several of the main cast are missing including Jessie, Slinky, Bullseye, Bo Peep, and Mr. & Mrs. Potatohead. Presumably they’re in the other half of the world with Andy. Out of universe, the fact that Slinky and the Potatoheads are based on preexisting toys means that their absence is likely due to not getting the rights. |
| 79 | ** The musical sequences in the ''Tangled'' world are removed entirely with the exception of the final "Healing Incantation". The Stabbington brothers' roles are largely filled by Marluxia and his Nobodies. It ends up not explaining some parts of the story, like why Flynn left the boat that he and Rapunzel were in. The Pub Thugs from the Snuggly Duckling are also absent, leaving it unexplained how Flynn escaped from jail. |
| 80 | ** In the ''Frozen'' world, the smash hit "Let It Go" is the only musical sequence left intact. After all, it was too iconic ''not'' to include. For "Do You Want to Build a Snowman", only the childhood sequence was shown in a flashback and Anna sings the last part of the song to Sora. No other song appears in the game. In addition, the plot point regarding Arendelle's closed gates goes completely unmentioned, which downplays the significance of Elsa's coronation in this game as well as glossing over the reason why Anna is so excited during her explanation. The Duke of Weselton is also notably absent, since Sora and co. never visit the castle. |
| 81 | ** In [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Olympus]], the only gods who appear are Zeus, Athena, Apollo, and Hermes, with the latter three only showing up briefly in a cutscene. Pain and Panic are also missing, despite their previous appearance in ''II'' |
| 82 | ** In The 100 Acre Wood or rather Rabbit's house, Owl, Kanga, and Eeyore are surprisingly absent, considering they had previously appeared in the earlier games. |
| 83 | * AdaptationPersonalityChange: The personalities for Woody and Buzz Lightyear have been switched in the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' world. Woody, who is normally the mature and rational of the duo, is the one to suggest joining Sora to search for their missing friends, while Buzz, who is usually the adventurous one of the two, is skeptical about trusting them. |
| 84 | * AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The songs that play for the penultimate and final phases of the FinalBoss gauntlet are named "Critical Crossroads" and "Dark Domination", respectively. For that matter, the music that plays in the cutscene shortly before the gauntlet begins is called "Edge of Existence". |
| 85 | * AdorableAbomination: This game introduces a family of Heartless called the Flantastic Seven. They are friendly flan-shaped Heartless with yellow custard bodies, brown caramel hair, and a crown adorned with one of seven fruits. Summoning them with the "Boinnng!" Command allows you to take on their minigame challenges for a chance to earn exclusive Ingredients; find them all and get an Orichalcum+. |
| 86 | * AdvertisedExtra: Despite being on the box cover, [[spoiler:Naminé only appears during a completely optional scene in the Final World and an unspoken part during the epilogue]]. |
| 87 | * AfterlifeAntechamber: The Final World. Normally, people who die are gone forever, but if they end up in this place, that means something or someone is clinging to them, refusing to let them go. [[spoiler:Sora enters this world after the disastrous first attempt at clashing with the Organization in the Keyblade Graveyard because Kairi tethers him to the living world.]] |
| 88 | * AirVentPassageway: Sora and co. spend some time running through the air vents in a toy store. [[JustifiedTrope While the vents don't look nearly big enough for a human, there's plenty of room for five living action figures.]] |
| 89 | * AlasPoorVillain: |
| 90 | ** Most members of the Seekers of Darkness get a surprisingly candid moment with Sora and his friends once defeated. Even [[spoiler:Ansem and Xemnas, the {{Big Bad}}s of the previous numbered entries]], are portrayed in a sympathetic light. The only unrepentant villains are [[spoiler:the second Riku Replica, Xigbar, Vanitas, Terra-Xehanort, and Young Xehanort]]. |
| 91 | ** At the game's ending, [[spoiler:Master Xehanort gets this too. He's revealed to still remember to some degree his original WellIntentionedExtremist plans hinted at in ''Birth by Sleep'', before the darkness in his heart caused MotiveDecay to the point of him becoming basically a CardCarryingVillain. Despite all the atrocities he and his selves made many characters go through, defeating him alters the perspective on him somewhat. He's portrayed in the end as someone who meant well but lost sight of how the ends don't always justify the means, and goes out relatively happily and peacefully with his best friend as a GracefulLoser.]] |
| 92 | * AllThereInTheManual: |
| 93 | ** The "Secret Report" text items give explanations for various character motivations not fully touched on in the game. [[spoiler:Like how Roxas got a replica body, the backstory of the girl everyone from Radiant Garden keeps talking about known as Subject X, and what [[DragonWithAnAgenda Xigbar]] was actually after this whole time.]] |
| 94 | ** The game proper never reveals the name of Lea's Keyblade. The Ultimania dubs it Flame Liberator, while ''Melody of Memory'' calls it the Bond of the Blaze. |
| 95 | ** The world Sora fights Yozora in was revealed in an interview with Nomura to be called Quadratum. The game never tells you its name for some reason. |
| 96 | * AllTheWorldsAreAStage: [[spoiler:A World Terminus type, much like the first game. Occurs somewhat early on in the endgame, where Sora must fall through darkness-covered portals, each leading to an area of the different worlds, in order to chase down the Lich and get his friends' hearts back.]] |
| 97 | * AllThereInTheStinger: TheStinger shows [[spoiler:that Xigbar is actually Luxu, that the Foretellers have come back, and that Yozora is real]]. |
| 98 | * AllYourPowersCombined: |
| 99 | ** The Nano Gear Keyblade formchange uses microbots to simulate other formchange's attacks, making it a combination sword/claw/hammer/flag/yo-yo/etc. |
| 100 | ** As with [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Final Form]] before it, Ultimate Form combines the best attributes of most other forms Sora has available: radial guarding, enhanced reprisals, and all survival passives from Guardian Form; gliding from Blitz Form; full-ranged spells and [=MP=] Hastera from Element Form; Combo Master from Strike Form; and teleportation and rapid multi-hit combos from Rage Form. |
| 101 | * AllegedLookalikes: Sora takes on the appearance of a plastic figurine version of himself in the world Toy Box (Based on ''Franchise/ToyStory''). However, he's immediately mistaken for Yozora, who turns out to be a character from the GameWithinAGame ''Verum Rex.'' This is explained as Sora's enchanted clothing transforming him so he won't look out of place, as it does in every world he visits—apparently in Toy Box, that means becoming a figurine of a character that's already known there. Young Xehanort shows up soon after and confirms that, yes, in this world, [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Sora comes from a video game.]] The problem is that Sora looks ''nothing'' like Yozora; the only thing that looks ''kind of'' similar is their clothing. Fans have noticed that Yozora actually looks a lot more like Riku, another ''Kingdom Hearts'' character, but the narrative itself act as if Sora and Yozora are practically identical. (And in reality, Yozora's appearance was influenced by [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Noctis Lucis Caelum]], who, by [[Creator/TetsuyaNomura the designer's]] own admission, could not be more different from Sora.) |
| 102 | ** Sora himself actually acknowledges that Yozora looks more like Riku in a [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzkYkyaXgAAee8a.png social media post]]. |
| 103 | * AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: [[spoiler:Master Xehanort himself finally indulges in this trope during the final part of his SequentialBoss fight. About halfway through, he lifts Sora and friends high into the sky on a platform of glowing InstantRunes with [[MacguffinLocation Kingdom Hearts itself]] looming above. His attacks near the end of the battle distort the colors even further.]] |
| 104 | * AmbiguousSituation: |
| 105 | ** The game doesn't elaborate much on the mechanics of [[spoiler:Braig/Xigbar being a vessel of Luxu, besides some vague {{Body Surf}}ing or BornAgainImmortality shenanigans. This could mean that Braig/Xigbar is either just an identity Luxu came up with, or that there was an actual person called Braig that Luxu started possessing at some point]]. |
| 106 | ** Whatever happens to Sora after [[spoiler:the final boss is defeated, he uses the power of waking to restore Kairi, and he apparently vanishes after reappearing on Destiny Islands]] is never explained, though the Secret Ending implies there's an explanation forthcoming in later installments. |
| 107 | * AndIMustScream: |
| 108 | ** The toys in Galaxy Toys are stated to be self-aware just like any other toy, but they have no control over their actions. |
| 109 | ** Implied to be the case for [[spoiler:Terra, who is stuck in the form of Terranort's Heartless Guardian and requires to take off the bindings on his face in order to speak]]. |
| 110 | * AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: |
| 111 | ** Riku is playable three times in the base game, an optional fourth if the [=ReMind=] DLC is considered. Two of them, he's in the Realm of Darkness while fighting the Demon Tower. [[spoiler:The second of these battles also has the Demon Tower assisted by Anti-Aqua.]] |
| 112 | ** Aqua is playable in one boss fight in Land of Departure. [[spoiler:Aqua battles against Vanitas in order to protect a sleeping Ventus. She even uses her magic to block Sora, Donald, and Goofy from interfering.]] |
| 113 | ** In [=ReMind=], Riku, Aqua, [[spoiler:Roxas]], and Kairi are all playable in proper boss fights. To a lesser extent, Mickey is controllable in a LastStand segment, following an ensemble playable section where all of the above are controlled to some degree along with [[spoiler:Xion, Ventus, and Terra]]. |
| 114 | * AndTheAdventureContinues: The epilogue shows that the story is far from over. [[spoiler:It turns out that Braig, the human counterpart of Xigbar, is actually Luxu, the lost apprentice of the Master of Masters, and the entire story so far may or may not be part of his diabolical plan. Whatever the case, he's got Xehanort's Keyblade (which was his to begin with) and he's called the Lost Masters into the present day. Plus, after all that, it's still not explained what's in the Black Box from the Master of Masters. Sora, meanwhile, awakens from the aftermath of his sacrifice in Shibuya, while Riku awakens in Shinjuku, where ''Verum Rex'' turns out to be not so fictional after all.]] |
| 115 | * AndThisIsFor: When the start of the game has the trip to [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Olympus]] properly shut down Hades' original plan, Hercules gives Hades a slug to the face at the denoument, remarking "That's for trying to wreck Thebes." |
| 116 | * AnimationBump: |
| 117 | ** Any time a cutscene is cloned from the original film, the characters also move with the original, movie-quality animation. |
| 118 | ** The "Let It Go" scene in Arendelle and the scene where [[spoiler:Aqua transforms Castle Oblivion back into the Land of Departure]] are notably full-motion video files instead of in-engine renders, something reserved for openings and endings in previous games. |
| 119 | * AntiFrustrationFeatures: |
| 120 | ** In the Caribbean, Sora can use Flowchain to go back to the helm of the Leviathan quickly, so you don't waste time climbing the ship to reach it. This Flowchain also has a much longer range than other similar commands do. |
| 121 | ** As in ''II'', Betwixt and Twilight-class materials only drop from Nobodies, which are much rarer than Heartless or even Unversed. As a result, these materials can also be found at random in the breakables of virtually every world, including Twilight and Betwixt Crystals, so that they'll be available without finding and repeatedly farming the very small handful of spots where Nobodies spawn. |
| 122 | ** The final Gummi Ship area is a huge metallic labyrinth with multiple twists and turns. Throughout the labyrinth, there are several Prize bundles that form arrows to let you know which way to go. The game also arbitrarily adds checkpoints throughout the level, which is not done for any other Gummi Ship stage. |
| 123 | ** After taking a picture of a Lucky Emblem, you don't have to keep the image saved to the Gummiphone for it to count. The game saves the images taken of them in a separate tab. |
| 124 | ** In addition to the previous options to retry the battle you died in or reload from a save point, you can now reload to the last autosave (usually shortly before the battle), or retry the battle after an opportunity to open the pause menu to change your equipment. |
| 125 | ** All magic upgrades are obtained throughout the course of the game, so you don't have to worry about backtracking and doing sidequests to obtain them. |
| 126 | * AnyLastWords: During the final battle, Xemnas, Saïx and [[spoiler:Xion]] managed to thrash Sora, Kairi and Lea. As he prepares to execute Lea, Xemnas discusses "a time when I trusted you to deal with traitors. And now, your betrayal outstrips them all", before asking Lea for any final words "for your superior?" Lea's response? |
| 127 | -->'''Lea:''' Well, let me think about it. How about [[DefiantToTheEnd "You were never my superior."]] |
| 128 | * ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: {{Averted|Trope}}. Unlike ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII II]]'', there is no restriction on how many party members you are allowed to have active. The Kingdom of Corona, the Toy Box, and Monstropolis all have two {{Guest Star Party Member}}s each, bringing the total party count to five. |
| 129 | * ArbitrarySkepticism: |
| 130 | ** Despite witnessing several instances of obviously supernatural events, Buzz refuses to believe that the Toy Box has been split into two worlds. Woody even points out that the concept is no more absurd than evil emperors and protecting the galaxy, which Buzz concedes. |
| 131 | ** Donald, a magical talking duck who's seen ''all sorts'' of wondrous people and creatures during the series, refuses to believe Sora's claim of witnessing a talking snowman at face value, even though he himself was a talking snowman in ''II''. |
| 132 | * ArcVillain: Each world is menaced by a different incarnation of Xehanort on the way to the final battle. Xigbar appears in Olympus, Ansem and Xemnas appear in Twilight Town, Young Xehanort appears in the Toy Box, Marluxia appears in the Kingdom of Corona, Vanitas appears in Monstropolis, Larxene appears in Arendelle, Luxord appears in the Caribbean, and a version of Riku appears in San Fransokyo. [[spoiler:Terranort]] also shows up in the Keyblade Graveyard in order to murder everybody before the final confrontation can even begin, making him a sort of EleventhHourRanger version of this. |
| 133 | * ArcWords: |
| 134 | ** "With all my/our heart". Sora keeps saying it when talking about fighting for his loved ones, and it ends up costing him in the end. |
| 135 | ** "May your heart be your guiding key," following its introduction in ''X''. |
| 136 | ** "There is one sky, one destiny," [[spoiler:said by Xehanort as he summons Kingdom Hearts in the sky above Scala ad Caelum, instead of the sky above the Keyblade Graveyard]]. |
| 137 | ** "It is etched." Maleficent and the Norts use some variety of the phrase when talking about preordained events. |
| 138 | * ArmorPiercingResponse: In the Realm of Darkness, [[spoiler:Aqua gives one to Mickey on seeing him again]]. |
| 139 | -->'''The Dark Prisoner:''' [[spoiler:You left me in this shadow prison for more than a ''decade'', knowing what it would do to me…]] |
| 140 | * ArtEvolution: A given, since this game is taking advantage of a new generation of consoles. The art style is noticeably different and much more detailed than the older Platform/PlayStation2 in-engine graphics, but is still much more stylized than that era's photorealistic [[FullMotionVideo pre-rendered cutscenes]]. |
| 141 | * ArtShift: The game features a "Kingdom Shader" system which applies unique [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader shaders]] to each world to give them their own feel. The most obvious examples appear in the Caribbean, where the party gains a more realistic grit (Donald and Goofy even have visible feathers/fur), and the 100 Acre Wood, where everyone has pastel colors and visible outlines to match the world's storybook aesthetic. |
| 142 | * ArtificialHuman: The Replica Program, previously introduced in ''Chain of Memories'', is brought into the spotlight as a major plot device for the entirety of the story. It involves creating an empty, human-like vessel that is completely featureless and is for all intents and purposes a living mannequin. However, if a heart is given to it, the Replica then takes the living form of the heart it was given, essentially making it identical to an actual person. The heroes are keen on using Replicas to bring Naminé and Roxas back into corporeal form, while the villains intend to use the Replicas for themselves as vessels for Xehanort, but Vexen is the only one who can successfully create Replicas as the project’s inventor. |
| 143 | * ArtisticLicenseBiology: In Arendelle, Donald will complain that he's even colder than Sora since he's shorter and doesn't wear pants. Considering that he's covered in feathers, he should be losing much less body heat than Sora. |
| 144 | * AscendedExtra: |
| 145 | ** The Disney worlds and characters play much more important roles within the plot than in previous games, which usually have them [[ExcusePlot as an excuse to kick Heartless butt]]. For example, Sora trains with Hercules to regain his powers after the damage to his heart in the last game [[BagOfSpilling made him lose most of them]]. In the Toy Box, Young Xehanort invades because he is trying to find a way to create the Seekers' thirteenth SoulJar by researching the unique bonds between the hearts of toys and their owners. |
| 146 | ** Ienzo, Zexion's human self, has a big role in the cutscenes. Along with Chip and Dale, he updates Sora with information about his research in Radiant Garden's laboratory and oversees the restoration of [[spoiler:Roxas and Naminé through replica bodies]]. |
| 147 | * AscendedGlitch: ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' had a minor bug where if a character used an Aero spell on enemies and entered a Command Style before the spell completed, the enemies caught in it would be left spinning in the air for a while, rather than being launched. This game's version of the Aero spell seems to take that quirk and make it into the spell's primary use. |
| 148 | * AscendedMeme: ''Kingdom Hearts 2.9'' was a meme created after ''[=KH2.8=]''[='=]s release, lampshading the number of releases between ''[=KH2=]'' and ''[=KH3=]'', and then lo, and behold, series creator Tetsuya Nomura put the meme in as a joke title right before you blast off to the tutorial world, Olympus. After clearing the tutorial, the proper title ''Kingdom Hearts III'' drops. |
| 149 | * AttackItsWeakPoint: Pirate ships in the Caribbean have one or more giant orbs hanging off their sides. Destroying all of the orbs on a ship instantly sinks it, often much more quickly than by depleting their health, encouraging the player to maneuver and try to outflank the enemy ship rather than sit still. |
| 150 | * TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Vexen, after awaking as Even accepts an offer from Saix, to become Vexen again, then becomes TheMole within the ranks of the real Organization XIII. He and Saix want to atone for their past actions and Vexen gets assistance from Demyx to help recover the extra vessels in his Replica Program, along with help from Ansem the Wise and Ienzo to help restore Roxas and Naminé.]] |
| 151 | * AutoRevive: Moogle Coins will automatically revive Sora whenever he would die. You can only have one in your inventory at any given time, and it's consumed upon use. [[spoiler:The {{Superboss}} in ''Re𝄌Mind'' can steal a coin and ''then'' use it when they're down to [[OhCrap revive back at half of their health]].]] |
| 152 | * AvengersAssemble: On at least three fronts. We have [[TrueCompanions Sora, Donald, and Goofy]] fighting together for the first time since ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', with Sora attempting to gain the power of Waking somehow, Riku teaming up with King Mickey to search for Aqua, and Kairi and Lea training to become proper Keyblade wielders. After Aqua is found, the first group team up with her to find Ventus, after which all nine of them regroup in Mysterious Tower to prepare for the final confrontation against the Seekers of Darkness. |
| 153 | * AwesomeYetImpractical |
| 154 | ** Ultima-G. It was [[{{Nerf}} nerfed]] from its ''II'' incarnation, increasing the Cost to 400 (up from 328), and now only locks onto one target at a time. It will also explicitly target the enemy with the highest HP onscreen and fire six homing shots, which is situationally useful at best in boss fights and outright unhelpful in standard mob fights. |
| 155 | ** The Special+ blueprint Gummi Ships. All three of them look positively ''awesome'', and have costs well in excess of what the player will normally be able to match, but their Power stats are universally ''deep'' into the negatives, meaning they do virtually no damage to enemies no matter how many guns they have and may not even be able to break open crystals. |
| 156 | ** The Starlight Keyblade's 'Ancient Light' is easily ''the'' [[GameBreaker most broken]] Finisher Command in the game short of the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Ultima Weapon]] itself. However, it seldom sees use due to the requirement of filling the Situation Marks two times with Second Form S, which can take time depending on the fight. Starlight itself is also a relatively lackluster Keyblade at the time you get it (without the unlock code from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX''), as there are potentially easier and more favorable options directly available at that point. |
| 157 | ** Stitch will likely be the last [[SummonMagic Link]] the player obtains in a playthrough. He uses a similar attack style to Ralph, where the player creates hazard zones that damage enemies and then detonates them during the Finisher, and he's capable of dealing ''more'' damage than Ralph. Unlike Ralph, though, Stitch's zones don't have a trapping or stunning effect, making it really difficult to use his attack against any enemy that moves whatsoever; more often than not, the enemy will just leave the zone. [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman When you are able to hit with the entire attack, though...]] |
| 158 | * AwesomenessByAnalysis: When the Big Hero 6 witness Sora, Donald, and Goofy effortlessly plow through Heartless where they themselves have failed, they run them through a [=VR=] program in the hopes of studying their moves and incorporating them into their skillset. [=GoGo=] learns to fight three-dimensionally and run up walls, Wasabi turns his lasers into projectiles, Honey Lemon incorporates variety in her mode of attack, Fred adds ice to his fire breath, and Baymax adds their fighting techniques to his data. |
| 159 | * BackFromTheDead: |
| 160 | ** [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Hector Barbossa]], who was shot dead in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' as he was in [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl his original film]], has been resurrected just as he was by the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd third film]], which this game adapts. |
| 161 | ** During the final showdown in the Keyblade Graveyard, [[spoiler:Sora finds himself in the Final World, essentially the limbo of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' universe. He travels through the world to find his body and return to life]]. |
| 162 | ** Presumably, before the final battle starts, [[spoiler:Kairi goes through Sora's ordeal when Master Xehanort shatters her, but is saved by Sora]]. The character is seen on Destiny Islands during the ending, implying whatever happened to them has been undone. |
| 163 | * BadFuture: The first visit to Keyblade Graveyard has [[spoiler:the heroes being utterly [[CurbStompBattle curbstomped]] by Terra-Xehanort and the army of Heartless/Nobodies. It ends with all seven Guardians of Light torn apart, heart from body, with Sora reaching the skin of death itself as he enters the [[AfterlifeAntechamber Final World]]. After Sora restores everyone's hearts, time is rewound and they go through the same course of events, except this time, they have a fighting chance, thanks to the arrival of the Lingering Will and the ancient Keyblade wielders]]. |
| 164 | * TheBadGuyWins: Downplayed. [[spoiler:This doesn’t apply to Xehanort, but rather to Xigbar/Braig/Luxu. Sure, Xehanort was stopped once and for all, but the [[HiddenVillain true mastermind]], Luxu, managed to get exactly what he wanted: Another keyblade war and the return of the foretellers. He even managed to get his keyblade back and both the heroes and the villains played right into his hands, because he’s been manipulating both sides since the beginning. He didn’t care who won and who lost the Keyblade War as long as he got what he wanted, and that’s exactly what happened.]] |
| 165 | * BagOfSpilling: Downplayed. Sora lost most of his abilities due to being plunged into darkness in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance''. To learn how to recover from that, he heads off to Olympus Coliseum to train with Hercules. That said, Sora eventually gets them all back, including some from the non-numbered entries and a lot ''more'', giving him one of the most varied movesets he's ever had. He also starts with the Second Form Formchange, which grants him abilities from ''Kingdom Hearts II'', and Donald and Goofy also start the game with a full arsenal of spells and attacks. |
| 166 | * BaitAndSwitch: |
| 167 | ** Maleficent asks Hades if he knows of a Black Box left by the Master of Masters that was foretold in the Book of Prophecies. The closest thing he could think of that fits this description is a box Zeus had buried. When they go looking for it, it turns out to actually be Pandora's Box. Amusingly, Maleficent does not think it is important and tells Pete to leave it. |
| 168 | ** At E3, Square Enix revealed a trailer that featured new content but mostly hyped up a new trailer at a D23 panel. When that panel happened, the same trailer was shown with the D23 label still attached, tricking some fans into thinking that they weren't finished with it. Then, a few minutes into the panel, they revealed not one, but two different trailers showcasing worlds based on ''Hercules'' and ''Toy Story''. |
| 169 | * BattleInTheRain: It's raining for part of the Rock Titan fight. The maelstrom battle, adapted from ''At World's End'', is also still set during a raging storm. |
| 170 | * BeamOWar: [[spoiler:Upon being "defeated" by Xehanort, the power of Sora's bonds with Donald and Goofy are summoned with the "Trinity" Reaction Command, whereupon Sora is brought back from the brink of death. Donald and Goofy team up with Sora to counter Xehanort's attack with their own beam fueled by ThePowerOfFriendship. The two beams clash briefly before Xehanort proves no match.]] |
| 171 | * BeatTheCurseOutOfHim: The boss battle with the [[spoiler:Anti-Aqua ends with Sora managing to free her from the darkness that's corrupted her by knocking her around with his Keyblade]]. |
| 172 | * BeefGate: The Caribbean's storyline is relatively short, but the powerful Heartless fleet patrolling the entrance to the world's final boss is meant to motivate players to explore the various optional islands to level up the ''Leviathan'' enough to stand a fighting chance. |
| 173 | * BelatedHappyEnding: The San Fransokyo story undoes ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6''[='=]s BittersweetEnding. [[spoiler:After defeating Dark Riku, who retrieved the original Baymax from the void and brainwashed it, Hiro successfully heals his old friend and ends up with two Baymaxes!]] |
| 174 | * BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:Xigbar seemingly does this after Sora and Riku defeat him in the Keyblade Graveyard, as he teleports to the top of a wall and falls off of it backwards while his weapons disappear shortly after. Turns out in the epilogue that he was faking it.]] |
| 175 | * BigBad: Master Xehanort, [[spoiler: with Xigbar/Luxu as TheManInFrontOfTheMan]]. |
| 176 | * BigDamnHeroes: |
| 177 | ** When Hayner, Pence, and Olette save Ansem the Wise from Ansem the Seeker of Darkness, several Dusks show up to save Hayner just as he was tossed at a wall and bide them time to escape. [[spoiler:Vexen was the one who sent them to save his master and atone for his past misdeeds, with Dusks loyal to him aiding in the betrayal.]] |
| 178 | ** Before [[spoiler:Terra-Xehanort]] goes for the kill against the Guardians of Light once more, the [[spoiler:Lingering Will of Terra]] arrives to fight him, having been summoned by [[spoiler:Naminé from the Final World]]. |
| 179 | ** [[spoiler:The spirit of Ephemer]] appears to give Sora aid against the massive Demon Tide that forms after Terranort's appearance, [[spoiler:sending the fallen Dandelions and the Foreteller Keyblades to strike against the massive tower as Sora steers them into battle and defeats it]]. |
| 180 | ** When things turn dire at the Keyblade Graveyard, with [[spoiler:the seven Guardians of Light being overwhelmed by swarms of Heartless summoned by Riku's second replica]], [[spoiler:[[BigGood Yen Sid]]]] drops from the sky to deal with them, letting Sora and the rest go ahead to fight the Seekers. |
| 181 | ** Another one who gets to drop from the sky at the very last moment is [[spoiler:Roxas, before Xemnas attempts to kill Xion]]. |
| 182 | ** In the boss gauntlet at the Keyblade Graveyard, [[spoiler:Terra-Xehanort chains up Aqua, Ventus, and Sora and is about to kill the first two. At the very last moment, the Heartless Guardian catches them, breaks the chains, and reveals himself as Terra, before taking back his body with the help of Sora]]. |
| 183 | * BilingualBonus: |
| 184 | ** The name of the final world visited, Scala ad Caelum, translates to "Stairway to Heaven". |
| 185 | ** The menu at Le Grand Bistrot has a quote from ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' written on it in French: "Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere." Also visible are "Don't let anyone put limits on you based on your origins" and "Your only limit is your soul." |
| 186 | * BittersweetEnding: The ending is [[EarnYourHappyEnding very positive]], but takes a dip in happiness during the last few scenes. [[spoiler:Many of the main trios have very upbeat reunions after several games of being torn apart: Roxas, Lea, and Xion return to Twilight Town's clock tower with Isa, Hayner, Pence, and Olette joining them. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy return to Disney Castle to reunite with Minnie, Daisy and Yen Sid. Terra, Aqua, and Ven finally get to properly pay their respects to Eraqus, with the latter reuniting with his Chirithy. Ansem the Wise and his assistants restore Naminé to a proper body as she joins Riku for a trip to Destiny Islands with the other members of the main cast. Kairi does manage to come back after Xehanort sacrifices her, but it comes at a cost; Sora is either seemingly lost or dies in his attempt to bring her back, and the game ends with the two of them sharing one last sunset together — hand-in-hand — before he fades away while Kairi sheds a tear.]] |
| 187 | * BlobMonster: The Lump of Horror Unversed boss and Flantastic Seven Heartless. |
| 188 | * BloodlessCarnage: Neither Flynn nor Will Turner are shown bleeding when they are fatally wounded. This also goes for Jack Sparrow stabbing Davy Jones' heart, but the actual deed is censored by a GoryDiscretionShot. |
| 189 | * BookEnds: |
| 190 | ** At the end of Olympus Coliseum, Xigbar is seen watching Maleficent and Pete, who are trying to find the black box, from a distance. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, Maleficent and Pete are watching Xigbar, who has the black box in his possession and is speaking with the Foretellers, from a distance.]] |
| 191 | ** Darkside was a tutorial boss in the first Kingdom Hearts at the start of the Xehanort saga, and now he is the tutorial boss for the end of the Xehanort saga. |
| 192 | ** Scala ad Caelum, the world seen in the opening cutscene where a young Xehanort and Eraqus play their game of chess, [[spoiler:is the site of the final battle against Master Xehanort]]. |
| 193 | ** The last song that plays before the credits is "Simple and Clean" — in particular, the orchestral version. The Xehanort Saga began with this music, and now the song has the honor of ending it. |
| 194 | ** The end of the beginning, and the beginning of the end, for this game both take place in the same place; the Final World, the franchise's AfterlifeAntechamber. |
| 195 | ** The concept of the paopu fruit was introduced in the original ''Kingdom Hearts'' with it popping up here and there. [[spoiler:Just before the endgame, Sora and Kairi exchange fruits, not only recreating their cave drawing, but possibly moving past {{Implied Love Interest}}s.]] Similarly, both the original game and ''III'' end with Kairi shedding tears. The differance is in ''I'' Kairi's tears were more TearsOfJoy (due to realizing Sora reciprocates her feelings and knowing she'll see him again some day), here… not so much. |
| 196 | ** [[spoiler:The first secret ending in ''I'' was set in a dark city with a mysterious hooded figure watching from a tall building. The final secret ending for ''III'' ends with a city at night with a mysterious hooded figure on top of a tall building.]] |
| 197 | ** Master Xehanort names a Keyblade wielder, Terra, a Keyblade Master as a way to manipulate him in the game he debuts in [[spoiler:and implicitly names a Keyblade wielder, Sora, a Keyblade Master as a way to congratulate him in the last game he appears in as the main antagonist]]. |
| 198 | ** The first Nobody Sora fought in the Xehanort saga was Xemnas in ''I Final Mix'', and the final Nobody Sora fights in the Xehanort saga is Xemnas. Similarliy, Xemnas is the first and last veteran member of the original Organization Sora faces. |
| 199 | * BoringButPractical: |
| 200 | ** Second Form. It is the only Formchange that doesn't change the Keyblade into a different weapon, and Sora's costume is simply recolored to match his ''Kingdom Hearts II'' outfit. It does, however, grant him most of his moveset from ''II'', including the old ground and aerial combo finishers, and Sora can use his old Limits as Finish commands based on how many times he maxes out the Situation Marks. |
| 201 | ** Fire isn't a very flashy spell, since all it does is shoot a ball of fire at one enemy, with no secondary effects compared to other spells. In exchange, it's also the most damaging spell against single targets, and it's also very cost-efficient, making it a go-to option for magic users. |
| 202 | ** If you're in need of Synthesis materials, one option to farm for them is to simply fly into space in your Gummi Ship and start blowing up rocks. Random asteroids have a decent material drop rate alongside your standard Gummi Blocks and HP Prizes, and you can get quite a few Keyblade upgrade materials this way, including Flourite, Damascus, and Adamantite. |
| 203 | ** Airstepping is a mechanic tied to the Shotlocks that, instead of the cooler-looking Shotlock, is merely a FlashStep that zips you to the target (whether it be an object or enemy). That said, it has nearly limitless range (can airstep from end to end in San Fransokyo, one of the largest worlds in the game), is great at closing the gap for combos, can be used an unlimited number of times (since it doesn't deplete the Focus gauge), and is generally considered leagues more useful than Shotlocks by skilled players. |
| 204 | ** This game lets you keep Tier 1 Magic even after getting its upgrades. Tier 1 Magic is cheap to cast, does fair damage on its own, and is as good as any of its upgraded versions for inducing certain effects in enemies. |
| 205 | ** Once you get Second Chance and Withstand Combo, LifeDrain Shotlocks become this in fights where it matters. They aren't terribly powerful or flashy, but they heal Sora while taking Focus as a resource instead of MP, and with Second Chance and Withstand Combo, [[LastChanceHitPoint the only hit point that matters is the last one.]] |
| 206 | * BossBonanza: The Keyblade Graveyard consists of a series of fights against multiple Organization members at once. It's not quite a BossOnlyLevel since there's a few battles with hordes of Heartless and Nobodies, but it comes pretty close. It culminates in the final duel with Master Xehanort, who is a SequentialBoss. |
| 207 | * BossOnlyLevel: The last world, [[spoiler:Scala ad Caelum, the world apparently inside Kingdom Hearts itself]]. It features multiple boss battles all in a row culminating in the final boss, with the only place not spent fighting being a small dock featuring a save point as the PointOfNoReturn. |
| 208 | * BossRush: While the above-referenced climactic battle against the Seekers gives the player a chance to save and heal between batches of fights, [[spoiler:the final set of boss battles in Scala ad Caelum does not. After the final save point, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are made to face off against Xehanort's replicas at once, immediately followed by Armored Xehanort, and finally Master Xehanort wielding the χ-blade]]. |
| 209 | * {{Bowdlerization}}: As in ''II'', the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' level is subject to a lot of this. For example, the pirate hanging nook outside Port Royal remains, but with the corpses removed, and the sign saying "pirates, ye be warned" left blank. It's a bit inconsistent, as there is mention of death, but Jack specifically says that the others had tried to "annihilate" him in the past, rather than kill him, seemingly just to make them not look quite as bad. The classic pirate's song also went from "drink up, me hearties, yo ho!" to "look out, me hearties, yo ho!" This was somewhat appropriate, as the lyrics changed to a retelling of the story of Dead Man's Chest and a warning about the evils involved in it. The game also never directly shows Davy Jones's heart within the Dead Man's Chest on-screen, unlike in the movie. Instead, when the chest is opened, we cut immediately to Vexen being surprised that the heart in question is an actual blood-pumping organ and not the metaphysical type of heart central to the ''Kingdom Hearts'' mythos. |
| 210 | * BowledOver: Sora can grab Mike and roll him like a bowling ball at a group of Heartless, complete with a strike sound effect. In the Monsters Inc. reveal trailer, this is towards a group of Heartless lined up in ten-pin formation and in the actual game, this happens as a result of Mike's and Sulley's Situation Command setting up the enemies into pin formation with the initial roar, although this is only really obvious in plot-based battles where you need to use it to end the battle and the enemies spawn infinitely. |
| 211 | * BraggingRightsReward: |
| 212 | ** The blueprint for the Golden Highwind, the best Gummi ship in the game, is only obtained after defeating the hardest Gummi ship fight in the game as a Bonus Boss. While there's a few other things to do with Gummi ships in the post-game besides that, all of them are trivial compared to defeating that boss. Averted if you have ''Re𝄌Mind'', as one of the EZ Codes pretty much maxes everything related to Gummi Ships, from level to materials to blueprints, meaning the Golden Highwind could be used from the start. |
| 213 | ** While technically already averted with the InfinityPlusOneSword Keyblades due to their extreme usefulness in late and postgame, the NewGamePlus feature allows Keyblades to be carried over, albeit all reset to level one, even Ultima Weapon and Oblivion, but otherwise, none of them have to be reacquired. Even reset at Level 1, however, Ultima is still far more powerful than most early game Keyblades. |
| 214 | * BreakingTheFourthWall: Lea says he can't be killed due to having too many people rooting for him. |
| 215 | * BreatherEpisode: Much like in past entries in the series, the 100 Hundred Acres Woods is this. Perhaps even more so since the world is actually considerably smaller than past installments, taking place entirely at Rabbit's house and only involves three short mini games. The detour served as a reminder for Sora that even though past bonds may weaken overtime, they can still be recreated. |
| 216 | * BrickJoke: Early in the game, Goofy claims Yen Sid bids everyone a farewell with "May your hearts be your guiding key" before sending them on a mission, though Sora and Donald never noticed. When they return to the Mysterious Tower, they discover he does indeed. Under his breath. |
| 217 | * BroadStrokes: The ''Hercules'' world. Previous games heavily implied that the events of the Disney film had already happened, as Hercules had learned what it meant to be a true hero and could summon his godly abilities, and the Rock Titan and the Ice Titan were bosses in the first game. Here, however, the climax of the film serves as the events of the world, with Hades releasing the Titans from their prison to attack Mount Olympus. The narrator even notes that Sora had fought some of them before, but doesn't explain how he was able to do so if the Titans were sealed away all this time. |
| 218 | * BulletTime: Certain worlds (namely San Fransokyo and Arendelle) have environmental objects that Sora can slide behind with a Reaction Command to take cover. When behind cover, Sora can then use the Cover Fire Command to slide out in slow motion and fire magic bullets at enemies. |
| 219 | * TheBusCameBack: |
| 220 | ** The true Ice Titan returns after appearing as a bonus boss in the first game, and after Hades employed a weaker copy of it in ''Birth by Sleep''. |
| 221 | ** Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen, Demyx, and Luxord have all returned. Also counts as BackFromTheDead since the first three died in ''Chain of Memories'' and the latter two died in ''II''. |
| 222 | ** Hayner, Pence, and Olette return together with Twilight Town, having last been seen in ''358/2 Days''. |
| 223 | ** [[Franchise/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]] and [[Franchise/TheLionKing Simba]] return as summonable "Link" characters after making their last appearances in ''Kingdom Hearts II''. The cast of Port Royal also return, namely Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and Barbossa. |
| 224 | ** The extended cast of Hundred Acre Wood returns for the first time since ''II''. Gopher's return is particularly noteworthy, since not only is this his first appearance in ''Kingdom Hearts'' since the second game; this is his first real appearance ''at all'' in any ''Pooh'' media since ''II'', as he has largely been excised from the main ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' franchise since the start of the 21st century. |
| 225 | * CallBack: |
| 226 | ** Sora mishears Donald saying order as "[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI border]]." |
| 227 | ** Young Xehanort somehow splits Toy Box into two distinct parallel worlds, each containing half of the original world's inhabitants, [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance much like he previously did to Traverse Town]]. Unlike before, you only get to explore one of these halves and thus characters like Andy, Andy's Mom, Slinky, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, etc. never appear in the game, [[spoiler: though the ending implies the world is restored to normal after Xehanort has been defeated]]. Similarly, Young Xehanort summons a [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere giant monster from nowhere]] to deal with the heroes at the end of the world; previously a Nightmare (due to being in the Sleeping Worlds), here a Heartless. |
| 228 | ** At the Keyblade Graveyard, Xehanort is shown walking towards the heroes in the exact same fashion as he did in the secret ending to VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII and VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep (right down to mirroring his very first appearance in the former by starting off blurry). Later on, he rises up on a stone pillar, which he also did in those. In the endgame, he also is seen relishing the appearance of Kingdom Hearts by clenching his fist and grinning. |
| 229 | ** Just like Mickey did in the climax of DDD, Xehanort uses Stopza to freeze all of his enemies but one in place. |
| 230 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage 0.2]]'', Terra-Xehanort [[FacePalmOfDoom grabs Terra's face and lifts him up]] (before Terra ultimately subdues him with chains of light). Here, [[spoiler:Terra [[LaserGuidedKarma returns the favour]], using the hand of Xehanort's own Guardian]]. |
| 231 | ** During the one scene in the Land of Departure, [[spoiler:when Vanitas is about to kill Aqua, again, the scene is almost exactly like the one in the Keyblade Graveyard, even with Ventus saving her after waking up]]. |
| 232 | ** The face Sora made when he first met Donald and Goofy is used to make Boo laugh. |
| 233 | ** In Monstropolis, Vanitas tells Sora to "join your heart with mine". This is the exact same line that Sora gives to Ventus at the beginning of ''Birth by Sleep''. |
| 234 | ** Once again, Sora promises to thank Naminé [[spoiler:and, once again, he fails to keep his word because of something happening to him]]. |
| 235 | ** As in the ''Birth by Sleep'' secret ending, [[spoiler:Xehanort says "You sly fox…" when he realizes Eraqus's heart is inside Terra]]. |
| 236 | ** One of the shots of [[EarnYourHappyEnding the ending montage]] has [[spoiler:Riku reaching his hand out to take Naminé's hand the same way he reached out to Sora in [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]]]]. |
| 237 | * CallForward: Buzz is concerned that some of the toys at Galaxy Toys were accidentally switched into battle mode, hence why they are attacking the party, [[spoiler:and Xehanort actually does forcibly take control of him for his own methods]]. This is what befalls him again years later in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', when Lotso switches him to demo mode to convert him into a loyal enforcer to attack Andy's toys. |
| 238 | * TheCameo: |
| 239 | ** Ultros from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' and the Endymion from ''VideoGame/{{Einhander}}'' appear as Gummi Ship blueprints, while [[spoiler:Schwarzgeist, also from ''Einhander'', is a Gummi Ship {{Superboss}}]]. |
| 240 | ** In the Toy Box, Sora is tasked with finding blocks to build a path up to a Dark Corridor hidden in a vent. When the block structure is completed, the blocks light up and turn green, revealing the shape of a Cactuar. The Cactuar block statue tilts over to form its signature pose while the ''Final Fantasy'' victory jingle plays, completing the path to the vent. |
| 241 | ** Several iconic ''Final Fantasy'' enemies, such as Bombs and Cactuars, appear as constellations. |
| 242 | ** Queen Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto appear during the ending montage welcoming back Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy. |
| 243 | ** Donald's DitzyGenius uncle Ludwig Von Drake doesn't make a physical appearance, but he is credited on the movie poster that Olette shows Sora as the inventor of sound cartoons. |
| 244 | ** While [[spoiler:Naminé is heard speaking to Sora in the Final World]], we only see the character in the flesh in the ending. |
| 245 | ** In the ending, [[spoiler:Isa also appears for the first time since ''Coded'', and is detailed in some of the secret reports]]. |
| 246 | * CastFromHitPoints: Rage Form has access to a special Command called Riskcharge, which halves Sora's HP to power up one tier. Once Riskcharge has been used three times, the Finish Command becomes available immediately. |
| 247 | * CentralTheme: |
| 248 | ** Heartbreak, both figuratively and literally (befitting this series). Many of the Disney worlds have something to do with loss and those in the Organization take great joy in musing about how they can take advantage of broken hearts. [[spoiler:This comes to a head multiple times in the finale, with Sora's attachments to his friends putting him at a simultaneous advantage and disadvantage; connections lend him great power, but make him emotionally vulnerable, and this is almost his undoing.]] |
| 249 | ** Sacrifice. Most of the Disney world plots boil down to someone being saved at tremendous cost: Olympus calls back to ''II'', where Hercules risked his life in a pit of souls to save Meg; in Toy Box, Woody and friends are unable to return home for the time being, but accept this since it means they can still see Sora, with the implication that once they are reunited with Andy, they won't be able to anymore; in Corona, Eugene gives up his chance at life to save Rapunzel from a lifetime as Gothel's hostage; in Arendelle, Anna protects Elsa from Hans by jumping in front of his sword; in the Caribbean, Will only holds onto life by linking with the ''Flying Dutchman'', meaning he can only make shore once every ten years; in San Fransokyo, the level nearly as a BittersweetEnding when Hiro is forced to destroy the heart of the original Baymax after liberating him from darkness. Near the finale, [[spoiler:Sora is able to avert the deaths of all the heroes, then Kairi, by abusing his power of waking, sentencing him to death in their stead. And the only reason Sora ''could'' save everyone was because of Riku's own sacrifice against the Demon Tide [[InspirationalMartyr giving him the motivation not to give up.]]]] |
| 250 | * ChallengeRun: PRO Code Mode allows you to make things even harder on yourself by making rules, earning points for defeating certain bosses in the process. |
| 251 | ** Your entire party's stats stay as they are, regardless of level. |
| 252 | ** Your entire party's defense is set to 0, but Defense boosts are still allowed. |
| 253 | ** Your entire party's HP and MP automatically decreases over time. |
| 254 | ** You can't use Shotlock, Cures, Battle Items, or Kupo Coins. |
| 255 | ** You can't use Formchange, Team Attacks, Attractions, or Links. |
| 256 | ** You have a limit of 30 abilities you can place on Sora. |
| 257 | * ChekhovsGun: |
| 258 | ** The mysterious city where Young Xehanort and Eraqus play chess is Scala ad Caelum, [[spoiler:the site of the final battle]]. |
| 259 | ** In the Secret Ending, [[spoiler:Sora ends up in Shibuya, similar to the homeworld ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' characters mentioned coming from in ''Dream Drop Distance'', while Riku ends up in Shinjuku, the apparent setting of the game-within-the-game of ''Verum Rex'']]. |
| 260 | ** A series-wide one: Replicas were part of the story of ''Chain of Memories'' and ''358/2 Days'', but appeared absolutely nowhere else in the series. Here, they're brought up early on by Riku, and then from that point onward their importance only grows as the story progresses. |
| 261 | ** An example that's obviously a ChekhovsGun, but never gets fired in the game proper is [[spoiler:the card that Luxord hands over to Sora]], making it more of a SequelHook. |
| 262 | ** One set up in ''Birth by Sleep'' that gets its payoff here, nine years later: [[spoiler:Eraqus's heart going inside Terra upon his death]]. |
| 263 | * ChekhovsGunman: Yozora, the protagonist of the GameWithinAGame in the Toy Box, ''Verum Rex: Beat of Lead'', an AffectionateParody of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV''. [[spoiler:He is seen watching over Riku in the Secret Ending.]] |
| 264 | * ChessMotifs: |
| 265 | ** Most of the cast in the game are associated with a piece on the younger Xehanort and Eraqus's chess board: the stylized goat on the guard of No Name for Master Xehanort, the Guardian for Ansem [=SoD=], a pair of crossed swords for Xemnas, the split gear from Void Gear's keychain for Vanitas, the hourglass from his keychain for Young Xehanort, the crown from his necklace for Sora, the Heartless symbol without an X from Way to the Dawn's keychain for Riku, the classic Mickey symbol for Mickey Mouse, and so on. |
| 266 | ** In the epilogue, [[spoiler:Young Xehanort and Young Eraqus start a new chess game — and use figures based on the Foretellers: a unicorn head for Ira, a bear head for Aced, a leopard head for Gula, a snake head for Invi, a fox head for Ava, the goat on the No Name for Luxu, and the Book of Prophecies insignia for the Master of Masters]]. |
| 267 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: |
| 268 | ** The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee (Leon and his friends) don't appear throughout the game, and they aren't mentioned despite numerous cutscenes taking place in Radiant Garden. |
| 269 | ** Eeyore, Owl and Kanga do not appear in Hundred Acre Wood, though the latter is mentioned in Roo’s journal entry. |
| 270 | * ClimaxBoss: |
| 271 | ** The fight between Sora and [[spoiler:[[FallenHero Anti-Aqua]] in the Realm of Darkness]] is a major moment in the game, and is part of the culmination of a larger narrative section beginning in ''Birth by Sleep''. |
| 272 | ** Aqua vs. Vanitas in Castle Oblivion/Land of Departure. [[spoiler:This is the event that results in Ventus' awakening.]] |
| 273 | ** The battle against [[spoiler:Terra-Xehanort and Vanitas]] in the Keyblade Graveyard is this for the ''Birth by Sleep'' plotline as a whole. [[spoiler:It culminates in TheReveal of who Terra was all along and allows the Ventus-Terra-Aqua trio to finally reunite after years.]] |
| 274 | ** Vs. Saïx [[spoiler:and Xion]] is this for the ''358/2 Days'' plotline, [[spoiler:as it ends with Roxas and Xion returning to the fray and finally reuniting with Lea]]. It also explores some of Saïx's motives for his actions in that game. |
| 275 | * CoDragons: Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort serve as this to Master Xehanort during the game. Young Xehanort performs critical research needed to engineer the Seekers’ search for their last vessel, and is still responsible for the group’s time-traveling antics. Xemnas still manages the day-to-day operations of the vessels like when he led Organization XIII. Ansem is tasked with finding Ansem the Wise and a trail to the mysterious Subject X. In the Keyblade War, Ansem and Xemnas both serve as Master Xehanort’s chief generals in the field, overseeing the lesser members’ fights. Fittingly, the three are the last Seekers of Darkness faced by the Guardians of Light before the final showdown. Though, it is interesting to note that while Ansem and Xemnas are Rank II and III in the Real Organization XIII, Young Xehanort is actually the second-lowest ranking member at Rank XII. |
| 276 | * CollectionSidequest: After getting the Gummiphone, you are introduced to Lucky Emblems (i.e. Hidden Mickeys) — icons of Mickey's head that are hidden throughout the worlds. You are encouraged to search for and take pictures of them since they grant bonus items, plus finding a certain amount unlocks the secret ending. |
| 277 | * ColossusClimb: Part of the Rock Titan fight involves scaling the giant elemental so you can smack its face. |
| 278 | * CombinationAttack: |
| 279 | ** Implemented as "Team Attacks", where Sora teams up with his party members to deal flashy attacks. Unlike Limits from ''II'', they cost no MP, instead being Situation Commands generated while in combat. |
| 280 | ** In addition to their Team Attacks, Sora also has a series of "Unison" combo finishers that trigger if Donald or Goofy are nearby when his combo ends that has him teaming up with them for an attack. |
| 281 | ** During the segments where you can play as Riku, you can use a unique Situation Command called "Double Duel" where Riku and Mickey team up to attack with a devastating combo. |
| 282 | * ContinuityLockout: Discussed and averted in-universe. A lot of characters have no idea what's going on with regards to other characters and past plot events, but a comprehensive-enough recap of it all has been provided on the Gummiphone. By the finale of the game comes all the main heroes have one and are told that if they're not sure what's going on, they can look it up on their phones to figure it out. |
| 283 | * ContinuityNod: |
| 284 | ** The prologue of the Olympus world mentions how Hades was trying to manipulate [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Terra]], [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI Cloud]], and [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Auron]]. It also mentions that Sora and his friends already fought and beat some of the Titans that Hades is currently using in his coup, when they were {{Optional Boss}}es in the first game. |
| 285 | ** When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived at Olympus world, they were supposed to be at the coliseum, but arrived somewhere else. Since Sora was the one who led them, he said he was a little off, again — referring to what happened in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' when they arrived at the underworld. |
| 286 | ** Hades isn't pleased to see Maleficent and Pete again. This is due to Maleficent's plan in the original game falling apart spectacularly, and how he grew deeply annoyed by the incompetence of Pete, who works on her behalf, in ''II''. |
| 287 | ** Maleficent is on the hunt for the Master of Masters' [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX mysterious black box]] as part of her deal with Darkness. |
| 288 | ** When Marluxia encounters Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the Kingdom of Corona, none of them remember him since Naminé had wiped their memories of the events in ''Chain of Memories''. Similarly, they don't remember Larxene upon meeting her in Arendelle. |
| 289 | ** When Donald mentions protecting world order, Sora thinks he said "border", just like Goofy did in the original game. |
| 290 | ** When Buzz is dismissing everything Sora is saying as nonsense, Woody reminds Buzz of when ''he'' believed he was an actual space ranger. He also references when he was strapped to a rocket when they have to climb the floors of the store. |
| 291 | ** The sign for the yard sale that Andy's mom had and the toolbox where she locked away Woody in ''Toy Story 2'' can be seen in the back of the house. |
| 292 | ** Luxord once again uses "parlay" in order to prevent Sora and his friends from attacking him during negotiations in [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean the Caribbean]]. |
| 293 | ** While riding the Gummi Ship near the Caribbean, you can find the wreckage of the Pirate Ship Heartless that was a boss fight in the Gummi Ship mission to reach Olympus Coliseum in ''II''. |
| 294 | ** Sora brings up Data Sora's gratitude to Naminé during his meeting with her in the Final World. He says that it doesn't count, so he he will thank her properly. |
| 295 | ** When Naminé was talking to Sora, she mentioned that when she shifted through Sora’s memories she talked to Terra — referencing their conversation from the first breath concert, that led Terra to Aqua in the realm of darkness in 0.2. |
| 296 | ** During the final battle against Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort, they bring back familiar taunts from past games: Ansem says "all begins and ends in darkness", recalling his monologue from End of the World, while Xemnas says "anger and hatred reign supreme", paraphrasing his quote from before the final round of his boss fight in ''II''. |
| 297 | * ContinuitySnarl: |
| 298 | ** The Olympus plot retains lines from the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' movie about Hades having planned his coup for eighteen years, implying that Hercules is eighteen years old in this game. However, he was already a teenager when he appeared in ''Birth by Sleep'', which took place about eleven years before ''III''. |
| 299 | * CookingMechanics: Sora becomes an amateur chef after encountering [[WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}} Remy]]'s dining establishment in Twilight Town. [[https://www.powerpyx.com/kingdom-hearts-3-all-cooking-recipes-list/ Recipes]] are classified between starters, soups, fish, meats, and desserts, and boost the party's stats based on how well the player plays each dish's respective cooking minigame. There's also a [[SetBonus Full Course Bonus]] for consuming one dish from each dish category for a meal, which provides additional buffs based on how many "Excellent" quality dishes were consumed. |
| 300 | * TheCorrupter: |
| 301 | ** Continuing his role from ''Dream Drop Distance'', Xemnas urges Sora to give in to the darkness in order to bring Roxas back into existence. |
| 302 | * CosmicChessGame: The entire game is portrayed in the FramingDevice as a game of magical VariantChess between a young Eraqus and Xehanort. |
| 303 | * CosmicDeadline: The first 75% of the game is mostly spent on Disney world plots; there are several intermittent cutscenes addressing overarching plot concerns (e.g. Sora's quest for the Power of Waking, Riku and Mickey's search for Aqua, Kairi and Lea training), but these only make up a fragment of the running time. Ironically, the OriginalGeneration worlds, where the plot occurs, are abridged, impossible to visit in gameplay, or cut entirely; additionally, the few interactions Sora has with the Seekers before the endgame are mostly a handful of lines full of ArcWords and little else. Complete all nine main Disney worlds[[note]][[Franchise/WinnieThePooh 100 Acre Woods]], as always, is optional[[/note]] (well over 15 hours into the game) and suddenly [[spoiler:you're in the Realm of Darkness fighting Anti-Aqua, Ventus is recovered, Sora and Kairi sort of hook up, the Seekers of Darkness are defeated, the Sea Salt and Wayfinder Trios are reunited, Master Xehanort shatters Kairi and is defeated, and Sora sacrifices himself to save her]], all in a 5-hour period where the plot suddenly moves at breakneck speed. |
| 304 | * CounterAttack: In addition to the usual Reprisal Abilities, the Counter Shield and Frying Pan Formchanges have the ability to stock power if they block an attack, up to two times. Using the Attack Command while you have stocked power unleashes a powerful counter move. |
| 305 | * CoverInnocentEyesAndEars: When Sulley scares [[spoiler: Vanitas]], Boo is covering her eyes while Mike is covering her ears, possibly to avoid what happened [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1 last time]] Boo witnessed Sulley scaring someone. |
| 306 | * CoversAlwaysLie: The game does not feature Darkling Heartless, despite what the cover shows. |
| 307 | * CrapsaccharineWorld: The Radiant Garden in the past from Saïx's Secret Report sounds like this: |
| 308 | -->''That castle was a wonderland to us children. Within its walls, Ansem the Wise conducted his research, and the fruits it bore allowed everyone outside to live in peace and happiness. That alone was enough to stoke our interest, though not all of the rumors that escaped its walls were so benevolent. There was a talk of dangerous human experimentation. Lea and I couldn't help but hatch a plot to steal inside and sate our curiosity.'' |
| 309 | * CreepyChild: As per usual with Xehanort, his younger self behaves like this in his flashbacks with Young Eraqus playing chess. [[spoiler:This is actually ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]; later flashback scenes with the two ultimately portray him as a dork, a ''[[UsedToBeASweetKid far]]'' cry from the sociopathic time-traveling version of Young Xehanort (not to mention all of his future selves) we actually encounter throughout the series in-game. He is genuine friends with Eraqus, and this is long before he becomes a FallenHero.]] |
| 310 | * CreepyDoll: Angelic Amber, a large doll in ElegantGothicLolita fashion, is a boss in the Toy Box. She has a creepy, unblinking expression and doesn't speak in stark contrast to the friendly toys, and moves with MarionetteMotion. |
| 311 | * CrutchCharacter: Attractions are the game mechanic version of this in much the same way using Flowmotion as an offensive tool was in ''3D''. Between early and midgame, Attractions are basically a route to free damage and decimating everything in the area, as they are completely unmatched in strength and coverage when compared to what you're capable of at that point. Once you break through midgame, Attractions suffer PowerCreep and become relatively slow and clunky for the damage they give compared to conventional combat. |
| 312 | * CryIntoChest: [[spoiler:Xion and Roxas]] break down crying into [[spoiler:Lea's]] chest after a taxing boss battle; [[spoiler:they weren't expecting to ever see each other, and Lea had even had his memories of Xion entirely erased]]. Hard to blame them after all that they went through. |
| 313 | * CuteSlimeMook: The Flantastic Seven. |
| 314 | * CutsceneIncompetence: The Seekers of Darkness gets hit with this surprisingly often: |
| 315 | ** Vanitas, a being of pure darkness who is powered up by negative emotions like fear, gets scared by Sulley and drops his weapon, who proceeds to overwhelm and throw him into one of the door portals, then throwing said portal into another portal and so on until he and Mike decide to grind the last one down. Vanitas could've easily gotten back through the Corridors of Darkness, but he decided not to return. |
| 316 | ** Luxord's plans are foiled by [[spoiler:Jack's bad breath, causing him to fall overboard from the stench]]. |
| 317 | ** Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, can't get arsed to [[spoiler:kick Pence's ass with dark magic or his Guardian, so he just stands there stuttering and telling the boy to get lost, allowing Olette to sneak up on him and take Ansem the Wise away from his clutches. At the very least, he manages to stop Hayner's drop kick]]. |
| 318 | ** The heroes suffer through this a lot as well. [[spoiler:Aqua thinks that she can take Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, in the Realm of Darkness without magic or her Keyblade, for rather unclear reasons. Then there's the part in the Land of Departure where she tries to protect Ven from Vanitas' attack by TakingTheBullet, instead of using Reflect or some other form of defensive magic, like the barrier she conjures herself to fight Vanitas within]]. |
| 319 | ** The whole cutscene at the Keyblade Graveyard against Terra-Xehanort is a massive case of this. [[spoiler:All the Guardians of Light are hit hard by TheWorfEffect, as an enemy that Aqua alone was able to keep up with makes short work of them. Lea and Ventus are thrown around like ragdolls and knocked out in one hit, Aqua spends a full five seconds processing what happened to Ventus and doesn't even attempt to attack Terra-Xehanort when he's showing his back to her, Kairi watches helplessly as a Keyblade descends upon her, and Sora decides to hug her into an attempt to take the bullet instead of pulling both himself and her out of danger, all while Mickey and Riku just uselessly stand around watching. It really says something that ''Donald and Goofy'' are the most proactive characters in this sequence, both managing to subvert this into CutscenePowerToTheMax.]] |
| 320 | ** Kairi keeps suffering from this later. [[spoiler:Xemnas is able to easily incapacitate and capture her by just holding onto her StandardFemaleGrabArea, which is rather ridiculous considering Kairi is now a Keyblade wielder and was able to struggle more when she got herself captured in the same manner by Axel in ''II''.]] |
| 321 | * CutscenePowerToTheMax: |
| 322 | ** Sora and Riku use their Nightmare's End/Mirage Split Reality Shift CombinationAttack from ''Dream Drop Distance'' to destroy a Demon Tower. This is the only instance of Reality Shifts being used at any point in the game. |
| 323 | ** Donald and Goofy at the Keyblade Graveyard. [[spoiler:Goofy is successfully able to block one of Terra-Xehanort's Keyblade swings, something Lea was unable to do since he was just completely overpowered by Terra's alter-ego when he attempted to block him. And then we have Donald pulling a never-before-seen ultimate magic spell (specifically, Zettaflare) that just flat out ''annihilates'' Terra-Xehanort in one go, even if at the expense of his stamina.]] |
| 324 | ** While in Arendelle, Larxene [[spoiler:displays the ability to build a dungeon out of ice with her lightning as well as control wind, and at one point even briefly ''stops time'' so she can monologue to Sora, abilities she's never shown having in previous games or in her boss fight later on]]. |
| 325 | ** Marluxia pulls a convenient power from his ass while in the Kingdom of Corona too, not unlike Larxene. [[spoiler:He is able to easily put Sora and his friends into sleep with a wave of his hand. This is never used again outside this particular cutscene.]] |
| 326 | * DamnYouMuscleMemory: |
| 327 | ** Certain formchanges change how your magic works. Some, like the Quick Claws, turn all spells into area-of-effect attacks surrounding Sora's body, similar to Fire in ''Kingdom Hearts II''. Unless you remember which forms have this effect on magic, it's very possible that you might find yourself intending to shoot Fire at a distant enemy only to set Sora's immediate surroundings ablaze. |
| 328 | ** Second Form, the Kingdom Key’s formchange, grants players access to two series-staple moves, Sonic Blade and Ars Arcanum, as finishers. As they have before, these moves require timed button inputs to use fully. But, while in older games the input was triangle, here it’s X, meaning series veterans may find themselves accidentally cancelling those moves as soon as they begin. |
| 329 | ** When you play as somebody other than Sora, their stats and abilities are preset... including their shortcuts. You have Blizzaga assigned to that? Sorry, you just wasted a Curaga, which was replaced with an Ether. |
| 330 | * DangerousForbiddenTechnique: |
| 331 | ** While the Power of Waking in and of itself is not implicitly dangerous, Young Xehanort repeatedly warns Sora that overuse of the power can have potentially disastrous consequences for him. [[spoiler:This is exactly what happens to Sora in the ending, where Sora uses the Power of Waking to bring back Kairi, but seemingly disappears as a result.]] |
| 332 | ** Donald [[spoiler:obliterates Terra-Xehanort with ''Zettaflare'']] in the Keyblade Graveyard. The effort knocks him out cold, which is a ''bad'' thing considering the circumstances. Goofy ''did'' try to stop him... |
| 333 | * DarkerAndEdgier: The game is overall more solemn in tone than its predecessors due to the main focus being saving lost hearts and preventing an apocalypse at Xehanort's hands. This also extends to the Disney worlds, as many of them adapt the darker moments from their source material, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy having to bear witness to the [[DisneyDeath Disney Deaths]] of [[spoiler:Eugene, Anna, and Will Turner]], and learn of the fate of Tadashi. And as noted above, the {{Central Theme}}s of the game revolve around heartbreak and sacrifice. |
| 334 | * DarkestHour: The first visit to Keyblade Graveyard. ''Everyone'' is defeated by Terra-Xehanort, who then summons an army of Heartless and Nobodies to obliterate the group. Sora himself is on the brink of death; he only survives because Kairi is barely holding him back. Notably, Sora, the eternal optimist, is reduced to [[HeroicBSOD a broken, sobbing mess]]. |
| 335 | * DeagedInDeath: [[spoiler:After the spirit of Master Eraqus convinces Master Xehanort to surrender and accept defeat, the two Keyblade Masters]] reconcile their friendship as their spirits take on the appearance of their childhood selves before passing on to the afterlife. |
| 336 | * DeconReconSwitch: After constantly having ThePowerOfFriendship as a big theme, this game tears Sora's reliance on it apart during the climax. Xigbar remarks that Sora attributes ''too'' much of his strength to his friends, and during the first visit to [[spoiler:the Keyblade Graveyard]], he's proven right; [[spoiler:when all of his friends are seemingly killed by a Heartless swarm, Sora [[HeroicBSOD breaks down]] ''[[HeroicBSOD hard]]'', sobbing that since all of his strength came from his friends, he's worthless on his own]]. That being said, the story immediately and quite effectively manages to bring things full-circle back by having [[spoiler:Sora, through the connections he's forged for so long and deeply, [[HesBack quickly bounce back from his breakdown]] in order to rescue his friends from what seemed to be certain death, before returning back in time with everyone [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong in order to make things right]]]]. This {{Reconstruction}} shines the most in the FinalBattle, where [[spoiler:even though Master Xehanort succeeds in obtaining the [[InfinityPlusOneSword χ-Blade]], the key to Kingdom Hearts itself, he still gets overpowered by the strength of the bonds of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.]] |
| 337 | * DeliberatelyMonochrome: Using Classic Tone's Shotlock or its Finish Command after Formchange places a monochrome visual filter over the screen not unlike Timeless River in ''II''. |
| 338 | * DegradedBoss: |
| 339 | ** Played with in the BossRush at the Keyblade Graveyard against all of Organization XIII. Nearly every member uses all of the exact same attacks from their last appearance, but Sora's vastly increased mobility and air control, combined with much larger arenas to let him make use of said mobility, makes evading their old attacks almost comically easy. As a result, Sora fights them two or three at a time just so they'll pose ''some'' challenge. |
| 340 | ** It's also inverted with some of the Nobodies such as the Sorcerer, which were EliteMooks but {{Mooks}} nonetheless in ''II''. Here they're upgraded to boss status in several of the postgame Battlegates. |
| 341 | * DemonicPossession: |
| 342 | ** The Marionette Heartless can possess nearby toys to attack the heroes; when a toy is being possessed, the Heartless insignia appears somewhere on its body. The toys themselves are not classified as Heartless, however. [[spoiler:One Marionette sneaks up on Buzz and manages to possess him by exploiting the doubt and fear festering in his heart.]] |
| 343 | ** [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 Baymax]]'s original body that was lost in the other dimension has been taken over by the Heartless, along with all the microbots, [[RedRightHand which replace his missing arm]]. [[spoiler:Eventually, it is excised and the city gets two Baymax to defend it.]] |
| 344 | * DemotedToDragon: Ansem and Xemnas, the main antagonists of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI I]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII II]]'' respectively, have been serving as CoDragons to Master Xehanort since ''Dream Drop Distance'', and continue in this role alongside Young Xehanort. |
| 345 | * DemotedToExtra: |
| 346 | ** Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed that characters from ''Final Fantasy'' and other Square Enix franchise won't play as large a role in the plot as they did in other games. This is because the concept of a video game crossover is [[UniquenessDecay no longer as novel as it was in 2002]] and because the original characters and story of the series have become popular and developed enough to stand on their own without needing ''Final Fantasy'' to support it. He has later mentioned that if support by fans for it is strong enough, he will make sure to include it in future games. |
| 347 | ** This becomes the fate of Naminé, who only has a few speaking lines and doesn't return as herself until the very end of the game. |
| 348 | ** Anna and Elsa, the main characters in ''Frozen'', only appear to interact with Sora exactly once before they are relegated as background characters as the plot goes on like the movie without Sora's further input. |
| 349 | ** Hans, the villain of ''Frozen'', only makes a few minor appearances in Arendelle with no speaking lines. |
| 350 | ** Since Olympus shifts the focus away from the usual TournamentArc to a loose adaptation of the climax of the original film, Phil only appears in a brief, non-speaking appearance. Likewise Hermes only makes a brief appearance in a cutscene compared to his larger role in the film. |
| 351 | ** Lord Cutler Beckett, who was the main villain of most of the original ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' trilogy, has little presence despite having the same role in the story. More focus is given to Luxord as the ArcVillain of the world, with Davy Jones serving as the boss. Beckett is still defeated and acknowledged as the mastermind who is holding the leash on Jones, however. |
| 352 | ** Since most of The Caribbean focuses on Sora having fun pirate adventures at sea (deliberately enforced by [[spoiler:Calypso]]), Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and Gibbs all suffer reduced roles despite still getting most of their main scenes from the movie. |
| 353 | ** Neither Dilan nor Aeleus (the human forms of Xaldin and Lexaeus) have any spoken dialogue in the game, and appear in only a handful of cutscenes between them — a sharp contrast to the other previous members of the former Organization XIII, who all play a major role in the story of this game. |
| 354 | ** Twilight Town in all of its previous appearances was given significant background and serves as a major setting due to how interwoven the location is with Roxas' story. In this game, the explorable region of the world has been scaled back to just the downtown region, a new AbsurdlySpaciousSewer, and the region outside the Old Mansion. You are only required to visit the locale for 30 minutes, after which you never have to go back ever again. |
| 355 | ** Radiant Garden after having been a explorable world and a pivotal location in a number of the previous games, only shows up in the cutscences. |
| 356 | ** The entirety of 100 Acre Wood as well, compared to the previous main, numbered ''Kingdom Hearts'' titles. Once unlocked, the entirety of its story consists of helping Rabbit harvest plants in a few varieties of the same minigame, and talking about how Sora was starting to fade from Pooh's heart due to his absence. The entire world can be completed in around a half hour or so, counting the cutscenes. This is outright discussed in the game since Sora seems less interested in spending time in the book after he learns that Pooh and friends are not in any danger, and later observes that his connection to Pooh has significantly weakened. It's confirmed that Sora even disappeared from Pooh's heart due to having briefly fallen to darkness. Merlin subverts this trope, however, noting that even if friendships weaken, they can always be rebuilt. |
| 357 | ** Ability-wise, Strike Raid is this, compared to all of Sora's other prominent moves from previous games that can be pulled off. Barring Formchange moves that are Raid-like in execution, the only Strike Raid-type attack Sora can do his base or Second Forms is the Payback Raid-like move during one of his Risk Dodges. |
| 358 | * DesignatedGirlFight: [[spoiler:Kairi vs. Xion]] in the Keyblade Graveyard. Their movesets are somewhat similar too, but the enemy is capable of mimicking Saïx's weapon and moves as well. |
| 359 | * DesperationAttack: Rage Form functions this way. It only appears when Sora takes massive damage in a short amount of time, and while it completely heals him when activated, it requires Sora [[CastFromHitPoints cutting his health in half]] to power it up. |
| 360 | * DeusExMachina: After being overpowered multiple times by legions of Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed in the Keyblade Graveyard, [[spoiler:Master Yen Sid]] appears and creates an opening for the heroes to escape. |
| 361 | * DevelopersForesight: |
| 362 | ** The GameOver screen only shows a floating heart if the enemy that dealt the final blow was a Heartless, as only they have the power to remove hearts. |
| 363 | ** [[spoiler:During Xion's time as a Real Organization member, the developers actually went the extra mile and added Xehanort's golden eyes to her character model. Even though she's completely hooded and her face is heavily dimmed, so most players wouldn't even notice.]] |
| 364 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Compared to previous games, some of the exclusive Disney party members are allowed a few hits in with the game's BigBadEnsemble. |
| 365 | ** Sully sneaks up on and scares Vanitas, then manages to grab and subdue him. He and Mike then proceed to [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill throw him through a door, then throw that door through another door, then throw that door through another door, then throw that door through another door,]] and finally shred the last door. |
| 366 | ** When Luxord tries to call out parley when Jack Sparrow corners him on the Flying Dutchman, Jack interrupts him before he could. He then proceeds to carefully lead him against the side of the ship as they talk, and then repulses him with his bad breath to the point that Luxord falls backwards into the ocean. Jack then remarks that he has tried this trick before and it has always worked. |
| 367 | * DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: The ringtone for the Gummiphone is Sora's own leitmotif. |
| 368 | * DiscOneFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:The Keyblade Graveyard, which is indeed the site of the clash between the Guardians of Light and the Seekers of Darkness to forge the χ-blade, but the final battle against Xehanort takes place elsewhere.]] |
| 369 | * DiscOneNuke: |
| 370 | ** The {{Version Exclusive|Content}} Keyblades, each of which grant a 25% damage bonus in a specific Spell Element and that Spell's fourth-tier Spell as a Grand Magic Situation Command. Because you can start the game with these Keyblades, you can trivialize early-game fights by having access to a Magic tier far greater than you are meant to have access to at that point in the game. The Keyblades exclusive to the PC and Switch versions have the Magic Roulette ability, which potentially gives Sora access to ''every fourth-tier spell'' in the game. |
| 371 | ** In similar fashion, you can pick up the Water Cufflink from Olympus, the ''first'' world of the game, within less than an hour or two of starting the game. The Water Cufflink upgrades your Water spell's Grand Magic to '''Waterza''' even if you don't have access to it by normal means, a gigantic [=AoE=] spell that will easily one-shot most enemies early on. Other versions of this accessory are available remarkably early as well, such as the Aero Cufflink from the Kingdom of Corona. |
| 372 | ** Special Gummi Blueprints (not the ones that you can buy from Huey) are generally much better than anything you can build yourself until endgame, since they are usable even if they are over Cost limit and don't even require you to have the correct blocks to build them. Custom Blueprints can only begin to compete with endgame Special Blueprints at around close to max level, when your Cost reaches a high enough point to give you lots of wiggle room for customization. |
| 373 | * DisneyDeath: |
| 374 | ** [[spoiler:Flynn/Eugene, Anna, and Will Turner all suffer this during adaptations of their worlds' source material.]] |
| 375 | ** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] when [[spoiler:Master Xehanort shatters Kairi to complete the χ-Blade. Sora resurrects her not long after Xehanort is killed, albeit with a HeroicSacrifice on his part]]. |
| 376 | ** While not elaborated on during the Final World, [[spoiler:Xion comes back to make a brief stint as a Seeker of Darkness before joining the heroes, despite her heart being inside of Sora at the time]]. |
| 377 | * DisneyVillainDeath: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when [[spoiler:Xigbar jumps off a wall in the labyrinth]] after he is defeated for the last time. [[spoiler:The epilogue reveals that he survived the fall, no worse for wear, though he most likely teleported away, since he can manipulate space.]] |
| 378 | * DoWellButNotPerfect: |
| 379 | ** As opposed to ''Birth By Sleep'', where not getting Max Lock on a Shotlock simply produces a weaker Shotlock, Sora's Shotlocks transform into new Shotlocks if he achieves Max Lock. Some of the non-Max Shotlocks are useful in their own right (like allowing Sora to LifeDrain enemies), so it's not necessarily the superior option to get Max Lock. |
| 380 | ** Due to how Gummi Ship scoring works, it's actually more reliable to draw out the fight against [[spoiler:Schwarzgeist]] to get an A Rank as opposed to killing it as fast as possible. While your ScoreMultiplier decreases as more time passes, any Bonuses you get give flat score increases that aren't affected by the multiplier. Since this boss spawns an indefinite amount of DeflectorShields periodically until it dies, the "easiest" route for an A Rank is to simply wait out the boss and shoot its shield units until you hit the requisite 1,000,000 points for the A Rank. |
| 381 | * DoubleMeaning: Xigbar's last words after Sora and Riku defeat him in the Keyblade Graveyard, in light of what is revealed in the Secret Reports and the Epilogue. |
| 382 | -->'''Xigbar:''' Figures. If I had a Keyblade, it'd be different...\ |
| 383 | '''Sora:''' Like ''you're'' actually worthy to use one.\ |
| 384 | '''Xigbar:''' Oh, I ''am'' worthy.\ |
| 385 | '''Sora:''' Whaddaya mean?\ |
| 386 | '''Xigbar:''' The old coot promised to bequeath me his. Why else do you think I would ever put up with all this nonsense?\ |
| 387 | '''Riku:''' It'd be wasted on you.\ |
| 388 | '''Xigbar:''' As if. |
| 389 | * DownloadableContent: |
| 390 | ** Playing enough Classic Kingdom in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'' grants a code to acquire [[LightEmUp Starlight]] (the default Keyblade in χ) at the start of the game. Starlight is normally not obtained until towards the end of the game. It gave Second Form S and MP Haste. |
| 391 | ** The epilogue and the secret movies are not on the initial electronic downloads or the Blu-ray disc physical releases, and are intentionally only provided as downloadable patches to prevent spoilers from leaking out in case someone stole some discs ([[ProperlyParanoid which actually happened]]). |
| 392 | ** A free update added the Critical Mode difficulty and a NewGamePlus option that carries over your Keyblades, selfie poses, and certain items. |
| 393 | ** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIIIReMind'' is a full expansion along the lines of ''Final Mix'', with new story content unlocked after completing the base game, followed by a Limitcut Episode and Secret Episode with that feature a combined total of 14 {{Superboss}}es. A free simultaneous update also allows players to acquire the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades. See the main page for the expansion [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIIIReMind here]]. |
| 394 | * DragonWithAnAgenda: Xigbar, who [[spoiler:turns out to be Luxu, the sixth apprentice of The Master of Masters, and the entire story of all the games thus far has been him pulling the strings and completing his assigned role]]. [[spoiler:And he hasn't even opened the box yet.]] |
| 395 | * DualBoss: The battles against the Organization in the Keyblade Graveyard consist of two or three members facing Sora and one or two other Guardians of Light, all at once. There are actually two sets where you are allowed to choose one of two different {{Boss Battle}}s to tackle first, leaving the other to deal with right after. |
| 396 | ** The first round consists of either Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene or Xigbar and Dark Riku. |
| 397 | ** Round two pits you against either Saïx and [[spoiler:Xion]] or Terra-Xehanort and Vanitas. |
| 398 | ** Finally, the final fight before Master Xehanort himself has you face off against the most prominent incarnations of the BigBad — Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort. |
| 399 | * DualWielding: |
| 400 | ** Several formchanges split the Keyblade in two, giving Sora more coverage and longer combo strings. |
| 401 | ** If Sora is in Light Form (with Oathkeeper) or Dark Form (with Oblivion), he can upgrade to a second Formchange called Double Form (Double Form OKP/Double Form OBV depending on the weapon), which allows him to dual wield Oathkeeper and Oblivion simultaneously a la Roxas. |
| 402 | * DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:Terra, Aqua, and Ventus pay their respects at Eraqus's grave in the ending.]] |
| 403 | * DubInducedPlothole: Japanese dialogue clarifies that [[spoiler:Master Xehanort's goal was not to create a world of only light as implied by the English dialogue, but rather an empty, blank slate world where [[KnightTemplar he would rule with an iron fist so that no one would be free to use darkness and thus be corrupted by it]]. It doesn't quite avert MotiveDecay (as he seemingly still hates darkness despite hypocritically using its corruptive powers everywhere), but it's slightly more in-line with Xehanort's villainy, since it paints him as a misguided tyrant instead of just misguided]]. |
| 404 | [[/folder]] |
| 405 | |
| 406 | [[folder:Tropes E-H]] |
| 407 | * EarlyBirdCameo: |
| 408 | ** Meta-level. The Demon Tide appeared in the target render reveal trailer before being officially introduced in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage 0.2]]''. |
| 409 | ** Another meta-level example: In Galaxy Toys, you can come across the Battlesaurs toyline, meaning Woody, Buzz, and Rex encounter them years before they would officially meet them in the original canon timeline in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStoryThatTimeForgot''. |
| 410 | * EasilyForgiven: |
| 411 | ** Marluxia and Larxene, despite having openly rebelled against Xemnas during the time of the original Organization, are brought back as members of the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. When Larxene ponders this trope, Marluxia grimly points out that this trope is being Subverted; Master Xehanort doesn't care that they betrayed Xemnas because he doesn't view them as ''people'', just more vessels for his heart that he needs for the Keyblade War. They're not back to be members of another Organization, they're there as glorified sacrifices. |
| 412 | ** [[spoiler:After his lengthy history of causing [[FateWorseThanDeath Fates Worse than Death]] and invoking KickTheDog (even reacting to it with ButForMeItWasTuesday in ''Dream Drop Distance''), Master Xehanort's final fate is being EasilyForgiven and getting to GoIntoTheLight with Eraqus — just for turning out to subvert NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist after all.]] Subsequent games, however, would make it clear that this trope is being actively defied by everyone not named [[spoiler:Eraqus]]. |
| 413 | * EasyModeMockery: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Unlike previous series entries, you can see the secret ending if playing on Beginner Mode. However, the requirements are still the steepest on Beginner Mode since you have to find all 90 Lucky Emblems. Patch 1.0.9 adds a stronger example, as beating the game on Critical Mode is required to earn the Oblivion Keyblade, but it can be carried over to any other difficulty on NewGamePlus. |
| 414 | * EasterEgg: |
| 415 | ** The Pizza Planet delivery van can be seen in the Galaxy Toys parking lot if you return to the entrance of the area. The van is not normally visible upon entering the area otherwise. |
| 416 | ** [[spoiler:If you challenge Schwarzgeist while using the Endymion Gummi Ship Blueprint, the original version of "Thermosphere" from ''{{VideoGame/Einhander}}'' plays instead of the new arranged version of the theme.]] |
| 417 | * EdibleAmmunition: Hunny Spout's formchanges — Hunny Blasters and Hunny Launcher — fire globs of honey as ammunition. |
| 418 | * EffortlessAchievement: The achievement "A New Journey" is obtained just by booting up the game and letting the first cutscene play. |
| 419 | * ElegantGothicLolita: Angelic Amber, a Heartless-possessed doll that Sora and co. fight in the Toy Box level. |
| 420 | * ElementalEmbodiment: The Links for Ariel, Simba, and Stitch take the form of elemental avatars. [[FireIceLightning Ariel has an aquatic avatar, while Simba has a fire avatar and Stitch a lightning one.]] |
| 421 | * ElementalPowers: A series staple. Unlike previous main entries, most elemental spells take similar base forms to one another, but adapt their form dependent on the formchange being used. Casting spells during a dual pistol or yo-yo transformation will cause Sora to volley multiple elemental bullets at once; casting during a launcher or spear transformation will fire one large explosive missile; casting during a hammer or claw transformation will cause the spells to become point-blank orbital attacks (similar to ''[=KH2=]''[='=]s Fire). |
| 422 | ** As in ''[=KH1=]'', [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] lobs a projectile that homes on the target and detonates on contact with an enemy, burning nearby foes as well. Fire spells also have the lowest MP cost of each spell rank and the fastest cast-times in Sora's arsenal, making them effective for chain-casting to reach their Grand Magic equivalents, but have some of the smallest area-effect as a result, making them a better choice against single (or tightly-grouped) enemies. These spells tend to be [[ElementalRockPaperScissors stronger]] against plants and ice- or water-elemental enemies, like Reapers, Winterhorns, and Water Cores. When cast underwater, Sea-Fire will shoot a projectile of flames and steam that will punch through enemies while retaining homing on the locked target. |
| 423 | ** A first for the series, [[MakingASplash Water]] briefly surrounds Sora with a liquid [[DeflectorShields barrier]], akin to previous games' [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI Aero]] or [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Reflect]] magic, which gives Sora brief damage immunity and stuns nearby enemies before condensing into a projectile that splashes down on the target. The barrier effect from Water can be used to "[[AntiDebuff cleanse]]" some delayed-damage effects targeting the caster. By contrast to Fire, which is obtained at the same time, Water's two-stage effect gives it the longest cast time of Sora's spells, but it is still a functional DiscOneNuke in close-quarters combat. These spells tend to be [[ElementalRockPaperScissors stronger]] against fire elemental enemies, such as Vermilion Sambas. Unlike other elements, Water magic cannot be selected while underwater and has no Sea equivalent. |
| 424 | ** [[AnIcePerson Blizzard]] fires a projectile that [[HarmlessFreezing freezes the target in place]], expands on impact to [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impale]] nearby enemies, and if cast near the ground, freezes the ground it passes over so Sora can [[GrindBoots rail-grind]] towards its destination using Flowmotion to close the gap. These spells tend to be [[ElementalRockPaperScissors stronger]] against fire- and wind-elemental enemies, like Fire Cores and Malachite Boleros. Cast underwater, Sea-Blizzard will instead form massive icicles in a point-blank cone akin to its ''[=KH1=]'' iteration. |
| 425 | ** [[ShockAndAwe Thunder]] calls down a lightning storm over the target, shocking all enemies near it and giving all affected [[ChainLightning an electrical charge that can zap other enemies they pass]]. Thunder has the largest area-effect in Sora's arsenal, making it exceptional for crowd-clearing. It's also one of the only spells with instantaneous transmission, making it effective for [[{{Counterspell}} interrupting]] some enemy attacks at a distance. These spells tend to be [[ElementalRockPaperScissors stronger]] against water-elemental enemies like Marine Rumbas. Cast underwater, Sea-Thunder will fire a slow bubble of contained plasma that [[ElectrifiedBathtub explodes in a massive radius]] on contact with a surface. |
| 426 | ** [[BlowYouAway Aero]] instantly summons a cyclone around the target, [[WeaponsThatSuck vacuuming nearby enemies in]] and sending them skyward to set up for an aerial combo, akin to ''[=KH2=]'''s Magnet series albeit at a much shorter duration. The cyclone will also create a [[SpringJump jump pad]] that sets Sora up for aerial Flowmotion. These spells tend to be [[ElementalRockPaperScissors stronger]] against plants and electrical enemies, like Chief Puffs and Gold Beats. Sea-Aero will instead create a persisting vortex when cast underwater that repeatedly slashes at enemies in its radius. |
| 427 | ** [[HealingHands Cure]] is a {{Nerf}}ed version of its iteration from ''II'', once again consuming all MP to heal allies near you, growing in radius with rank, but this time the amount of healing is dependent on the amount of MP consumed. Its effects go unchanged underwater and regardless of what form Sora casts it in. Since Cure spells consume all MP and don't deal any damage, it ends attack chains if chained into and it can't build the situation gauge to unleash Grand Magic; however, the Curaza situation command ''can'' be randomly rewarded as a Full Course Meal bonus made entirely of 3-star dishes, which fully heals nearby party members at zero MP cost and the Cure Converter ability lets it build formchange commands. |
| 428 | * ElementalWeapon: The Keyblade obtained in Arendelle is made of ice. |
| 429 | * EmpathicEnvironment: |
| 430 | ** As with the movie, when Eugene is catching up to Rapunzel, who has been bound and gagged by Mother Gothel, the sky suddenly turns cloudy. It goes back to sunny after Rapunzel resurrects Eugene. |
| 431 | ** The day moves fast as Sora progresses through the Keyblade Graveyard assisting the other Guardians fight the Seekers. During the fight against Dark Riku, Xigbar, Luxord, Larxene, and Marluxia, it's still midday. When Sora is about to enter the section with Terra-Xehanort, Vanitas, and Saïx, it's suddenly twilight. Finally, once Sora defeats all of them and opens the way to Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort, nighttime begins. Sora even lampshades this: |
| 432 | ---> '''Sora:''' It's night already? |
| 433 | * EndgamePlus: As per the norm of more recent titles, saving the game after defeating the final boss puts you right outside the final boss fight. This time, reaching this stage unlocks 14 Battlegates across each of the nine worlds, which are instanced MultiMookMelee battles where you fight significantly powered-up enemies, including enemy varieties that aren't encountered normally such as certain types of Nobodies that were present in ''II''. The last of these Battlegates is reserved for the {{Superboss}} as well. |
| 434 | * EnemyScan: Unlike some of the previous games, Sora comes with this ability by default instead of needing to unlock it. However, Gummi Ships still need to equip a specific Gummi in order to enable this for Boss Gummi Heartless. |
| 435 | * EnergyBow: The stylechange for the Shooting Star Keyblade gives Sora his own crossbow shaped arrowguns that fire magical energy arrows. |
| 436 | ** Xigbar also has a special move where he combines his arrowguns into an energy bow. |
| 437 | * EnigmaticMinion: [[spoiler: Xigbar. As early as his first appearance in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' he's making vague comments that imply he knows more than he lets on, and then in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' we learn he's been by the BigBad Xehanort's side since the start of his evil plan and has made some sort of deal with him. Come ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' Xigbar talks about being busy with his own plans. This all comes to a head in this game, where we learn he never actually cared about Xehanort's goals. His deal was to be given Xehanort's Keyblade when everything was said and done - because it was originally ''his'' Keyblade, and Xigbar is actually an [[WhoWantsToLiveForever ancient Keyblade Master]] who serves a primordial Keyblade Master from before the events of the prequel.]] |
| 438 | * EpicShipOnShipAction: In true ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' style, Sora can control his own ship, duking it out with other ships and invading them by [[GrindBoots grinding on harpoon ropes]]. |
| 439 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Rémy is only ever referred to as "Little Chef". This is likely because no one can understand his speech aside from other rats, much like ''Rataouille'' itself. |
| 440 | * EverythingIsSmashableArea: The boss fight against the King of Toys in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' takes place in a "city" of buildings made from blocks. The tallest will tip over just from Sora running up the sides while the boss's tendency to stay low to the ground as it moves causes blocks to fly everywhere. The boss's TornadoMove even sends all the blocks flying off the edges of the battlefield, after which they reset to an intact state so they can be flung about all over again. |
| 441 | * EvilCostumeSwitch: Along with the telltale changes to her physical appearance, [[spoiler:Aqua's]] costume changes to match her corruption by the darkness: most of the material and even much of her skin is black or deep purple. Her skirt is also tattered and her hands have turned dark red, drawing parallels to Dark Riku and Vanitas's costumes. |
| 442 | * EvilIsCool: [[invoked]] In-universe, the Gigases, HumongousMecha enemies that serve as the villain faction of ''Verum Rex''. They have their own toyline and their own spin-off title, ''Verum Rex: Beat of Lead''. |
| 443 | * EvilSoundsRaspy: Vanitas' voice is much raspier than in his previous appearance, where it was "just" a deeper, colder version of Sora's. |
| 444 | * ExactWords: When revealing what is inside the box that is kept on the ''Flying Dutchman'', Jack Sparrow lets slip that the object inside is Davy Jones' heart. The ambiguity of the statement comes from the realization that the exact definition of "heart" being used refers to the literal body part and not the metaphysical form of a heart that is commonly referred to and seen in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, a fact that Vexen is visibly displeased about after Jack opens the box. |
| 445 | * ExponentialPlotDelay: Lampshaded. Just as Sora and company head off to Olympus, a title card reading "Kingdom Hearts II.9" pops up, as if this was yet another {{Interquel}}. |
| 446 | * ExpressiveHealthBar: A staple of the series, but ''III'' expands this to the entire party rather than just the PlayableCharacter. |
| 447 | * FaceRevealingTurn: This is used to reveal [[spoiler:Aqua's transformation by [[TheCorruption a darkness powered attack]]]], giving her yellow eyes and bleaching the tips of her hair from the process. |
| 448 | * FallenHero: Baymax and Aqua have been [[TheCorruptible corrupted]] [[FaceHeelTurn by darkness]]. [[spoiler:Thankfully, both of them manage to return to light.]] |
| 449 | * FictionalSocialNetwork: The loading screens appear as the heroes posting photos and hashtags in own Instargram-resembling social media with ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX''-style profile pictures. You can't make custom posts with the [[PhotoMode Gummiphone]], however. |
| 450 | * FinalBattle: This game depicts the final battle with Xehanort. |
| 451 | * FinalBossNewDimension: The Keyblade Graveyard is the setting for most of the climax, but the actual final battle takes place in [[spoiler:Scala ad Caelum]]. |
| 452 | * FinalBossPreview: Of a sort; very early in the game, Sora encounters the Demon Tide (the FinalBoss of ''0.2'') harassing Hayner, Pence, and Olette in Twilight Town, and is forced to meet it in combat. While the thing has a ''ridiculous'' amount of health bars for something encountered so early, it is repelled after roughly three health bars are depleted. The Demon Tide is later fought for real towards the end of the game. |
| 453 | * FireIceLightning: Simba, Ariel and Stitch's Link Summon [[ElementalEmbodiment avatars]], in this respective order (Ariel represents ice with water). |
| 454 | * FisherKingdom: As per usual for the series, Donald's magic changes the appearances of the main trio so they can better blend in in certain worlds. In the [[Franchise/ToyStory Toy Box]] they become LivingToys, turn into monsters in [[Franchise/MonstersInc Monstropolis]], and don pirate outfits in [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd the Caribbean]]. Downplayed in [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 San Fransokyo]], where they remain the same, but Sora obtains a visor to wear. |
| 455 | * FissionMailed: Twice in the endgame: |
| 456 | ** The first raid on the Keyblade Graveyard goes very badly. [[spoiler:''The entire party'' dies within less than ten minutes of their arrival, fulfilling the prophecy that darkness would prevail and light expire. The entire next segment of the game is about Sora dragging everyone back out of the afterlife.]] |
| 457 | ** During the final boss battle, [[spoiler:the reaction command to use the true power of the Keyblade to finish off Master Xehanort fails and Sora is struck down. You are taken to what appears to be a game over screen, but pressing buttons causes a pulse to be heard and Donald and Goofy to call out Sora's name. A new reaction command appears to allow you to use ThePowerOfFriendship to end the fight]]. |
| 458 | * FlippingTheBird: Befitting the first character to swear in the series, Lea gives Xemnas a bras d'honneur in [=ReMind=]. |
| 459 | * FoodPorn: The dishes you can create at Little Chef's (i.e., [[WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}} Rémy's]]) bistro in this game are nothing short of gorgeous. |
| 460 | * ForcedToWatch: In the outro to the [[spoiler:Terra-Xehanort]] boss fight. [[spoiler:Once Terra-Xehanort has Sora, Aqua, and Ven dangling in chains and at his mercy he goes full sadist, leaving Sora alone as he violently thrashes Aqua and Ven around, laughing and declaring how useless it is for them to try to get through to Terra. Once Aqua and Ven have gone limp and fallen silent he raises them even higher off the ground before dropping them. All Sora can do throughout is helplessly scream for him to stop as he futilely tries to reach Terra.]] |
| 461 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 462 | ** In the opening movie, Master Xehanort drops his SlasherSmile and looks at the light with [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness complete seriousness]]. This seems like Master Xehanort despising the Light [[spoiler:but it foreshadows that his real goal is the Light of Kingdom Hearts rather than Darkness.]] |
| 463 | ** There are some hints to Xigbar [[spoiler:actually being Luxu]]. |
| 464 | *** In Olympus Coliseum, Maleficent and Pete are looking for the Master of Masters' black box while Xigbar is the Seeker of Darkness assigned there. After completing that world, Xigbar watches Maleficent and Pete leave after failing to find the box. As Xigbar watches, he says [[spoiler:"May your hear—"]] before the scene cuts off what he was saying. |
| 465 | *** When Luxord says his mission was to find the black box, Larxene mentions that Xigbar brought it up. |
| 466 | *** Xigbar confidently says to Sora and Riku that he is worthy of the Keyblade, though the player, Sora, and Riku believe that he's not. |
| 467 | *** An incredibly subtle example occurs in the opening CGI cutscene that plays prior to the title screen, with Young Eraqus and Young Xehanort's CosmicChessGame. In the final overhead shot of the chess board [[note]]which is technically the ''second''-last overall shot of the chess board[[/note]], where we see the pieces from afar, the piece corresponding to Xigbar's is far off in the corner, in a trough near the raised tiles of the chess board. This foreshadows [[spoiler:both the fact that his true allegiance isn't to ''any'' of the other characters and that he's [[TheWatcher watching]] from afar with the Master of Master's Gazing Eye, as well as the fact that the last time Sora sees him in-game, he's faking his death by falling off the opposite side of a raised wall in the Keyblade Graveyard]]. |
| 468 | ** In Arendelle, Anna confides to Sora that [[IWillFindYou she has to bring Elsa home to make things right]]. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Sora leaves to find Kairi and bring her home. He succeeds, [[HeroicSacrifice but at a cost]].]] |
| 469 | ** Hiro's microbots return as a Heartless enemy loose in San Fransokyo, which means that they somehow escaped from the portal dimension. Which means that the ''first'' Baymax is also compromised… |
| 470 | ** In the ''Verum Rex'' trailer, the character Yozora is trying to either rescue or reunite with a woman (possibly a Lunafreya or Stella {{expy}}), but the two are pulled out of reach before he can make it to her. [[spoiler:The game ends with Sora and Kairi being separated again, and Sora noticing that this tends to be the pattern between them.]] |
| 471 | ** Sora notices that he has disappeared from the cover of the ''Winnie the Pooh'' book, which makes him worry that he is growing farther from Pooh's heart. This foreshadows that [[spoiler:Sora will eventually disappear from this world by sacrificing himself to save Kairi]]. |
| 472 | ** Similarly, Hercules explains that life on Olympus would be empty without the person he loves most (Meg), and Will observes that the price for his survival (one day ashore with Elizabeth, ten years at sea as the Dutchman's captain) is very steep. [[spoiler:The game ends with Sora and Kairi separated yet again.]] |
| 473 | ** In Olympus, Xigbar talks about how saving someone on your own just means someone else has to save you, and in the Keyblade Graveyard, Young Xehanort keeps warning Sora about how traversing worlds using the power of waking to reach his friends' hearts is dangerous. [[spoiler:Sora ultimately disappears after he overuses this power to save Kairi.]] |
| 474 | ** The Seekers' actions in Toy Box (experimenting on how the toys obtained hearts) and San Fransokyo (figuring out how to reconstruct a heart from data) ultimately lead to [[spoiler:them recreating Xion as one of their vessels]]. |
| 475 | ** Sora and the other protagonists are led to believe that one of the Organisation's member is [[spoiler:a time-travelling Riku, from when he was possessed by Ansem in [[VideoGames/KingdomHeartsI the original game]]. The audience will notice, however, that this Riku doesn't speak with the VoiceOfTheLegion — an early indication that he's really another replica.]] |
| 476 | ** The fact that it's ''Saïx'' who "introduces" Vexen to the Organization foreshadows [[spoiler:that they're actually working together to subvert Xehanort]]. |
| 477 | ** Maleficent's uncertain reply to Pete on Dark Riku's identity after bumping into him hints to him [[spoiler:not being Riku possessed by Ansem, but actually Riku Replica, whom she's never met.]] |
| 478 | ** The Keyblade Graveyard is filled with keyblades of the deceased, leaving them lifeless due to the hearts they were connected to being destroyed. [[spoiler:The swarm of Keyblades called by Ephemer to attack the Demon Tide reveals that not only are there still many living Keyblade Wielders somewhere, but the Foretellers' keyblades help in the attack, hinting at the Lost Masters' survival.]] |
| 479 | ** It initially makes sense to see [[GreenThumb Marluxia]] as the Seeker of Darkness associated with [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} the Kingdom of Corona]], given the lush greenery of the world. By that logic, why then is [[ShockAndAwe Larxene]] the member encountered in [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Arendelle]] rather than [[AnIcePerson Vexen]]? [[spoiler:This is because Vexen doesn't ultimately become part of the final roster of the Organization?]] |
| 480 | ** What incarnation of Xehanort will be encountered in [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 San Fransokyo]]? Early on in the world, the heroes encounter enemies that are not too dissimilar to [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded Bug Blox]]. What was the only version of Xehanort encountered in that game? Dark Riku, or at least a version of him. |
| 481 | ** Ansem [=SoD=] behaves almost comically apathetically towards Hayner's group at Twilight Town. [[spoiler:He admits after his defeat that he's emotionally exhausted after so many defeats at Sora and Riku's hands, and his heart wasn't in this attempt at all.]] |
| 482 | ** [[spoiler:When Ansem [=SoD=] and Xemnas are finally defeated for good, these monstrous villains that have tormented the heroes and the worlds for a number of games now are each given [[AlasPoorVillain sympathetic]] death scenes. This ultimately foreshadows the fact that Master Xehanort will ''also'' be given a somewhat "redemptive", sympathetic death scene.]] |
| 483 | * FreezeFrameBonus: |
| 484 | ** When Sulley throws Vanitas into door after door. Each door, except the last one which gets shredded, leads to a world that Sora, Donald, and Goofy visit in the game. The first one is Arendelle, then Kingdom of Corona, and finally San Fransokyo. |
| 485 | ** In several shots of Ansem's Computer in Radiant Garden, Tron's name can be found on the upper right corner of the screen. |
| 486 | ** The Classic Tone's max-level Shotlock has Sora turn into his [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Timeless River form]]. |
| 487 | ** [[spoiler:During the AllTheWorldsAreAStage part of the endgame, just before fighting the Lich in Monstropolis, Donald's lifeless body is in his cyclops form.]] |
| 488 | ** [[{{Blooper}} In an unintentional]] example, in the English language release of the game, the "Let It Go" sequence includes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment where the watermark from the 3D rendering software tool "Arnold" can be seen, but it's so brief that it's extremely unlikely anyone would notice with the naked eye. |
| 489 | * FriendlessnessInsult: [[Franchise/ToyStory Woody]] tells Young Xehanort -- who spent that entire chapter straining the bonds of friendship between Andy's toys by putting stress and physical distance between them in order to manipulate them as part of an experiment -- that their friendship is strong despite distance and that nobody ever loved Xehanort before. |
| 490 | * FryingPanOfDoom: |
| 491 | ** In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' world, Flynn uses a frying pan as his weapon of choice. |
| 492 | ** This is the Formchange of the unlockable Grand Chef Keyblade. |
| 493 | * FullyAbsorbedFinale: Monstropolis and San Fransokyo take place after the events of ''Monsters Inc.'', and ''Big Hero 6'', respectively, and are designed as loose sequels to them. Likewise, Toy Box is designed as a loose {{Interquel}} to the ''Toy Story'' films, taking place sometime between ''[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 2]]'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory3 3]]''. |
| 494 | * GainaxEnding: Especially when the secret ending is taken into account. [[spoiler:Master Xehanort ascends into Kingdom Hearts and Sora, Donald, and Goofy follow him and awaken in Scala ad Caelum ("Stairway to Heaven"), which is implied to be the ruins of Daybreak Town from ''Kingdom Hearts χ''[[note]]the game is also vague on if this is a world inside Kingdom Hearts, a world out there in the universe that they were sent to, or something else entirely[[/note]]. Thirteen cloaked figures wielding the weapons of Xehanort's Seekers of Darkness ambush the trio (in a boss battle that, unique for the series, has all of them sharing one HP bar) with no explanation for who or what they are. After defeating them and then facing Master Xehanort, the others make their way to the battlefield and the heart of Eraqus within Terra talks Xehanort down, and they transform into their youthful forms and fade away. Sora declares he will use the power of waking to rescue Kairi somewhere out there, and at the end of the ending, he succeeds, but fades away, apparently a consequence of misusing the power like this. The secret ending then shows him waking up in what resembles Shibuya from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''.]] |
| 495 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: |
| 496 | ** True to ''Kingdom Hearts'' tradition, the fact that Sora's [[BagOfSpilling back to level one and not packing any of those upgrades]] from ''II'' or ''Dream Drop Distance'' is explained — the events of ''Dream Drop Distance'' made him lose his strength. Thus, he sets off on his quest to regain his strength. |
| 497 | ** Riku, during the brief moments when he ''is'' playable, is [[ATasteOfPower leagues ahead of Sora]]. |
| 498 | ** Much like in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', Rapunzel's hair is cut off in the events of the Kingdom of Corona. Since she uses it as her weapon, Rapunzel is removed from the party (making her the only true GuestStarPartyMember since ''Birth by Sleep''). |
| 499 | ** The fight against [[spoiler:Luxord in the Keyblade Graveyard]] is absurdly easy, considering the context. Almost as though [[spoiler:he threw the fight as an excuse to hand over that wild card]]. |
| 500 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: |
| 501 | ** Much like in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', Flynn is at one point stabbed by Gothel and is bleeding out. At this point, Sora and Donald have access to Cure, not to mention all the potions the player could have in their inventory. |
| 502 | ** Donald and Goofy suffer from BagOfSpilling, just like Sora — this is [[LampshadeHanging pointed out, but not explained]] in one of the loading screens. |
| 503 | ** This is not particularly unusual for the world icons in the franchise, but it's one of the more [[JustForFun/{{Egregious}} egregious]] cases: Elsa's ice palace is prominently visible on the world icon even before you've reached the point in the story where she creates it. It's especially blatant when viewing it from the Gummi Ship, where it's actually a representation of the world itself rather than just being an image in a menu. |
| 504 | ** A case of this according to WordOfGod [[invoked]] states that the battles against the Seekers during the Keyblade War are much easier than they should be for the sake of letting the game be winnable for regular players. The data battles in Limitcut are said to be more accurate depictions of the foes Sora canonically went up against in the Keyblade Graveyard. |
| 505 | ** Twice with Sora's BagOfSpilling. |
| 506 | *** Since the ending of ''3D'', his heart was damaged and he's too weak to face Xehanort and his Organization at the start of this game, and numerous characters early on comment that Sora seems weaker than last time they saw him. However, his Keyblade combos are just as acrobatic as before, he's picked up how to use Shotlocks and Formchange his Keyblade (one of which lets him reuse special attacks from ''II''), he can use Flowmotion in the real world, he can use higher-tier magic as finisher commands (and with certain Keyblades can cast tier four magic, which he's never had before), ''and'' he has the new mechanic Attraction Commands. All of this is before he even returns to Yen Sid to get his new clothes. The only way in which Sora's BagOfSpilling shows is his level being reset to one and most of his abilities being lost, but in terms of his skill with the Keyblade and magic, at the start of ''III'' he's more powerful than he's ever been before. This is actually heightened by the fact that the bosses of the tutorial world are the Titans of ''Hercules''; in the days of ''Kingdom Hearts'', two of them were each powerful {{Superboss}}es, but here Sora is able to take on all four of them and win. |
| 507 | *** To make up for his loss of power and become ready to face Xehanort, part of the reason for his journey through the Disney worlds is to do some LevelGrinding and get back to his full power. However, there is no level requirement for the final worlds of course, so it doesn't matter what level Sora is or how powerful he is, the endgame is going to come at the same point in the story. This is even more egregious if you equip [[LowLevelRun EXP Zero]] to ensure Sora stays at the lowest level possible. |
| 508 | * GameplayRoulette: |
| 509 | ** Whenever Sora hijacks one of the toy mechs, the game shifts from an ActionRPG into a FirstPersonShooter. |
| 510 | ** In the Caribbean, the gameplay changes quite often. Sora and company can go underwater or sail on a ship, both of which have their own battle mechanics. Also, one boss battle requires Sora to ride on the back of a flying Heartless to take out a boss. |
| 511 | * GameWithinAGame: Sora can play a handheld {{Retraux}}-style series of games which look like old ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'' games, starring a cel version of himself. |
| 512 | * GangplankGalleon: The Caribbean. No more referred as simply Port Royal thanks to the increase in scope of the world. |
| 513 | * GetBackHereBoss: |
| 514 | ** [[spoiler:The Lich]] has an annoying tendency to create exploding copies of itself that you will stay locked on to, while it flies a good distance away from you to attack with magic from afar. |
| 515 | ** Once Dark Inferno enters its second phase, it will periodically jump away after performing certain attacks, making it difficult to hit it. When it enters its final phase, it will do this after ''every'' attack. This can be countered by Flowchain, however. |
| 516 | * GettingTheBoot: Sulley subjects Vanitas to this by tossing him out of Monstropolis through a closet door. Then he throws that door through ''another'' door, and then that door through another, repeating several times until the last one is shredded. |
| 517 | * TheGhost: A mysterious girl that's been experimented by Ansem and his apprentices and was friends with Lea and Isa is referred to in the Secret Reports. She is used as motivation for certain characters, despite not making an actual appearance. |
| 518 | * GhostMemory: When Sora sees Vanitas, he immediately calls out his name but doesn't know why, yet touches his heart as if on reflex. Vanitas knows very well Ventus is inside Sora's heart, which is the reason for this. |
| 519 | * GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: If you haven't watched the film or know its plot, Prince Hans' appearance is completely random. He comes out of nowhere with no explanation, kidnaps Elsa and then tries to kill her, triggering the iconic scene of Anna´s HeroicSacrifice, and then he goes OneWingedAngel to fight Sora and company. What makes this especially bad is the fact that Hans, who was the villain in the source film, has no speaking lines and he is not even given a name or acknowledged by the other characters. Because of that, he seems like something shoehorned into the game to provide Sora with a BossFight. |
| 520 | * GodWasMyCopilot: Midway through The Caribbean, Sora's party and Jack are separated from the rest of the cast until they can repair a wrecked ship, [[CoolBoat Leviathan]]. [[spoiler:Jack has actually been following the world's main plot all along; the Jack travelling with Sora, and the ship itself, are both illusions sent to help Sora by Calypso.]] |
| 521 | * GoryDiscretionShot: Davy Jones' actual heart isn't actually shown in any scene, most notably including the part where it's threatened to be stabbed. |
| 522 | * GrandFinale: This is the ultimate conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga of the franchise. |
| 523 | * GratuitousFrench: The menu of Little Chef's Bistro is entirely in French, and many of the dishes have French names. This alludes, of course, to the movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', which Rémy is from and takes place in France. |
| 524 | * GratuitousLatin: Creator/SquareEnix's streak with this trope returns again. Not only is a world named Scala ad Caelum (literally "stairway to heaven"), but also a [[ShowWithinAShow game-within-a-game]] named ''Verum Rex''[[note]][[CanisLatinicus Grammar note]]: it should be grammatically '''''Verus''''' ''Rex''; "verum" is neuter while "rex" is masculine[[/note]] and another world named "Quadratum" (literally "Creator/{{Square|Enix}}" in Latin). |
| 525 | * GrievousHarmWithABody: A surprisingly large number of team attacks involve this, with Sora being on both the giving and receiving end. |
| 526 | * GuestStarPartyMember: Disney characters can once again team up with Sora and co. — and this time, you can have two at once! |
| 527 | ** [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Olympus]]: Hercules. |
| 528 | ** [[Franchise/ToyStory Toy Box]]: Woody and Buzz. |
| 529 | ** [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Kingdom of Corona]]: Rapunzel and Flynn[=/=]Eugene.[[note]]In the case of Rapunzel, she becomes unable to fight when she loses her hair.[[/note]] |
| 530 | ** [[Franchise/MonstersInc Monstropolis]]: Mike and Sulley. |
| 531 | ** [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} Arendelle]]: Marshmallow. |
| 532 | ** [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Port Royal/The Caribbean]]: Jack Sparrow. |
| 533 | ** [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 San Franskoyo]]: Baymax. |
| 534 | ** [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Keyblade Graveyard]]: [[spoiler:Mickey, Riku, Kairi, Lea, [[note]]In the case of these two, they're quickly replaced by the final two on the list in the battle they appear in[[/note]] Aqua, Ventus, Xion, Roxas.]] |
| 535 | * GuideDangIt: |
| 536 | ** While some Lucky Emblems will be noticed just from exploring the area they're in, just as many of them are well-hidden and very easy to miss, either requiring the player to scour every area...or look up their locations instead. |
| 537 | ** Similarly, many of the Frozen Slider treasures are well off the beaten path. One of them requires you to double-jump, which the game never even tells you that you can do, and isn't needed for anything else. |
| 538 | * HardModePerks: |
| 539 | ** The difficulty influences how many Lucky Emblems you need to find to unlock the secret ending: all 90 on Beginner, 60 on Standard, 30 on Proud, and none on Critical. |
| 540 | ** On Critical Mode, you start the game with several helpful abilities, including Aerial Recovery, Rising Spiral, Groundbreaker, and Combo Master. A few abilities exclusive to this difficulty are also available, such as Critical Converter, which disables Attraction Flow and Grand Magic in favor of formchanges, and Critical Counter, which adds extra damage to reprisals from exceptionally timed blocks. |
| 541 | * HaveANiceDeath: Starting with [[spoiler:Anti-Aqua]] and ending with the final boss, the bosses begin to mock Sora if he is defeated, even having a different quote for a rematch. |
| 542 | -->'''Xigbar:''' Alright. The hero thinks he's ready now. |
| 543 | * TheHeavy: Master Xehanort is the primary antagonist, and his presence is keenly felt from beginning to end. His Seekers of Darkness (who each carry a piece of his heart) are the driving force of the plot in each of the different worlds. |
| 544 | ** Olympus Coliseum: [[EnigmaticMinion Xigbar]] |
| 545 | ** Twilight Town: [[DemotedToDragon Ansem and Xemnas]] |
| 546 | ** Toy Box: [[TimeMaster Young Xehanort]] |
| 547 | ** Corona: [[AgentPeacock Marluxia]] |
| 548 | ** Monstropolis: [[MadeOfEvil Vanitas]] |
| 549 | ** Arendelle: [[DarkActionGirl Larxene]] |
| 550 | ** The Caribbean: [[WickedCultured Luxord]] |
| 551 | ** San Fransokyo: [[IHatePastMe Dark Riku Replica]] |
| 552 | ** Keyblade Graveyard (before final battles): [[LightningBruiser Terra-Xehanort]] |
| 553 | * HeelFaceTurn: |
| 554 | ** Just as he is depicted in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', Hector Barbossa (one of the Disney villains fought in ''Kingdom Hearts II'') is now on Jack's side, and Sora's by extension. |
| 555 | ** Several previous Seekers of Darkness undergo this. Not all of them, though; a few [[RedemptionRejection outright reject salvation]]. |
| 556 | *** [[spoiler:Vexen, the amoral scientist of the original Organization XIII]], seeks to atone for their actions and [[TheMole infiltrates]] the Seekers so they can once more serve Xehanort under the guise of a FaceHeelTurn. [[spoiler:It's actually to access the Replica Program he started. He wants to create new vessels for Roxas and Naminé's hearts.]] |
| 557 | *** After the above face turn, [[spoiler:Demyx also goes through this, if only to assist the above person. More specifically, he goes through it once he learns that Saïx was part of the ruse too]]. |
| 558 | *** A subtler manner of turn goes through with [[spoiler:Luxord. He gives Sora an allegedly game-changing card for winning against him near the end. While this never goes anywhere (yet), the true intent to help Sora out is still there. This is also foreshadowed by Vexen]]. |
| 559 | * HeliumSpeech: An optional conversation in the Toy Box can be triggered by striking the valve of a helium tank or popping balloons, which causes everyone's voice to become high pitched. They all have some fun talking in their new helium-induced voices... Except Donald, who isn't affected at all. |
| 560 | * HelpfulMook: The Flantastic Seven, which take the place of White Mushrooms and the Mushroom XIII in this game. They are equally as friendly and equally as adorable. |
| 561 | * HeroicSacrifice: |
| 562 | ** [[spoiler:Donald]] does this by [[spoiler:blasting Zettaflare on Terra-Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard. This results in him losing consciousness.]] |
| 563 | ** [[spoiler: After all of the other Guardians have been defeated by a Demon Tide in the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora breaks down completely. In order to motivate him to keep going and save their friends from certain doom, Riku faces against the Demon Tide in a LastStand, [[SelfDestructiveCharge defending Sora from the darkness for a few more moments]] before both of them are swallowed up by it as well. Sora's conversation with the Nameless Star in the Final World more or less confirms that while Kairi is the reason Sora retains his body, Riku's HeroicSacrifice against the Demon Tide is the reason his heart survived and [[InspirationalMartyr kept him from losing all hope]] (a point that is made clearer in the [[LostinTranslation original Japanese dialogue]])]]. |
| 564 | ** The original vessel of [[spoiler:Riku Replica, whose heart was inhabiting Riku's, manages to defeat the replica that holds his heart from the past by ripping its heart out of its artificial vessel]]. However, instead of taking the vessel, they leave it behind for Riku so that Naminé may use it to be brought back to life. It's unknown what happens to them afterwards, but it's implied that they're gone for good. |
| 565 | ** At the game's conclusion, [[spoiler:Sora uses the power of waking to bring Kairi back to life. However, he's "hanging on by a thread" according to Chirithy, and if he's not dead, he certainly can't go back to Destiny Islands with everyone]]. |
| 566 | * HonorBeforeReason: [[CallBack As before]], [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]] forgoes attacking Luxord as soon as he sees him and instead follows the "Pirate Code", agreeing to parlay with him, much to Sora's aggravation. [[spoiler:And then subverted when Luxord tries it a third time. Jack just incapacitates him and goes on his merry way.]] |
| 567 | * HopeCrusher: The XIII Seekers seem to be this: |
| 568 | -->'''Vanitas:''' Only when your hopes have been broken by battle upon battle can the key to Kingdom Hearts be claimed! |
| 569 | -->'''Young Xehanort:''' And break you is what we shall do. It has been [[ArcWords etched]]. |
| 570 | ** [[spoiler:Not long after this cutscene, they manage to do just that to Sora.]] |
| 571 | * HulkingOut: Rage Form is Sora's inner darkness that can be unleashed if Sora takes loads of damage in a short amount of time and manages to survive all of the damage. Rage Form bears many similarities to Anti-Form, including its Heartless-like appearance, Magic and Items being sealed, and its feral style of attack, but unlike Anti-Form, Rage Form prominently uses the Keyblade, it has to be triggered manually to activate, it doesn't block healing (and is the only Formchange that fully heals Sora on use), and it can also be manually cancelled by using any other Situation Command. [[spoiler:During the final battle, Xehanort uses the χ-blade to rob Sora of his light, forcing him to transform into Rage Form until Sora attacks Xehanort enough to steal back his light.]] |
| 572 | * HumongousMecha: The [[Franchise/ToyStory Toy Box]] has giant robot enemies, or at least giant relative to Sora's small size. Sora can hijack the robots to pilot them himself. |
| 573 | * HyperCompetentSidekick: Unlike all other partner characters, who can take damage and be knocked unconscious in battle, one of the late-game party members is incredibly powerful. [[spoiler:Roxas is both completely invincible, and can rival or possibly even outclass Sora's damage output. It's entirely feasible to simply stand back during the boss fight and watch him cut Saïx to pieces.]] |
| 574 | [[/folder]] |
| 575 | |
| 576 | [[folder:Tropes I-M]] |
| 577 | * AnIcePerson: [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} Elsa]], true to form, has her usual ice powers. Sora can also turn his Keyblade from her world into ice swords and skates. |
| 578 | * IKnowMaddenKombat: The ''Frozen'' Keyblade has a formchange that incorporates ice skating into its attacks. |
| 579 | * IResembleThatRemark: When asked if Sora knows the third person whose heart resides within his own, he says no. Donald replies that it's because Sora can't count, to which Sora responds "Hey, that's not related!" |
| 580 | * ImmediateSequel: The story starts with where ''A Fragmentary Passage'' ended and picks up right from there, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy heading for Olympus Coliseum to meet with Hercules. |
| 581 | * ImplausibleBoardingSkills: |
| 582 | ** Dodging with the Mirage Staff involves Sora riding the weapon. |
| 583 | ** [[spoiler:When Sora gets help from Ephemer to defeat the Heartless twister, Sora jumps on a Starlight Keyblade to ride a wave of Keyblades.]] |
| 584 | * ImprobableWeaponUser: |
| 585 | ** Flynn's weapon is a FryingPanOfDoom, a reference to a RunningGag in ''Tangled''. |
| 586 | ** With the Little Chef Keyblade's Formchange, Sora can also fight using a frying pan, as well as a flag and ''honey.'' All of these are [[NerfArm about as lethal as his other Formchanges.]] |
| 587 | * InconsistentDub: |
| 588 | ** Once again, [[SpellLevels fourth tier spells]] have the suffix changed in the English dub, going back to "-za" from ''Dream Drop Distance'' instead of "-ja" from ''0.2 Birth by Sleep''. |
| 589 | ** "Once More" has been renamed to the far more mundane "Withstand Combo", even though it does exactly the same thing. Strangely, "Second Chance" keeps its name in spite of this. It might be in order to make its function more obvious, as "Once More" isn't really indicative of its use while "Withstand Combo" makes it clearer what it does. |
| 590 | * IncomingHam: What happens when you put Paul St. Peter and Richard Epcar in a game together and, more importantly, ''in the same boss fight''? You get a contest of just who can be the hammiest of all. |
| 591 | * InfinityMinusOneSword: The Nano Gear Keyblade is acquired by beating San Fransokyo. Its stats aren't the best, but they are still high and well-rounded to boot. The Nano Arms Formchange, meanwhile, combines the best attacks from every other Formcharge and allows Sora to guard in all directions at once. |
| 592 | * InfinityPlusOneSword: |
| 593 | ** As usual, the Ultima Weapon takes a lot of work to obtain--it can only be synthesized using materials obtained from various difficult sidequests and minigames--but it's well worth it. It has the highest stats of any weapon, as well as the much-vaunted abilities Combo Boost and Air Combo Boost,[[note]]This is significant--''II''[='s=] Decisive Pumpkin is typically considered a better damage dealer than its contemporary version of Ultima Weapon thanks to the former carrying Combo Boost[[/note]], plus an ability that fills up the Situation Gauge much faster. Its Shotlock is impressive, and its Ultimate Form formchange is ''obscenely'' powerful. It's easily the most powerful version of Ultima Weapon in the series, and many of its best traits are available at its base level along with starting out with the Strength of most near-fully upgraded early game Keyblades[[note]]8, as opposed to the starting average of 4[[/note]], meaning it still approaches [[GameBreaker game-breaking]] potential in a NewGamePlus. |
| 594 | ** Oblivion, and to a lesser extent, Oathkeeper. Neither reaches Ultima's incredible heights due to lacking the Combo Boosts, but both have Double Form as their second formchange, lending Sora a DualWielding style that rivals Ultimate Form in utility and damage. Even better, by having both equipped, Sora can potentially extends the length of time Double Form remains active. Moreover, both also have Situation Boost, which is only otherwise found on Ultima Weapon, allowing you to get to the forms (or anything else that uses the Situation Gauge) more quickly. Their Shotlocks are similarly powerful while still allowing you the mechanical benefits of the lower-tier shotlocks. Comparing them at base level, Oblivion matches Ultimate in most stats and is actually stronger for magic (although Ultima surpasses it in every regard as it levels up), while Oathkeeper is the weakest of the three by only a small margin. It should be noted that Oathkeeper is the easiest to obtain, merely requiring finding all Lucky Emblems, presenting the lowest barrier of entry to Double Form. Obtaining Oblivion is the true challenge, requiring the completion of the story in Critical Mode, but like Ultima and all others, it can be carried over in a NewGamePlus of a lower difficulty. |
| 595 | ** Classic Tone is also a downplayed example, as it boasts the highest magic stat of any Keyblade, which is very helpful for those who rely a lot on magic, which this game encourages compared to than previous games, but not really much else beyond a clone of Favorite Deputy's Formchanges, thus allowing AreaOfEffect style magic. |
| 596 | ** The Golden Highwind is this for the Gummi Ship sections. Its blueprint is obtained by defeating Schwarzgeist, a {{Superboss}}, and its weapons and attack power are no joke, shredding through the HP of bosses in a matter of seconds. [[BraggingRightsReward Whatever bosses are left for you to fight, that is.]] |
| 597 | * InMediasRes: |
| 598 | ** The plot of the ''Frozen'' world begins right as Elsa flees into exile once her powers have been discovered. |
| 599 | ** Sora, Donald, and Goofy appear to arrive in The Caribbean at the same time that the crew of the ''Black Pearl'' are about to fall off the World's End to enter Davy Jones's Locker towards the start of ''At World's End''. |
| 600 | * InterfaceSpoiler: |
| 601 | ** Whenever you arrive to a new world, you are introduced through an elaborate intro animation. [[spoiler:However, when the Guardians of Light first arrive in the Keyblade Graveyard, there is no such intro animation. After a small skirmish with the Heartless, Terra-Xehanort and the Demon Tide arrive to wipe out the Guardians of Light. After Sora is consumed, he arrives in the Final World (which ''does'' have an intro animation), and when he saves his friends' hearts and uses the Power of Waking to turn back time, only ''then'' do you get the Keyblade Graveyard's intro, signifying not only the climax of the game but that things will go a little differently this time.]] |
| 602 | ** The ending credits explicitly lists the voice talents of [[spoiler:the Foretellers]], who never appeared at all in the game...[[FiveSecondForeshadowing until the next scene begins rolling]]. |
| 603 | ** In the Kingdom of Corona, it returns Rapunzel's items to your inventory with a message. This spoils that she leaves the party permanently, as this happens for nobody else. |
| 604 | ** In Toy Box, the opening cutscene introduces the plot point of Woody and Buzz [[spoiler:trying to find their missing friends and Andy. The second you get access to the menu and check the Gummiphone, the character section for Toy Box has a Mickey symbol next to it, which signifies that the section is complete, spoiling that no other new Toy Story character will appear and that their friends won't be rescued during the game]]. |
| 605 | * InternalReveal: Plenty, given the way this game brings together numerous characters and plotlines from across the series: |
| 606 | ** King Mickey and Riku visit the spot in Radiant Garden where Aqua fought Xehanort before falling into the realm of darkness in an effort to save him. Here, they finally figure out together that the "Xehanort" Riku is familiar with in the form of Ansem and Xemnas is actually Xehanort having possessed Terra's body, who lost his memories and became one of Ansem the Wise's apprentices. |
| 607 | ** Ienzo discovers from studying Ansem the Wise's data that Sora has three other hearts inside his own — one belonging to Roxas, the others to Ventus and Xion (although none of them are aware of the latter two's existence just yet). Subverted in that this comes as a surprise to everyone ''except'' Sora, who was already aware on some level that there were hearts dwelling inside him that weren't his own. |
| 608 | ** Ventus learns that Sora looks like Vanitas after his awakening, something the audience already learned in ''Birth by Sleep''. Sora himself only learns of his resemblance to Vanitas when the latter's mask breaks [[spoiler:just before he dies during the climactic Keyblade War]]. |
| 609 | ** Various characters are surprised to find out that Ventus and Roxas are completely identical, most notably Lea and [[spoiler:Ventus himself]]. |
| 610 | ** As it turns out, Mickey never realized that the little girl he and Aqua rescued in Radiant Garden grew up to be Kairi. |
| 611 | ** Sora, Donald, and Goofy learn that Hercules is a demigod. Apparently, they never questioned his godlike strength before. |
| 612 | * IronicEcho: |
| 613 | ** "One sky, one destiny", the ending line from Kairi's letter to Sora in ''Kingdom Hearts II''. [[spoiler:The line is repeated by Xehanort during the final battle, describing Kingdom Hearts' influence over the universe.]] |
| 614 | ** |
| 615 | *** In ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'': |
| 616 | -->'''Xehanort:''' [[ItsAllAboutMe Hands off my new vessel]]. |
| 617 | *** In this game: |
| 618 | -->'''[[spoiler: Roxas:]]''' Hands off [[ThePowerOfFriendship my friends]]. |
| 619 | * {{Irony}}: Young Xehanort will get to see his whole life's ambition fail minutes after his defeat through his older self after boasting that he will get to live out his life to Sora. |
| 620 | * ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: Done by Luxord. [[spoiler:He hands over one of his cards to Sora once he's defeated, claiming it could turn the tables in the future. Regardless of what it does, the card is not used after that moment, making this a sort of SequelHook ChekhovsGun.]] |
| 621 | * ItWasThereTheWholeTime: [[spoiler:It turns out that the Guardian used by Terra-Xehanort and "Ansem" was actually the vessel that housed Terra's heart.]] |
| 622 | * ItWasWithYouAllAlong: The bulk of Sora's quest in this installment consists of attempting to achieve the Power of Waking, which he had lost after he was plunged into darkness at the end of ''3D''. [[spoiler:When Ventus tells Sora to use the Power of Waking so he can return to his body to save Aqua, he simultaneously reveals that Sora had never actually lost the Power of Waking, he simply lost ''access'' to it.]] |
| 623 | * ItsAllMyFault: Mickey says this regarding [[spoiler:Aqua corrupted by the darkness in the Dark World]]. |
| 624 | * JustFrameBonus: Playing on Critical Mode gives Sora Critical Counter, which makes it so if he guards an attack at the right time, he'll glow red and his counterattacks will be stronger. |
| 625 | * KickTheDog: Xemnas [[spoiler:literally kicks Xion away when she finds herself [[YouHaveFailedMe unable to kill]] Lea]]. |
| 626 | * KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: [[spoiler:As if Xehanort hadn't already brought enough misery to Aqua's life, his Heartless throws her into the sea at the end of the Dark Margin, where she becomes infected with darkness and makes it much harder for Riku and Mickey to finally rescue her.]] |
| 627 | * KilledOffForReal: |
| 628 | ** While most members of the Seekers are implied to come back after being restored in the past or have ambiguous fates, [[spoiler:both Ansem [=SoD=] and Xemnas seem to be gone for good after Master Xehanort happily departs from the living as well and are unlikely to return]]. |
| 629 | ** [[spoiler:Riku Replica rejects the chance to gain his own body and sacrifices himself to take down Dark Riku for good.]] |
| 630 | ** [[spoiler:Master Eraqus leaves for the afterlife alongside Master Xehanort, the two old friends reconciling in their final moments.]] |
| 631 | ** It is stated that true death is possible in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' universe if both heart and body are destroyed simultaneously. This typically doesn't happen across the series because usually one or the other are destroyed/released at a time, [[spoiler:but the Guardians of Light very nearly meet their death at the hands of the Heartless]]. |
| 632 | * KillerYoYo: The Happy Gear Keyblade can transform into a pair of yo-yo's. Very large, deadly yo-yo's with blades attached. |
| 633 | * KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Master Xehanort puts an unconscious Kairi near the cliff and slashes her with his Keyblade, crystallizing her body and shattering her to pieces, ''in front of Sora'', ''[[HeroicBSOD which breaks him hard]]''.]] [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead She gets revived later on when Sora retrieved the fragments]]]]. |
| 634 | * LagCancel: Unlike previous games, Sora can block at any time, even in the air. When done correctly, this can lead to a variety of new combo options, especially in the air, where alongside blocking, Sora can now cancel combos out of anything in the air, including Air Dashes, Flowmoiton, and Keyblade switching on the fly, which adds a new never before seen combo potential for the series. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeroreqiqzI This video explains this in depth]]. |
| 635 | * LargeHam: Take one of the hammiest villains in video game history, and pack all of his incarnations into the same game. Is it any surprise that this would result? Creator/RichardEpcar brings in a grandiose performance as both Terra-Xehanort and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Creator/PaulStPeter is at his best as Xemnas, a ColdHam of excellent proportions. Never to be left out, the original Master Xehanort commands every scene he partakes in during his final hurrah; a perfect sendoff for the illustrious career of Creator/RutgerHauer. |
| 636 | * LaserGuidedAmnesia: Sora still has no memories of Castle Oblivion, which is why he has no idea who Marluxia or Larxene are when they meet. |
| 637 | * LastDitchMove: |
| 638 | ** [[spoiler:During the first attempt at the Heartless twister, Donald protects Sora and Kairi from Terra-Xehanort by using runic magic to cast a spell called Zettaflare[[note]]a powerful flare spell that was used by the villain Airy in ''Bravely Default'', suggesting that it is one of Donald's strongest spells[[/note]], which fires a WaveMotionGun powerful enough to repel Terra-Xehanort. However, the effort needed to pull it off causes Donald to collapse from exhaustion.]] |
| 639 | ** A lot of the Data bosses use a stronger version of their DesperationAttack when low on health in one last effort to take you down. Some of the bosses are coded to always use said move before they can finally be finished off. |
| 640 | * LastLousyPoint: |
| 641 | ** Getting the InfinityPlusOneSword, the Ultima Weapon, requires seven pieces of Orichalcum+. Even if you're know what you're doing, just getting all seven is going to take a while. One of them is only obtained through a LuckBasedMission, and one requires beating every Flan mini-game with a high score, both of which can be major time sinks. Thankfully, because of the NewGamePlus feature, you potentially have to do this only in your FIRST playthrough, and have Ultima in subsequent playthroughs, bypassing the need to accomplish all seven sidequests (although some of these come with separate and equally amazing rewards like powerful equipment or abilities as incentives to play them anyway). |
| 642 | ** There are ninety Lucky Emblems scattered throughout every world (excluding the last one). It's necessary to find at least thirty of them if a player wants to see the Secret Ending on Proud Mode, sixty are required to see it in Standard Mode, finding eighty of them is required to get one of the Orichalcum+ pieces for the InfinityPlusOneSword, and finding all ninety is needed to get the Secret Ending on Beginner Mode. Good luck finding them without a guide. |
| 643 | ** The shield sled race has ten treasure spheres to collect to get another piece of Orichalcum+. The ten spheres are all in out-of-the-way routes, and one requires you to double-jump to reach a rail in order to get it, [[GuideDangIt which the game doesn't tell you that you can do]]. It's also impossible to get all of the Treasure Spheres in one run, as most are on mutually exclusive parts of the track: at most, you might manage to find three on one run, and only finding a single Treasure Sphere or none at all is more likely. |
| 644 | ** After the segment is completed once, the player can [[spoiler:return to The Final World and collect more dancing Soras]], with no indication that doing so will earn two hidden HP upgrades. |
| 645 | * LateArrivalSpoiler: As usual, it's expected that you've already watched the movies that the game's worlds are based on [[ItWasHisSled due to their popularity]] and/or because they've been out long enough to be common knowledge. |
| 646 | ** As a result, the ''Tangled'' world suffers from AdaptationExplanationExtrication since Mother Gothel doesn't give the tiara to Rapunzel, which makes Eugene and the Stabbington Brothers' actions after the lantern scene strange if you haven't seen the movie to know what happened. |
| 647 | ** The San Fransokyo storyline takes place after the events of ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6''. Xehanort finds the Baymax that sacrificed himself in the void and turns him into a Heartless, and throughout the story, it's brought up that Tadashi died and that the microbots were also left in the void. |
| 648 | * LaterInstallmentWeirdness: Due to the huge shift in console power since the previous home console game, the changes to the story to properly conclude the "Dark Seeker" saga, and just developer choices, ''III'' has a lot of contrasting quality to its predecessors. |
| 649 | ** Foremost, the new graphics, while evoking the art style of the previous games, are far ''more'' advanced than in past games, and the characters look substantially different between them. Compare Sora's appearance in [[https://www.khwiki.com/File:Sora_KHII.png the PS3 remaster of second game]] and [[https://www.khwiki.com/File:Sora_(KHII_outfit)_KHIII.png this one]], for example. |
| 650 | ** Instead of Jiminy's journal to keep track of story and gameplay records, there's the Gummiphone, a smartphone that does all that the journal did and also allows the characters to talk to each other. This also comes with a photo function, of course. |
| 651 | ** There can be more than two party members accompanying Sora, and while in previous games each world only had one ally (if at all), some worlds in this game have two. |
| 652 | ** Players can visit Remy in Twilight Town to cook up meals that give Sora stat boosts, and must collect ingredients in different worlds to make these dishes. Food has never had any gameplay role in previous games except for some normal items named after food. |
| 653 | ** In addition to item synthesis, Moogles offer Keyblade forging to upgrade Sora's Keyblades and unlock new abilities for them. This mechanic previously only featured in ''χ'', and it wasn't even clear before if Keyblades ''could'' be improved in this manner. |
| 654 | ** Several series staples of gameplay and story are absent: the player doesn't get to visit Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion or the Mysterious Tower, they only appear in cutscenes; there are no ''Final Fantasy'' characters (the ''Re𝄌Mind'' DLC added them); the recurring Keyblades Oathkeeper and Oblivion are not available to Sora (''Re𝄌Mind'' adds them as well) |
| 655 | ** ''III'' takes a "kitchen sink" approach to gameplay mechanics, resulting in gameplay taking cues from multiple past titles but not being quite exactly like any of them; the finisher system from ''Birth By Sleep'' returns, but they now appear at the top of the command menu and are activated like Reaction Commands were in ''II''; Shotlocks from ''Birth By Sleep'' and Flowmotion from ''Dream Drop Distance'' return; Formchanges act as a combination of Drive Forms from ''II'' and Formchanges from ''Birth By Sleep'', as Sora's clothes change and his Keyblade changes shape; Team Attacks function like Limits in ''II'' where Sora teamed up with an ally to perform a CombinationAttack, but they appear more randomly and can involve more than one ally; another Situation Command, Attractions, are activated by attacking an enemy when an icon appears over them, similar to how Reality Shifts triggered in ''Dream Drop Distance''. |
| 656 | * LaymansTerms: |
| 657 | ** Ienzo explaining to [[HopelessWithTech Sora]] about decrypting the Code in Ansem the Wise's computer: |
| 658 | --->'''Ienzo:''' For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would've included Roxas' full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine, there's a log of that data that... uhh. Basically, we can decipher Ansem's Code more quickly, ''and'' we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we're at it. |
| 659 | ** [[IdiotHero Sora]] gets hit with this again during his conversation with Naminé. She attempts to explain her plan to contact the Lingering Will, but Sora does not get it at all. |
| 660 | --->'''Naminé:''' Um... Let's just say I've got your back? |
| 661 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: |
| 662 | ** Sora is mistaken for a video game character in the ''Toy Story'' world, alluding to the fact that he really is a video game character out-of-universe, from a Square Enix RPG, no less. Buzz is initially confused when Sora tells him that his world has been split, but then he remembers, "Oh yeah, you're from a video game." |
| 663 | ** WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph gets summoned from his own world to help Sora, but there’s also the possibility that he "game-jumped" from his game to this one. |
| 664 | ** When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in Hercules’ world, they wonder why no fanfare has played yet, possibly referring to the world theme that normally plays in the Olympus Coliseum. |
| 665 | ** In Twilight Town, Sora keeps saying that it's been ages since he visited the town. While Donald and Goofy believe he's influenced by Roxas' feeling for the town, it's also a reference to how the last time Sora visited Twilight Town was in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', which was released ''fourteen years'' ago. |
| 666 | ** Also in Twilight Town, some [=NPCs=] note how Seifer hasn't been seen lately, a nod to the fact that neither he nor other ''Final Fantasy'' characters appear here. |
| 667 | ** In San Fransokyo, Honey Lemon describes Hiro's Flash Tracer course as being "like a minigame." Which it is. |
| 668 | ** When Xemnas is about to kill off Lea, he says that no one would miss him. Lea retorts by saying that he’s got loads of people rooting for him, a reference to his popularity within the fanbase as an EnsembleDarkhorse.[[invoked]] |
| 669 | ** Another jab at character popularity is when Naminé bluntly tells Sora during their meeting in the Final World that she doesn't mind being saved later, since Roxas is the one they all miss. While this can be taken in-game as a sign of her low self-confidence, out-of-universe, while Naminé is not exactly unpopular, she is far overshadowed by Roxas, who is probably ''the'' most popular character in the series. Even if the two are suffering the same fate, it is Roxas whom the fans have been clamoring to return since years before this game was released. Of course, Sora promptly shoots this down and tells her that she is just as missed as Roxas is, apparently a TakeThat at fans who gush about Roxas so much that they forget about everyone else who are also suffering. |
| 670 | ** After meeting up with Sora, Lea apologizes for taking so long because they "had a couple plot points that needed ironing out." |
| 671 | * LeftHanging: A couple of plot points are brought up throughout the game, but are never resolved. It's more than likely that these are meant to be setups for the next installments. |
| 672 | ** Three (or technically four) of the seven new Princesses of Heart are introduced: Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel, and Kairi, but this ultimately doesn't go anywhere outside of the Seekers knowing where they could find a back-up Guardian of Light if they needed to. |
| 673 | ** A previously unmentioned girl is name-dropped by both Ansems and the Secret Report, and was apparently [[RememberTheNewGuy friends with Lea and Isa]]. [[spoiler:She's implied to be one of the ancient Keyblade wielders, possibly Ava or Skuld as the Secret Reports imply, going by her mantra of "May your heart be your guiding key".]] |
| 674 | ** Luxord gives Sora a card containing unknown powers as he dies, but nothing comes from it. |
| 675 | ** Luxord, Demyx, Marluxia, and Larxene are revealed to have been chosen for the Seekers of Darkness due to the four actually being [[spoiler:ancient Keyblade wielders. But the revelation isn't really explored much by the characters themselves. With this one, it's difficult to say if this will mean anything for the next installment or [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX χ]]]]. |
| 676 | ** Demyx is still alive and well after [[spoiler:dropping off the replica that is to hold Roxas' heart]]. |
| 677 | ** The contents of the black box left behind by the Master of Masters are still unknown to the audience, despite Maleficent and Pete searching for it for the whole game. |
| 678 | ** The identity of the "Nameless Star" Sora meets in the Final World and the person she's waiting for. |
| 679 | * LifeDrain: The lesser Shotlock for Ever After will heal Sora as it deals damage. |
| 680 | * LightEmUp: |
| 681 | ** Mickey attempts to attack Master Xehanort with the Ultima spell. He counters with Stopza. |
| 682 | ** [[spoiler:Roxas, in addition to getting to use his LimitBreak from ''358/2 Days'', also has access to light-based projectiles that can juggle Saïx.]] |
| 683 | * LipLock: The English version flip-flops between altering lip flaps to match the English dub and leaving the animations from the Japanese version. |
| 684 | * LoadBearingHero: Hercules does this to protect some civilians from falling rubble. Sora then has to defeat the Heartless keeping them there so they can be led to safety and Hercules can get out from under it. |
| 685 | * LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: Due to the high graphics quality and extremely large areas, loading times are rather long. Thankfully, limited area transitions mean you won't have to sit through loading screens as often. |
| 686 | * LoopholeAbuse: |
| 687 | ** The purpose of Replicas in a nutshell, and a huge plot point. [[spoiler:While ostensibly created by Vexen to give bodies to wayward hearts, the real reason Xehanort wanted them created was to give his alternate selves vessels to exist in the same timespace as him, a feat that is otherwise impossible without ''very'' heavy TemporalParadox shenanigans (which was in fact [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance one of his earlier schemes]]). Fortunately, Vexen is in [[TheAtoner a kinder mood]] this time around, and makes sure some Replicas find their way to Sora and co., finally giving them a way to save Roxas, Xion, and Naminé, who were previously beyond salvation.]] |
| 688 | ** In the Carribean, there exist several tough OptionalBoss ships that will suddenly appear for you to fight, and a few of them block off access to certain islands until you beat them. However, they won't appear unless you're piloting your ship. You can park your ship in a place the enemy ship won't spawn from and quite simply [[BoringButPractical Glide to the islands without fighting anyone.]] |
| 689 | ** As an AntiFrustrationFeature to ensure you can always Guard them, Data Xemnas's lasers are always shot from wherever the camera is facing. A side effect of this is that if you position the camera so that it's in front of Sora, you can just run past them instead of having to time your Guards. |
| 690 | * LongSongShortScene: Scala Ad Caelum, at least in the base game, which has a theme that lasts about as long as other world themes, if not longer...which you'll hear up to 15 seconds of before the [[spoiler: Xehanort Replicas appear]] and the music changes to their battle theme. |
| 691 | * LostInTranslation: |
| 692 | ** Possibly. [[spoiler:The English translation of Xehanort's RestartTheWorld MotiveRant after the FinalBoss makes it sound like he intended to create a new world devoid of darkness ("pure and bright" being the words he specifically uses), which is odd as he's heretofore been a (very twisted) advocate for a BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil and the view that DarkIsNotEvil. However, his language is more neutral in the Japanese version, instead declaring he wanted to create a ''blank'' world (as in "blank slate"), i.e. a fresh start, with regard to neither light nor darkness.]] |
| 693 | ** A more minor case, a CallBack that the translators missed: [[spoiler:In Japanese, Riku Replica's last words to Riku (after telling him to use the blank replica for Naminé) is the same thing Riku said to Sora at the end of the first game. In English, Riku's line to Sora was translated as "Take care of her", while the Riku Replica's line to Riku was translated as "Good luck."]] |
| 694 | ** In the epilogue, [[spoiler:Aced angrily demands to know why Luxu/Xigbar summoned the Foretellers to the present, and says “you tell me!” However, “You tell me” is supposed to be a more rhetorical exclamation, but Travis Willingham’s delivery and the context indicate the correct way to say it would’ve been “tell me now!” or something similar, as opposed to a rhetorical question.]] |
| 695 | * LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Sora's Olympus Keyblade transformation, Countershield, is this. Sora summons a shield that can block for long periods of time and powers up by blocking damage. The Grand Chef keyblade also falls under this, but with fire effects rather than the lightning ones given by Hero's Origin. |
| 696 | * MacGuffin: Both Maleficent and Luxord are searching for the Black Box that once belonged to the Master of Masters. Nobody knows what's inside it, but it's still extremely important to both parties. |
| 697 | * MacroZone: Sora, Donald, and Goofy are transformed into action figures in the [[Franchise/ToyStory Toy Box]], shrinking down to be the same size as the rest of the main ''Toy Story'' cast. Thus, even Andy's small bedroom is intimidating in size. Even Young Xehanort is shrunken down. |
| 698 | * MadeOfMagic: Links. Ariel's body is made of water, Simba appears as a being of fire, and [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph Ralph]] shimmers with a CRT-like screendoor effect. |
| 699 | * MarathonBoss: Many of the bosses have ludicrous amounts of health, requiring a few minutes of solid whaling to get through. |
| 700 | * {{Masquerade}}: Though the series established AlienNonInterferenceClause (the "world order") very early on, it was largely abandoned as soon as Sora, Donald, and Goofy started traveling together. In this game, however, Donald and Goofy suddenly become ''very'' invested in protecting the world order, constantly stopping Sora from letting anything related to other worlds slip. |
| 701 | * MeanwhileScene: ''Dream Drop Distance'' established this for the series and ''III'' follows suit. After every Disney world, there's a scene showing what characters from the supporting cast are doing while Sora, Donald, and Goofy are on their journey. |
| 702 | * MetaGuy: The characters are much more self-aware this time around. Lea, Larxene, and Xigbar all love mocking the series' conventions and developments. Even Sora becomes a bit of this, too. |
| 703 | -->'''Sora''' (to Vanitas in the ''Monsters, Inc.'' world): This is the part where you spout some mumbo jumbo and disappear, right? |
| 704 | * MindScrewdriver: The Secret Reports clarify a lot of things related to the time-traveling Xehanorts, [[spoiler:the Replica Program, and the girl Lea and Isa befriended]]. Unfortunately, they are only available post-game and raise more even more questions in regards to [[spoiler:events in [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Union χ]]]]. |
| 705 | * MinecartMadness: Sora fights the [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Rock Titan]] using a train from Ride/BigThunderMountainRailroad. And again at the Keyblade Graveyard. |
| 706 | * MissingStepsPlan: Maleficent is keyed in on a mysterious black box. She knows that it is important, but she has no idea where to find it, nor does she know what is in it and exactly ''why'' it is important. |
| 707 | * MissionControl: |
| 708 | ** Ienzo serves as this for Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Ienzo contacts them through the Gummiphone a few times to let them know how things are progressing in decoding research, finding the Seekers, and the progress of the Heartless. |
| 709 | ** Hiro fits into this role in San Fransokyo. Hiro gives Sora a heads-up display set of VR goggles so he and the rest of Big Hero 6 can talk to each other. |
| 710 | * MistakenIdentity: Rex mistakes Sora, Donald, and Goofy for characters from a video game he's been playing. |
| 711 | * MixAndMatchWeapon: The gimmick of Nano Arms, the Formchange of the Nano Gear Keyblade, is that it combines elements of other Keyblade Formchanges into one weapon. |
| 712 | * TheMole: |
| 713 | ** [[spoiler:Vexen joined the new Organization for the sole purpose of taking Replica bodies to recreate lost heroes of light as a way for him to atone for the crimes he committed. He shows his true colors when he saves Ansem the Wise from Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and firmly stays on the side of good for the rest of the game.]] |
| 714 | ** [[spoiler:Saïx also joined the Organization to secretly take the Replica bodies for the heroes of light. Unlike Vexen, he enforces the facade until his defeat.]] |
| 715 | * MookMaker: A type of Heartless seen in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}''[='=]s world is a dandelion that loses its fluff to create smaller Heartless. |
| 716 | * MorphWeapon: A new system allows Sora to transform his Keyblade in a similar way to the ''Birth by Sleep'' trio (primarily Terra) could. While their transformations were all based on one or two keychains, ''every'' Keyblade in this game has its own unique transformation. |
| 717 | ** The Nano Arms Formchange for the Nano Gear Keyblade changes weapons on ''each attack.'' |
| 718 | ** Aside from Sora, Lea turns his Keyblade into his two chakrams, Young Xehanort turns his into a whip, and [[spoiler:the Lingering Will turns his into a whip and the Ultima Cannon]]. |
| 719 | * MotiveDecay: Discussed at the end of the game. [[spoiler:Master Xehanort rants about how he had just wanted to use Kingdom Hearts to restore the balance of the world to one of pure light and darkness, and help lead the weak people born of the light away from the negative emotions that led to them creating darkness that disrupted the balance, not realizing just how consumed he had become by those same emotions and how he had done far worse things than ''any'' of them. It's only when Eraqus's spirit tells Xehanort that they both went far too far, and it's time to leave things to the next generation, that Xehanort finally realizes that his obsession has consumed him.]] |
| 720 | * MovesetClone: The Hunny Spout, Grand Chef, Classic Tone, and Starlight's transformations are moveset clones of the Shooting Star, Hero's Origin, Favorite Deputy, and Kingdom Key, just with different stats, abilities, and in the Grand Chef's case, elemental properties. The Starlight is the only one of these Keyblades whose acquisition isn't optional, and replaces the Kingdom Key's Ars Arcanum finisher with Ancient Light. |
| 721 | * MultipleChoiceChosen: It is established that Sora and his team are not all necessarily destined to be the Seven Lights in the climactic battle. Because of this, the Master Xehanort and his Darknesses have created contingencies that make sure the coming battle happens regardless. This is the reason why [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive Marluxia and Larxene visit Corona and Arendelle, respectively]], [[KidnappedByTheCall willing to drag Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna into the conflict as candidates for the Seven Lights]] should Sora and his friends not prove up to snuff. |
| 722 | * MundaneUtility: |
| 723 | ** At one point, Sora uses the Keyblade's power to lock a simple door. |
| 724 | ** Some Keyblades have abilities that provide benefits just for wielding them. Hunny Spout has Harvester, meaning it can be used just to gather ingredients and Grand Chef has an ability that makes it easier to cook with the ingredients. Classic Tone's three MP Hastes means it can be useful in combat just to wield whenever your MP is recharging and then switch to your others when you get your MP back. |
| 725 | ** Blitz Form is often more valued for giving you early access to Glide, rather than any of its combat abilities. Moreso when you carry your Keyblades over to NewGamePlus, meaning you can use the Form to glide around every world, but are often better off using stronger Keyblades in actual combat. |
| 726 | * MusicalNod: |
| 727 | ** When Hades first sends the Rock and Ice Titans after Sora and co. in Olympus, an excerpt of "What Lies Beneath", the Underworld battle theme from ''Kingdom Hearts II'', plays. |
| 728 | ** The Secret Ending theme, "Secrets of the Night", prominently features past leitmotifs as well as one unusual one, including "Deep Dive", "Dearly Beloved", and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV "Somnus"]]]]. |
| 729 | * MythologyGag: [[MythologyGag/KingdomHeartsIII Now has its own page.]] |
| 730 | [[/folder]] |
| 731 | |
| 732 | [[folder:Tropes N-R]] |
| 733 | * {{Nerf}}: |
| 734 | ** The core Flowmotion abilities introduced in ''3D'' have been significantly toned down in this game. Flowmotion can only be activated by Air Sliding towards a solid wall, and Sora initially lacks the Superjump Ability and has abysmal Flowmotion glide range. Gliding never travels nearly as far as it did in ''3D'' even when capped, and the ability to infinitely chain Glide and Superjump has been removed with only one Superjump allowed per Flowmotion. The power and range of Flowmotion attacks have also been neutered, forcing the player to rely more often on conventional combat than spamming Flowmotion as per the norm in early to midgame ''3D''. |
| 735 | ** The Cure series still drains all MP like in ''II'', but is no longer a guaranteed full heal like it was in that game; the effect is now tied to how much MP is consumed. Curaga is also the very last spell to be obtained, as it is only unlocked during the final world. |
| 736 | ** Explosion is this compared to ''II''. Because it is relegated to Second Form's third-to-last finisher, it's nowhere near as powerful or hits as rapidly as it used to. It does have more vertical range at the cost of less horizontal range. |
| 737 | ** Shotlocks zigzag this. Most of the Shotlocks aren't quite as abusable as the ones seen in ''Birth By Sleep'' due to their lackluster damage, oftentimes making Airstepping (which costs no Focus) a superior option for damage. However, there are some utility Shotlocks such as the LifeDrain ones (which can serve as an alternative for healing in Critical), and some of the endgame Shotlocks are patently broken, such as Oblivion/Oathkeeper (absurdly high damage for a Shotlock) and Ultima Weapon (literally a FantasticNuke). |
| 738 | ** Aerial Dodge no longer functions as a double-jump or parries attacks, with Doubleflight taking the former role. The distance covered is much shorter, there's a longer delay before and after using it, and it can't be chained as easily into a Glide. |
| 739 | * NerfArm: The Hunny Spout is a silly honey-themed reskin of Shooting Star, with its transformations shooting honey instead of magic bullets. It's just as useful as Shooting Star regardless, and even has access to unique abilities like Barrier. |
| 740 | * NeverSayDie: Played with. |
| 741 | ** Captain Jack complains that of Will, Elizabeth, and Barbossa, three of them tried to "annihilate" him in the past, rather than "kill". This also means that he leaves out the fact that Elizabeth succeeded on that count. However, Barbossa still keeps his line about Jack shooting him on Isle de Muerta. |
| 742 | ** Averted in some of the other Disney worlds where characters specifically refer to terms such as "kill" and "die", one such example being in the Kingdom of Corona. |
| 743 | ** The Final World is explicitly stated to be an afterlife or limbo for souls still clinging to life. The word "death" is actually brought up when [[spoiler:Chirithy explains how Sora crossed over into the Final World before]]. [[LampshadeHanging Sora is literally unaware of the concept and needs to have it defined for him.]] However, the act of dying is still referred to as "perish". |
| 744 | * NeverTrustATrailer: The "gameplay" in the E3 2013 trailer was actually pre-rendered concept footage, as the shader technology wasn't polished enough to show off for actual gameplay. |
| 745 | * NewGamePlus: Update 1.05 allows one to create a New Game+ save file using a clear game. You can only carry over unlocked Keyblades and selfie poses, and all Keyblades are reset to Level 1. This includes the Ultima Weapon, which is normally synthesized at max level, but must be upgraded from scratch on New Game+. |
| 746 | * NewSkillAsReward: |
| 747 | ** Just like in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', you are granted new abilities or given equipment slots by winning scripted encounters. |
| 748 | ** In a series first, you are also awarded with new Abilities from ''minigames''. Most minigames have a ranking system, and if you score an A Rank, you are given a new Ability. The Flantastic Seven also give you a new Ability the first time you hit the "dance" target score. |
| 749 | * NiceDayDeadlyNight: Following the story events of San Fransokyo, Heartless only appear in the city at night. |
| 750 | * NintendoHard: Critical Mode, added in the version 1.04 patch, is easily far harder than any other difficulty setting. Enemies as early as the first tutorial can kill Sora in two hits, and this isn't even getting into bosses using their desperation moves much earlier in the fight. Some have even gone as far as to say it's probably the hardest critical mode in the whole series, but fair instead of cheap. |
| 751 | * NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: Unlike ''Kingdom Hearts II'' (and even then, some crucial story cutscenes didn't have this), this game doesn't render your forms in real-time for the cutscenes for some reason. Only the Keyblade you have equipped at the time. |
| 752 | * NoodleIncident: Aeleus doesn't want to talk to Sora due to an incident between Lexaeus and Roxas during their time in the original Organization XIII. Ienzo tries to tell him to let it go, but the question remains: what exactly did Roxas do to Lexaeus that was so bad? |
| 753 | * NoSell: [[spoiler:When Xehanort is depleted to his last hit point, the "Last Ray" Reaction Command appears to finish off Xehanort with the Keyblade's true power. Upon activating Last Ray, Sora points his Keyblade at Xehanort and fires off a beam... which collides harmlessly with Xehanort, who smirks at the effort before attacking Sora with his own beam.]] |
| 754 | * NostalgiaLevel: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If--LLqY5zE Portions of The Caribbean]] were redesigned exactly as they were in ''II'' (though all of them are parts of larger sections of the world). Namely the Rampart, the Harbor (where you fought the Grim Reaper in ''II''), and the Town. |
| 755 | * TheNothingAfterDeath: [[spoiler:Sora nearly dies at the Keyblade Graveyard and is sent to the Final World, which resembles an infinite salt pan: a featureless void other than the sky and its reflection. Souls of the dead gather here, but lose form and simply repeat emotions and thoughts from their lives without noticing each other or their surroundings.]] |
| 756 | * NoticeThis: Party members will occasionally comment if there's a hidden lucky emblem or food ingredients nearby. |
| 757 | * NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: After the final boss fight, [[spoiler:Eraqus reveals that he hid his heart away inside Terra after Xehanort struck him down and convinces Xehanort to surrender the χ-blade to Sora]]. |
| 758 | * OfficialCouple: The series has never been subtle with Sora and Kairi having feelings for each other, and though the series has a long stance of NoHuggingNoKissing, this game ''heavily'' implies a RelationshipUpgrade between the two when they not only share a paopu fruit, but recreate their cave drawing. From this scene on, the camera tends to linger on them when they hold hands (a ''far'' bigger deal in Japan than it is in the west). And it seems like more than a coincidence that the game's ending theme is unambiguously about a woman before her wedding. |
| 759 | * OneDegreeOfSeparation: All the heroes reveal that they know each other in some fashion, [[LampshadeHanging which confuses and frustrates Lea]]. |
| 760 | * OneHitKill: One of the EZ Codes you can activate allows Sora to defeat nearly every enemy in the game in a single hit. |
| 761 | * OneSceneWonder: InUniverse in regards to Rapunzel's GuestStarPartyMember status. Her time is limited as is before she loses her hair by the end of her world's story, making her unable to fight whenever the world is revisited. |
| 762 | * OneWingedAngel: |
| 763 | ** Both Mother Gothel and Hans are turned into monstrous Heartless that need to be fought. |
| 764 | ** Master Xehanort [[spoiler:averts this for the most part]]. [[spoiler:First comes his 12 vessels, then him wearing a goat-themed armor ([[DownplayedTrope the closest thing he has to play this straight]]), and it ends with Xehanort himself wielding the χ-blade. No big monster to face here.]] |
| 765 | * OneWomanWail: The fight against [[spoiler:a darkness-corrupted Aqua]] has segments that involve a wordless "ah" vocalization from one woman, and segments that seem to be a duet between two of these. |
| 766 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Rémy can't talk to anyone in the cast, so nobody knows his real name. He's just referred to as "Little Chef". |
| 767 | * OnlyMostlyDead: [[spoiler:This is the state Sora finds himself in after he and the rest of the Guardians of Light are killed by the Heartless twister. He's in the Final World, the ''Kingdom Hearts'' equivalent of the afterlife. Chirithy outright says that he's hanging by a thread thanks to Kairi.]] |
| 768 | * OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Inverted. Everybody on the side of light gets a happy ending except for Sora, who sacrifices himself to save Kairi and ends up in another world.]] |
| 769 | * OnlyThePureOfHeart: [[spoiler:The reason why Marluxia and Larxene are in the Kingdom of Corona and Arendelle respectively is because they had chosen Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa as candidates for a new line of Princesses of Heart, as well as potential members of the Seven Lights should Sora and his friends prove less than ideal.]] |
| 770 | * OrwellianRetcon: The cutscene just before reaching the final boss was different before the free patch that came along with the ''Re𝄌Mind'' DLC. [[spoiler: In the old version, Kingdom Hearts is summoned and covers the sky in darkness, and balls of darkness fall from the sky towards the Keyblade Graveyard. The new version still has Kingdom Hearts be summoned and corrupted by Darkness, but the color of the sky actually gets ''brighter'', and there's no balls of darkness falling from above.]] It's unknown why this change was made, though some could argue that the older version didn't have as much of a punch as it could have, resulting in a radical change.. |
| 771 | * OurLichesAreDifferent: There is a Heartless miniboss called the Lich. [[spoiler:Sora is forced to use the Power of Waking to chase after it as it attempts to steal the hearts of his friends.]] |
| 772 | * OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Sora's form in Monstropolis is based on a Werecat. |
| 773 | * PainfullySlowProjectile: Water spells create the slowest-moving projectiles of all projectile spells, but they will track down their target for a long time and deal hefty area damage if they land. They are also the second cheapest magic spells behind Fire spells. |
| 774 | * PaletteSwap: Gummi Heartless can come in "Scarlet" varieties, which are substantially stronger than their base variations. [[spoiler:The OptionalBoss of The Eclipse, the Omega Machina, is a Scarlet variant of the previously-encountered Gigant Pyramid, but is more of an UndergroundMonkey in this regard.]] |
| 775 | * LeParkour: Athletic Flow is a less powerful version of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance 3D]]''[='s=] Flowmotion and allows Sora to run up walls, among other things. A section of the endgame includes a large mazelike structure designed purely to test the player's parkour skills and let them experiment with their newly-acquired Glide. |
| 776 | * ThePawnsGoFirst: This is Justified as part of [[spoiler:Master Xehanort's plan]]. The members of the True Organization XIII [[spoiler:are meant to fight Sora and co. because a clash of light and darkness is needed to create the weapon that Xehanort needs to accomplish his goal. Xehanort does not care in the slightest about what happens to them after that]]. |
| 777 | * PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: During the [[spoiler:AllTheWorldsAreAStage portion of the finale]], Shadows and Neoshadows can be found spawning endlessly in certain areas. Because of this, it is possible to exploit an oversight with the Shotlock reticle's BulletTime in tandem with the massive AreaOfEffect and damage of Aeroza and Thundaza to [[https://youtu.be/A49aAQxh0CI kill massive numbers of Heartless near-instantly and generate a boatload of EXP and prizes.]] This can be done as often as you like until you get tired of grinding or you hit the cap, whichever comes first. |
| 778 | * PermanentlyMissableContent: In the Kingdom of Corona, you can trigger a handful of cutscenes that demonstrate to Rapunzel that TheWorldIsJustAwesome. Once you pass that point in the story, however, those cutscenes can't be triggered. Seeing all of these scenes is required to unlock the game's only missable piece of equipment, the Forest Clasp (which, luckily, is not needed for OneHundredPercentCompletion). Rapunzel also leaves the party after the world's story ends, since [[spoiler:her attacks all depend on her hair, which has been cut]]. |
| 779 | * PersonOfMassConstruction: Ironically enough, Wreck-It Ralph is one as a summon, where he has the ability to create [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario-esque]] brick blocks with cannons coming out of them. Enemies in the cannon's sights are left stunned and frozen in place, leaving them open for Ralph to hit them with a DashAttack. The summon ends with Ralph setting the cannons off with a GroundPound. |
| 780 | * PhotoMode: Gummiphone allows Sora to pose and take selfies while the game is paused, even during boss fights. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIIIReMind'' adds a new called Data Greeting, which lets you add characters and props to selectable scenes. |
| 781 | * PointOfNoReturn: Polite version. The game warns you the point of no return is at [[spoiler:The Stairway to the Sky, the promontory jutting out of Scala ad Caelum]]. Going to the city prompts you for the confrontation with Master Xehanort. You can go back and leave the world from here, but once you choose to go forward, you're stuck until the end of the game. |
| 782 | * PowerLossMakesYouStrong: Even after having his power drained, Sora immediately begins learning more complex new techniques and towards the end of the game, he is the strongest version of himself seen thus far. |
| 783 | * PowerUpFood: In a similar fashion to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', you can cook Cuisine at Little Chef's Bistro that bestows stat buffs upon consumption. You have the option of consuming multiple Cuisine simultaneously, one for each type of Cuisine, and if you consume five different courses at once (referred to as a Full Course Meal), you'll also gain temporary access to an Ability for the duration of the boost. |
| 784 | * PowerUpLetdown: Aerial Dodge is supposed to be an upgrade to Air Slide for use in combat, but the slightly increased invincibility doesn't nearly make up for the heavily shortened travel distance compared to Air Slide. Even when fighting enemies, covering distance quickly often has more benefit than raw i-frames. The only time it's even worth the AP is when using certain Forms, since some have a unique, improved dodge that can only be used if Aerial Dodge is equipped. |
| 785 | * PreSacrificeFinalGoodbye: [[spoiler:Heavily implied to be what Sora was telling Kairi in the BittersweetEnding, given her sudden tears, his tender hand on hers, and his reassuring smile before he [[FadingAway fades away]].]] |
| 786 | * PrehensileHair: Rapunzel uses her locks like a whip. |
| 787 | * ProductPlacement: The video game store within Galaxy Toys within Toy Box contains an in-game advertisement for [[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy2015 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]. |
| 788 | * ProductionThrowback: |
| 789 | ** The inclusion of ''{{VideoGame/Einhander}}'' cameos can be attributed to the staff of said game being brought on to work on the Gummi Ship segments. |
| 790 | ** A number of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' allusions are thrown in, as the game was directed by Nomura back when it was known as ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII''. The ShowWithinAShow ''Verum Rex'' is essentially a wholesale sendup of ''XV'' and ''Versus XIII'', with its protagonist Yozora being a Noctis {{Expy}} and the game's unnamed heroine being a dead ringer for Stella with a dye job. [[spoiler:The Secret Ending theme even has a MusicalNod to "Somnus", and in the DLC the Limitcut Episode flat-out recreates one of ''Versus XIII''[='s=] trailers.]] |
| 791 | * PurposelyOverpowered: |
| 792 | ** The brief time Riku is playable after Olympus, the player will notice quickly that he is much higher-leveled than Sora. He has third tiered spells and end-game HP and stats. Since he did not undergo BagOfSpilling, not to mention being a Keyblade Master, he is still in the same shape as he is in ''Dream Drop Distance''. |
| 793 | ** Aqua when she is playable during the Vanitas battle in the Land of Departure is even more higher-leveled than Riku, mainly to compensate for the fact that Sora is now significantly leveled up. She also has the very effective Prism Rain Shotlock, more third-tiered spells, and the ridiculously overpowered Spellweaver (the only time a Command Style is encountered in the game). It is not impossible, but it is hard to lose the boss battle. |
| 794 | ** The boss fight with Saïx pairs you up with [[spoiler:Roxas and Xion]] as Sora's allies. [[spoiler:Roxas]] in particular is incredibly powerful and effectively invincible (level 99 when all your other allies in this sequence scale to Sora's level). You can simply stay back and watch as he whittles Saïx's HP to zero; the fight isn't outright impossible to lose, but even setting down the controller and walking away gives Saïx a 50/50 chance at best. |
| 795 | * RapidFireFisticuffs: The Counter Shield's Wrathful Flurry CounterAttack fires a barrage of giant gold fists in Sora's direction that deals immense damage to any enemy in its path. |
| 796 | * RealTimeWeaponChange: You can swap between Sora's Keyblades by using the D-pad. It's even possible to swap mid-combo, allowing you to alternate between any active Keyblade transformations or store them for later. |
| 797 | * RecursiveCanon: In the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' world, there's a ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' {{expy}}, as well as ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy2015 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]''. |
| 798 | ** Classic Kingdom's framing device is that they are promoting a film festival of the actual animated shorts they're inspired by, though in this universe, Sora is Mickey's big co-star and the producers of these cartoons are Scrooge [=McDuck=] and Ludwig Von Drake, who is credited with the invention of sound cartoons. |
| 799 | * RecycledSoundtrack: Early trailers recycled music from ''Kingdom Hearts II'', as Yoko Shimomura had not yet composed new tracks for ''III''. |
| 800 | ** In the game proper, several character themes (Maleficent, Riku, Kairi, Merlin, etc.) are carried over exactly from the HD remakes, as is the orchestral "Hikari" from the original [=PS2=] game. |
| 801 | * RedemptionRejection: |
| 802 | ** [[spoiler:Larxene]] angrily dismisses Sora's sympathy when fading away, although she at least is sorta grateful that she doesn't become a vessel in the end. |
| 803 | ** [[spoiler:Vanitas]] gladly accepts his nature as just darkness having taken form and doesn't intend to change sides at all. [[spoiler:Ventus is sorta okay with this decision; Sora isn't.]] |
| 804 | * RedHerring: |
| 805 | ** The trailers, a scene, and some dialogues in the game (notably the one the gang have with Larxene in Arendelle) suggest that the last member of the Seekers of Darkness and Xehanort's final vessel is Aqua, hence the popular conjecture that "Aqua has been 'Norted". [[spoiler:Aqua does succumb to darkness, but she is not 'Norted (it's hinted that she is becoming a [[HumanoidAbomination Darkling]]) and she is saved just in time to become one of the seven Guardians of Light. The last member is Xion, something that is not revealed until midway through the final battle.]] |
| 806 | ** The audience is lead to believe that the Riku with the Seekers is the Ansem-possessed Riku from the first game. [[spoiler:He's actually just the Riku Replica's time traveling heart from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]''.]] |
| 807 | * RememberTheNewGuy: The mysterious girl that was experimented on by Ansem's apprentices in Hollow Bastion. She is very important to Lea and Isa's motivations and even played a part in apprentice Xehanort's StartOfDarkness, despite no prior clue that this girl existed in the series, [[spoiler:though her saying "May my heart be my guiding key" suggest that she is a Dandelion/Keyblade wielder from the unions]]. |
| 808 | * RetCon: |
| 809 | ** A statement made by Xemnas in ''Dream Drop Distance'' about the reasons for why the plan for Organization XIII failed was seemingly discarded even before the game came out. In ''Dream Drop Distance'', Xemnas states that "most of the initial candidates [of the Organization] were inadequate" to become Xehanort's vessels, indicating that the renewed "true" Organization would be filled mostly by new characters. The game's trailers revealed that a majority of the Organization, even discounting Xigbar, Saïx and Xemnas themselves, are veterans of the previous one, namely Larxene, Marluxia, Luxord, and [[spoiler:Xion]]. Demyx and Vexen are revealed to be benched and serve as spares only if they fail to get the remaining members required. |
| 810 | ** As the gang leaves for Olympus, Goofy claims that Yen Sid bids everyone farewell with "May your hearts be your guiding key," even though Sora and Donald never noticed. Visiting the Mysterious Tower after Olympus reveals that, yes, Yen Sid does…[[BrickJoke quietly under his breath]]. The phrase only started to pop up in the series around [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Back Cover]] and/or [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage A Fragmentary Passage]], basically the tail end of the Xehanort Saga. |
| 811 | ** The opening Dive into the Heart or "Station of Awakening" sequence is oddly set in a watery plain/sea, instead of the usual round station in darkness. This is the Final World, the place where people who are supposed to die are tethered by a living person, making them unable to pass on. Just before the climax of this game, Sora enters this realm again and Chirity states that everyone who goes to the Dive sometimes crosses over here, since dream and death have a very thin border, and claims that he has traveled here in his previous visits. This fact is never even hinted in the previous games, which have Sora entering the Dive without visiting this world, though this can ''possibly'' be [[HandWave handwaved]] if you assume that Chirithy's referring to [[NoodleIncident possible other offscreen visits]] Sora's had to the Station of Awakening. |
| 812 | * {{Retraux}}: Over twenty ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch''-styled minigames starring Sora based on classic Disney shorts are in the game. |
| 813 | * TheReveal: Several for the series: |
| 814 | ** How did Lea and Isa end up joining the Organization in the first place? [[spoiler:They elected to become apprentices of Ansem so they could try to rescue the girl he had been experimenting on.]] |
| 815 | ** Why did Xehanort recruit the original IX-XII members of the Organization, four people who seemed to have come from nowhere? [[spoiler: They're actually time-displaced keyblade wielders from the distant past when the Keyblade War was fought.]] |
| 816 | ** Terra-Xehanort's Guardian, which everyone has been seeing since the first ''Kingdom Hearts'', is revealed to [[spoiler:host Terra's heart]]. |
| 817 | * RightForTheWrongReasons: Whenever you point the Gummiphone at Jack in The Carribean, there's a chance he'll ask if it's a spyglass. The Gummiphone could in theory be used to observe areas like a spyglass, for sure. It just has ''way'' more features and can't see anywhere near as far. |
| 818 | * RocketPunch: The Nano Arms' combo finisher, bluntly titled "Rocket Fist", fires a large fist made of Nanobots that seeks enemies and collides with them. |
| 819 | * RogueProtagonist: This is the fate that has befallen [[spoiler:Aqua, who gets corrupted by darkness]]. This leads to her hair turning pale and her eyes turning gold. Sora fights her as a boss to save her. |
| 820 | * RuleOfSeven: The seven Princesses of Heart and the seven Guardians of Light who will protect them from Xehanort's {{thirteen|IsUnlucky}} Seekers of Darkness. There's also a new group that the latter is interested in called the "New Seven Hearts", which potentially includes [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} Elsa]]. |
| 821 | [[/folder]] |
| 822 | |
| 823 | [[folder:Tropes S-Z]] |
| 824 | * SavageWolf: Sköll, the boss of Arendelle, is a wolf-like Heartless that traps people in a lightless void to kill them and eat their hearts, and also intends to devour all light in worlds. It is actually the Heartless form of Hans, having succumbed to the darkness in him after his attempt to become [[TheUsurper King of Arendelle]] through regicide failed and caused Elsa and Anna to become [[LightEmUp New Hearts]]. |
| 825 | * SayMyName: A particularly notable instance during the climatic battle against Xehanort: [[spoiler:during the FissionMailed sequence where Sora "dies" after being overpowered by Xehanort, pressing buttons on the [=DualShock 4=] causes a heartbeat to sound while Goofy and Donald call out to Sora through the controller's speaker]]. |
| 826 | * SceneryDissonance: Scala Ad Caelum [[spoiler:is a beautiful, bright and sunny world, and this weather persists during the first phase of the final boss gauntlet, against a bunch of creepy {{Humanoid Abomination}}s. The later phases [[TrashTheSet turn the battlefield]] into SceneryGorn, though.]] |
| 827 | * SceneryPorn: The characters in-universe seem to point out how nice everything looks, mostly at certain points that overlook large landscapes, such as in the Kingdom of Corona. |
| 828 | * SelfDeprecation: ''Kingdom Hearts III'' takes a number of pot shots at not only the series' infamous KudzuPlot, but also the SequelGap between the numbered entries. |
| 829 | ** When Sora, Donald, and Goofy first embark to head to Olympus, the title drops to Kingdom Hearts ''II.9.'' The actual proper Kingdom Hearts III title drop doesn't actually happen until after the Olympus world has been completed. |
| 830 | ** When preparing to head to Twilight Town, Sora exclaims that [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall it's been ages]] since he's [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII been there last]]. Donald quickly denies this, stating that it actually hasn't been that long. Sora ends up repeating this again when he runs into Hayner, Pence, and Olette, but Hayner is also slightly confused since it, in-universe, actually hadn't been that long. |
| 831 | ** ''Verum Rex'', a video game that Rex plays in the Toy Box world, gets a full video game trailer and is essentially a parody of tropes and character designs that Nomura is known for, and specifically of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV.'' |
| 832 | ** In Toy Box, the Toys think that Sora, Donald, and Goofy are video game characters. When Sora starts explaining their reasoning for being there, with the Universe being in danger of being split, Buzz finds his explanation, and by extension the ''plot'' of ''Kingdom Hearts III'', to be utterly ridiculous. |
| 833 | ** Upon noticing that most of the Seekers is made up of the same members as before, Larxene states, "What is this, Organization Rehash?" |
| 834 | ** Before the final battle, when the Guardians of Light are gathered at The Mysterious Tower. Lea had this to say, regarding the KudzuPlot. |
| 835 | ---> '''Lea:''' This is all very touching, guys, but where do I fit in? [[spoiler:Ven looks just like Roxas — or is it Roxas looks just like Ven? … And now I have to explain it all to him]] — [[MetaGuy which is in itself]] [[KudzuPlot a crazy long story]] — and, apparently everybody already knows everyone, and this is an insane amount to get memorized! |
| 836 | ** Jiminy's response to Lea's breakdown is to give everyone a copy of the Gummiphone and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall advise them all to read his journal entries if they want to get caught up to speed.]] |
| 837 | ** [[spoiler:A more bitter example during the ending. In light of Kairi's heart being shattered, Sora notices the pattern to her DesignatedVictim tendencies.]] |
| 838 | ---> [[spoiler:'''Sora''':]] [[spoiler:My whole journey began the day I lost her. And every time I find her… she slips away again.]] |
| 839 | ** In the epilogue, [[spoiler:Luxu]] tells his friends, "I hope you guys like long stories." |
| 840 | * SelfDestructiveCharge: Darkness is [[spoiler: visibly erroding Riku's body when he perfoms his HeroicSacrifice at the Keyblade Graveyard]]. He doesn't even flinch. |
| 841 | * SequelHook: Finale to the Dark Seeker saga though it may be, this game is loaded with setup for the stories to come. In rough order of occurrence: |
| 842 | ** Larxene talks about the new seven Princesses of Heart, but since they're only acting as collateral to force Sora's group to fight on Xehanort's terms, only four members of the group are confirmed: Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel, and Kairi. The identities of the other three aren't given and are presumably to be answered in the future. |
| 843 | ** There's frequent mention of [[RememberTheNewGuy a nameless amnesiac girl]] who was in Ansem the Wise's custody before the fall of Radiant Garden and factored heavily into Lea and Isa's motivations. She's heavily implied to be [[spoiler:a Dandelion, so she's likely to return in proper for the next saga. The Secret Reports imply she could even be Ava or Skuld]]. |
| 844 | ** In the Final World, Sora meets the unknown spirit of a young woman that he's not familiar with. This girl states to be waiting for a certain someone to rescue her. She even tells Sora the name of said person, which Sora appears to recognize, though it's not heard in the main game. [[spoiler:''Re𝄌Mind'' reveals that the person in question is Yozora]]. |
| 845 | ** After their defeat in the Keyblade Graveyard, [[spoiler:Marluxia, Larxene, Luxord, and Saïx anticipate returning to their human selves. Isa returns in the ending montage, but the whereabouts of Lauriam, Elrena, and Luxord's human form are unknown]]. Luxord also rewards Sora for his victory in battle with what he calls a wild card, which remains in Sora's possession at the end of the game, [[spoiler:as does the χ-blade]]. |
| 846 | ** The epilogue has [[spoiler:Xigbar revealed to be Luxu, the very first owner of Master Xehanort's Keyblade. He then summons four of his fellow Foretellers (Ira, Aced, Gula, and Invi), ancient Keyblade wielders associated with The SevenDeadlySins whose actions brought about the first Keyblade War that literally ripped the worlds apart into what they are today. And, as Maleficent and Pete watch from afar, Luxu begins filling his cohorts in on what's been going on in the ages they've been away and what the plan is from here on with the Black Box that has been long sought after. Finally, the game pulls out to the Framing Device, as a young Eraqus and Xehanort start a new chess game representing the future conflict of the seven ancient masters vs Sora.]] |
| 847 | ** The game ends with [[spoiler:Sora dead and gone, having used the Power of Waking to resurrect Kairi at the cost of his life]]. Get enough Lucky Emblems for the Secret Ending, and [[spoiler:he wakes up in a version of Shibuya, Tokyo (signified by a FictionalCounterpart of the real world 109 department store, the 104 Building similar to the one from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''). Riku, meanwhile, arrives in nearby Shinjuku, where [[RealAfterAll Yozora from the Toy Story world's fictional video game Verum Rex]] watches him from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. And finally, another hooded figure in a black coat, with his hands behind his back like the Master of Masters, gazes at the moon while FingerFraming it with a heart symbol, bringing to mind the form of Kingdom Hearts.]] |
| 848 | ** The Secret Reports reveal information that had yet to occur in ''Kingdom Hearts χ'' at the time of III's release: [[spoiler:Luxu will pass down his Keyblade to one of the new Union leaders.]] |
| 849 | ** Nomura hinted in a post-release interview that [[spoiler:the wild card that Luxord gifted Sora is going to be an important key to bringing him back]]. |
| 850 | * SequentialBoss: Several bosses in the last act are like this. [[spoiler:Luxord, Saïx, the Lich, and Master Xehanort]] all have more than one form. |
| 851 | * SerialEscalation: Sora goes from fighting just one Titan at a time to taking on three at once, and while the Rock Titan fights alone, it's now much closer to the size it was in the movie, requiring Sora to use his new Attraction Flow abilities to fight it. |
| 852 | * SeriesContinuityError: When Vanitas appears in Monstropolis, Sora identifies him as the guy from [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney the cathedral]], referencing his cameo in ''Dream Drop Distance''. Way later on during the Keyblade War, [[spoiler:Sora is shocked to see that Vanitas has the same face as him once Vanitas’s helmet breaks upon his defeat]]. However, said first meeting in Notre-Dame cathedral had Vanitas with his mask off, so [[spoiler:Sora should have already seen Vanitas’s face and known that they look alike]]. |
| 853 | * ShapeshifterWeapon: |
| 854 | ** Heartless Baymax's PoweredArmor is made up of [[{{Nanomachines}} microbots]] that will change into wings or giant claws or other varieties of equipment and weapons.' |
| 855 | * SheCleansUpNicely: In the ending, [[spoiler:Xion ''finally'' gets to wear normal clothes, which visibly impresses Roxas. Lea and Isa also get to wear normal clothes again for the first time since they were kids, although this time they wear black, perhaps out of habit from their time in the Organization]]. |
| 856 | * ShieldSurf: The Trinity Sled Command, which is used in Olympus, The Caribbean, and Arendelle. It is required in Olympus and Arendelle to move through fire and escape an avalanche caused by Heartless, respectively. After clearing Arendelle, you also unlock a minigame which allows you to play a minigame version of the avalanche course, without the Heartless or the avalanche. |
| 857 | ** Of the Flantastic 7, the cherry one in Olympus has a minigame that uses the Trinity Sled Command. |
| 858 | * ShooOutTheClowns: Played with. [[spoiler:Donald and Goofy stay with Master Yen Sid during the fated battle between light and darkness, but return for the final battle against Master Xehanort in Scala ad Caelum.]] |
| 859 | * ShoulderCannon: The speed and gunner class toy Gigas mechs in the Toy Box world each use a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons for their special attacks. |
| 860 | * ShoutOut: |
| 861 | ** The Classic Kingdom minigames are based on ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch''. |
| 862 | ** When you fight the Titans at the end of Olympus, the text on the information bar says to "[[Film/ClashOfTheTitans Clash with the Titans]]". |
| 863 | ** Rex mentions that a video game he's been playing has a [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Bahamut]] boss, and mistakes Sora for the protagonist, Yozora, while Donald is Magia and Goofy is Aegis. For the latter two, these were the same naming conventions used for the protagonists of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', while Yozora means "night sky," the same as the name of the protagonist of ''XV'', '''Noctis''' Lucis '''Caelum'''. ''Final Fantasy XV'' was produced at the same time as ''Kingdom Hearts III''. |
| 864 | ** In the Galaxy Toys toy store, there's an aisle for ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy2015 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]'' action figures. |
| 865 | ** When [[spoiler:showing Demyx and Vexen collaborating to go against the Seekers]], as Demyx seems enthused on joining in, he excitedly says "Yes! [[WebVideo/DemyxTime Demyx Time!]]" |
| 866 | ** The Formchange of the Wheel of Time Keyblade is the Highwind, which turns the Keyblade into a spear and has its finishing blow being a rain of spears from high in the sky, referencing the Dragoon class from ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''. |
| 867 | ** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/al3kak/south_park_reference_in_kingdom_hearts_iii/ The instructions for opening a Treasure Sphere]] list it in order of steps, with the last step given as "[[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Step 3:]] [[Recap/SouthParkS2E17Gnomes Profit]]". |
| 868 | ** A secluded beach in the Caribbean has a chest containing the Beach Party Classic Kingdom game and hundreds of crabs for upgrading your ship, a subtle reference to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDU_Txk06tM Crab Rave]] meme. |
| 869 | * ShownTheirWork: If you thought Square Enix's attention to detail with Disney films was good in other games, it's shown with even greater effect here. World designs look even closer to their films than they did before, and they even involve the original staff of the films in the development process, just to make sure they nail down the atmosphere right. It helps that most of the movies represented in this game were [[AllCGICartoon CGI-animated]] to begin with, which makes them easier to replicate accurately within a video game engine. |
| 870 | * ShowWithinAShow: |
| 871 | ** There's an in-universe video game entitled ''Verum Rex: Beat of Lead'' within the Toy Box, which Rex is a big fan of. He initially thinks that Sora, Donald, and Goofy are characters from said video game named "Yozora", "Magia", and "Aegis". These names respectively translate to "Night Sky" (Japanese), "Magic" (Latin), and "Shield" (Greek), all of which are [[MeaningfulName very fitting for them]].) |
| 872 | ** On the shelves of Galaxy Toys, one can see various titles, including "Blood Fight", "Space Cats", "Deep Dark Castle", Pit*Pet Party", "Wall Street Ninja", "Wall Street Ninja 2", and "Twinkle Puzzle". |
| 873 | * ShutUpHannibal: Woody manages to pull this off against Young Xehanort, of all people. Young Xehanort has [[spoiler:Buzz Lightyear trapped in a dark void and is threatening to kill him]], all while saying that darkness is the heart's true nature. Woody responds that, apparently, no one's ever loved Young Xehanort, and that he doesn't care about any of that; should his friends be hurt, Woody threatens to lay a beatdown on Young Xehanort. |
| 874 | * SidelinedProtagonistCrossover: Unlike in other Disney worlds where Sora regularly interacts with the cast, Sora barely has any moments with the ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' cast. Though Anna and Elsa appear, they do not become party members and Sora interacts with them exactly once each in the game[[note]]Though long enough for Anna to tell their {{Backstory}}[[/note]], while the plot of the movie goes on without his input at all. They aren't even there to say goodbye to Sora, unlike all other Disney casts in the same game. The AscendedExtra part? [[spoiler:[[{{Snowlems}} Marshmallow]] becomes a party member and Hans manifests Arendelle's Heartless FinalBoss, [[Myth/NorseMythology Skoll]].]] |
| 875 | * SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: Most of the English dub cast were given some promotion ahead of the release, even those cast members who were serving as TheOtherDarrin for classic Disney characters. Creator/TJMiller was left out of the announcement of the ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' cast (Creator/KevinMcNally somewhat awkwardly there in his place) due to being embroiled in a scandal involving calling in a false bomb threat, while Creator/JamesWoods likewise went unannounced due to being a controversial figure in general. |
| 876 | * SlippySlideyIceWorld: Arendelle is the first full-fledged ice world in the series.[[note]]Halloween Town in ''II'' was this only for one area, being overwhelmingly BigBoosHaunt save for that.[[/note]] |
| 877 | * SmartPeoplePlayChess: The trailer shows a young Xehanort and Eraqus [[CosmicChessGame playing a chess-like game]]; and [[FreezeFrameBonus if you take a close look at the pieces]], they have symbols corresponding to different characters — [[TimeyWimeyBall ones whom they've yet to meet at that point in time]]. |
| 878 | * SoundtrackDissonance: Using the Meow-Wow Balloon Link causes the Dream Eater minigame music from ''3D'' to [[BackgroundMusicOverride play over any other background music]]. Said music is relatively cheerful and lighthearted and not at all suited for battle. |
| 879 | * SpectacularSpinning: One Attraction Flow attack is based on the [[WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland Mad Tea Party]] [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks teacup ride]]. |
| 880 | * SparedByTheAdaptation: The Kraken was KilledOffscreen between ''Dead Man's Chest'' and ''At World's End'', but in ''III'', it has survived past the point in the original timeline when it was killed off, as it is present during the maelstrom battle from the climax of the third film. |
| 881 | * StarsAreSouls: The souls residing in the Final World all take the form of stars. |
| 882 | * SteppingStonesInTheSky: Sora does this with floating debris on Olympus. |
| 883 | * TheStinger: The game has a standard stinger and the secret one. The standard one [[spoiler: involves the return of the Foretellers from ''Kingdom Hearts Union X'' meeting up with Xigbar, who not only survived but is revealed to be Luxu, the sixth apprentice of the Master of Masters. Then Young Eraqus and Xehanort start a new game of chess, implying that the Fortellers will be the new villains]]. The secret ending [[spoiler: reveals that Sora is still alive and has ended up in Shibuya, while Riku has ended up in the world of ''Verum Rex'', the video game featured in the Toy Story world, making it and the protagonist Yozora RealAllAlong]] |
| 884 | * StupidSacrifice: [[spoiler: Repliku refusing to take Dark Riku's empty vessel for himself, so Naminé could use it instead, can be seen as this. For all we know, Even could have easily just made another replica body for her.]] |
| 885 | * StylisticSuck: |
| 886 | ** The kaiju-themed enemies in the Toy Box have limited articulation, and move around by hopping, since their design doesn't have articulated legs. |
| 887 | ** [[DownplayedTrope A much more minor example]], but the ShotForShotRemake of "Let it Go" in Arendelle retains the infamous animation error from the film where Elsa's braid appears to pass through her arm[[note]]Which was intentional on the part of the filmmakers, as the rigging of Elsa's model was so complex that cheesing it like that was the only practical way to get the motion across[[/note]]. |
| 888 | * SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Honey Lemon not only believes that Donald's powers are magic, but she asks if she could study it more closely. He is more than happy to oblige. |
| 889 | * SummonMagic: Sora has access to five summons (here known as Links): [[Franchise/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]], [[Franchise/TheLionKing Simba]], the [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Eaters]], [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Stitch]], and [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph Wreck-It Ralph]]. |
| 890 | * {{Superboss}}: |
| 891 | ** The Glacial Fortress is an entirely optional boss, as it can be completely skipped on the way to Arendelle if not actively sought out. It's also a very tough, multi-stage boss with a ton of health. |
| 892 | ** Dark Inferno, a powerful, [[DualWield dual-wielding]] Heartless with a Badass Scarf. It can be found in the Keyblade Graveyard after Battlegates are unlocked, and [[DuelBoss Sora must challenge it alone.]] |
| 893 | ** Just to the west of Sandbar Island in the Caribbean are a group of Heartless Pirate Ships that can teleport in mist. Naturally they are much, much harder then any other enemy ship in the Caribbean. |
| 894 | ** If your Gummi Ship has at least 200 Speed, you can fly into the blue part of the vortex in the center of Misty Stream, which will pit you against the ultimate Gummi Heartless, [[spoiler:the Schwartzgeist from ''{{VideoGame/Einhander}}'']]. It is far more difficult than any other Gummi Heartless in the game, being a MightyGlacier DamageSpongeBoss who can chew through even the toughest Gummi Ships in seconds and can stall out the fight with DeflectorShields in addition to its already-beefy defense. Defeating it awards the ultimate Gummi Blueprint, the Golden Highwind. |
| 895 | ** The Omega Machina, another Gummi ship bonus boss. Found by defeating five other weaker Bonus Bosses in the Eclipse Galaxy, the Omega Machina is a beefed-up version of the Colossus Pyramid boss fought earlier in the area. Omega has [[OneWingedAngel five different forms]], three of which Colossus didn't have, and its attacks get progressively stronger and harder to dodge the more times it changes. Defeating Omega earns, among other rewards, one of the seven Orichalcum+ materials needed for the InfinityPlusOneSword. |
| 896 | * SuperCellReception: The Gummiphone can call ''between worlds'', and reliably enough that the one time it cuts out is cause for panic. The name suggests that this is a benefit of the same Gummi technology that allows Gummi Ships to travel between worlds. |
| 897 | * SuperNotDrowningSkills: Sora can swim and breath underwater quite easily while in the Caribbean. Jack Sparrow can't, though, and sits out any underwater adventuring. |
| 898 | * SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The χ-blade. [[spoiler:It is forged by Xehanort after the Seven Guardians of Light successfully clash with the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness and used to open and control Kingdom Hearts. It is later bequeathed to Sora by Xehanort himself after Eraqus convinces Xehanort to stand down.]] |
| 899 | * TakingYouWithMe: Rather than just fade like most Heartless bosses once defeated, Sköll attempts to kill Sora and co. with a final explosion. Marshmallow is able to shield them from the brunt of the blast, though. |
| 900 | * TalkingIsAFreeAction: The battle at the Keyblade Graveyard. Sora and his friends fight against 2-3 members of the Seekers at different locations, and after one of the members is defeated, a scene follows with the beaten member discussing with Sora before vanishing, and then the fight between the other members resumes. |
| 901 | * ATasteOfPower: After completing Olympus, the player controls Riku in the Realm of Darkness against a Demon Tower. Because Riku is now a full-fledged Keyblade Master, he has endgame-level magic, HP, and stats. |
| 902 | * TheTeam: The heroes' main goal is to have enough people to field a team against Xehanort's 13 incarnations. |
| 903 | ** Going into battle, the Seven Guardians of Light are the {{Cast Herd}}s of the main Trinity [[TheHero Sora]] (backed up by [[HonoraryTrueCompanion non-keyblade wielder]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Donald]] and [[SimplemindedWisdom Goofy]]); their counterparts [[TheLancer Riku]] and [[TheGoodKing Mickey]]; the new apprentices [[TheHeart Kairi]] and [[FieryRedhead Lea]]; and the [[spoiler:recovered predecessors [[TeamMom Aqua]] and [[SealedGoodInACan Ventus]]]]. |
| 904 | ** Ironically, by the end, the Seven (technically already Nine) become a group of [[spoiler:Thirteen]] themselves, as pictured [[spoiler:on the cover art]] through [[EleventhHourRanger Eleventh-Hour]] BigDamnHeroes and {{Heel Face Turn}}s. Adding [[spoiler:[[LivingMemory Xion]] and [[AssassinOutclassin Roxas]] to the new apprentices, [[TeamDad Terra]] to the predecessors, and [[MysticalWaif a disembodied Naminé]] to help Sora help everyone else.]] |
| 905 | * TearsOfJoy: |
| 906 | ** Aqua sheds these after [[spoiler:being freed from the Realm of Darkness for the first time in over ten years]]. |
| 907 | ** In the Keyblade Graveyard, [[spoiler:Lea, Roxas, and Xion, as well as Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, when they are reunited]]. |
| 908 | * ThatOneBoss: InUniverse, there's [[ShowWithinAShow a popular video game]] in the Toy Box that Rex is a big fan of. When he mistakes Sora and company for characters from said game, he mentions that he and Slinky were having a lot of difficulty defeating a specific boss named [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Bahamut]]. |
| 909 | * ThisIsADrill: The "Drill Punch" Command Style transforms the Keyblade into a large drill arm. Sora can use it for punching attacks or [[DigAttack dig underground to strike enemies from below]]. |
| 910 | * ThisIsReality: Buzz rejects the notion of worlds being split apart, saying that this is reality, not a video game, in a universe where toys come to life and move around on their own. |
| 911 | * ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: This is one of the only ''Kingdom Hearts'' games to avert this, as neither Strike Raid nor any of its variations appear in any capacity during the main game, although one of the Risk Dodge counters is a Payback Raid-esque attack. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Very early pre-release footage]] originally depicted Sora using Raid Ride to attack the Rock Titan while riding Big Magic Mountain, but in the final game, Big Magic Mountain attacks by firing fireworks from its chimney stack. However, certain Keyblade transformations such as [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Counter]] [[ThrowingYourShieldAlwaysWorks Shield]] and [[ImprobableWeaponUser Storm Flag]] have a raid attack when used at a certain distance, though it doesn't combo like Strike Raid. Saïx still fights by throwing his sword, but now throws multiple swords at once. |
| 912 | * TimeTravel: As mentioned at the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', the Seekers of Darkness are traveling forward in time into vessels that Master Xehanort prepared. |
| 913 | ** In the Final World, [[spoiler:Sora himself does this when going back to the Keyblade Graveyard, thus changing Terra-Xehanort being beaten back by Donald's Zettaflare to the Lingering Will instead]]. |
| 914 | * TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential: Sora's new ability to transform the Keyblade into different forms is the result of him doing this by becoming a master and thus able to use more of the true power than before. |
| 915 | * TitanomachyRoundTwo: The game concludes the series-long plot of the Olympus Coliseum world (since it is an adaptation of the [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Disney film]]) by having Sora, Donald and Goofy joining Hercules in fighting the Titans in Olympus who were released by Hades. |
| 916 | * TitleDrop: [[spoiler:the final attack that Sora deals to the Heartless twister is called [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX "Union X"]].]] |
| 917 | * TomTheDarkLord: When attacked by the mysterious Heartless nanobots, Fred names them "Darkubes" on the fly, claiming that every good supervillain needs a cool name. [=GoGo=] objects to this, claiming that the name sucks, but everyone adopts it regardless. Their design suggests they're Bug Blocks from ''Coded'' somehow made real, but none of the characters make any sort of connection between the two. |
| 918 | * TomatoSurprise: The game drops a major bombshell plot twist in its epilogue, though it only really makes sense to those who played the Mobile game or at least watched Back Cover. [[spoiler: The Foretellers are summoned into the present by someone whom they recognize as their old friend Luxu, but that was just the name he originally used. Currently, in the game's present? ''He's Xigbar.'']] |
| 919 | * TookALevelInKindness: Several of the former members of Organization XIII are shown to have done this. Most prominently, Ienzo, formerly the [[ManipulativeBastard Cloaked Schemer]] Zexion, now serves as MissionControl while spearheading the effort to give Roxas a body of his own, and is nothing but friendly and helpful. [[spoiler:Vexen and Saïx both rejoined the Organization only in a bid to [[TheAtoner atone for their wrongdoings]] behind the scenes; they were likewise instrumental in creating and securing the replica bodies for the lost Nobodies. Furthermore, once the latter is defeated again and returns as Isa, he is shown in the ending spending time with Xion and Roxas, both of whom he despised as Saïx.]] |
| 920 | * ToyTime: The ''Franchise/ToyStory'' world is naturally toy-centric. A major part of the level involves exploring a toy store. |
| 921 | * ToyTransmutation: Upon entering the [[Franchise/ToyStory Toy Box]] world, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are turned into toys in order to blend in with the world and protect the world order. |
| 922 | * TranslationConvention: In the Japanese version, Sora reads the Monsters, Inc. slogan "We Scare Because We Care" in Japanese, despite the slogan being written in English. Between this, ''all'' signs being written in English in most worlds (aside from those meant to be in a foreign language), and the initial ''Final Mix'' releases, it can be deduced that the characters are supposed to be speaking English regardless of voiceover language. |
| 923 | * TraumaCongaLine: It’s safe to say that [[TheHero Sora]] has gone through one in the span of ''what couldn’t be more than a few days at most,'' which has to be some kind of record. He goes to fight only to watch half his friends get curb-stomped and is nearly swallowed by darkness himself. He decides to use his power to bring his friends hearts back and he goes on to fight the Organization XIII, but halfway through his [[WillTheyOrWontThey kind-of-girlfriend]] gets kidnapped and he has to fight knowing she could be in serious danger. ''Then'' he watches her die. Then he goes to fight the BigBad and manages to defeat him, but it doesn’t bring Kairi back. So he sets out on a quest to use his power and bring her back from the dead essentially, and he has to go through everything mentioned above '''all over again.''' Except this time, he sees everything from the eyes of his friends and feels the pain in their hearts, and can’t do anything different this time. He fights his way through a bunch of enemies, manages to piece Kairi’s heart back together, and at least manages to [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn his happy ending...]] except [[spoiler:He has to face the consequences of abusing the power of waking and ''fades away from existence.'' And judging by his reaction when he sees that his hand is fading away, he spends a few days with the love of his life '''knowing that he will die very soon.''' And if the BadEnding happens to be canon, it also means that he’s been essentially TakenForGranite and turned into a crystal statue.]] That’s not even getting into all the crap he went through during the previous games. It’s a wonder he manages to stay so positive, or even ''sane''. |
| 924 | * TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The advertising happily spoiled the darkness-possessed Aqua being a boss fight, despite her even being in such a state being a massive spoiler in and of itself. As such, the search for her becomes a slog. |
| 925 | * TwoGirlsToATeam: Kairi and Aqua are this to the Guardians of Light, while Larxene and [[spoiler:Xion]] are this to the Seekers of Darkness. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] once [[spoiler:Xion]] pulls a HeelFaceTurn and joins the Guardians of Light, making it three girls on the team. |
| 926 | * TheUnfought: |
| 927 | ** [[spoiler:Vexen and Demyx]] are not faced at all, despite being with the Seekers. [[spoiler:This is justified due to Vexen being TheMole and Demyx going through a HeelFaceTurn to assist him.]] |
| 928 | ** Despite being present antagonists in their worlds, Hades and Randall are not battled at all. |
| 929 | ** [[NonActionBigBad Mother Gothel and Hans]] are battled, but only in the forms of Heartless who don't resemble them. |
| 930 | ** Similarly, Maleficent and Pete are never battled at any point in the game. When Sora challenges her in Olympus, Maleficent dismisses it and says that it is not worth her present concern, before going away. |
| 931 | * UniquenessRule: You can only carry one [[AutoRevive Kupo Coin]] at a time. While you can buy another should you die during a battle and use it up, you can't be saved multiple times in one battle, so the player has to make their revival count. |
| 932 | * TheUnreveal: |
| 933 | ** The Black Box that was set up in ''Back Cover'' keeps getting brought up. Its contents and purpose are never revealed. |
| 934 | ** Throughout the game, it's revealed that an amnesiac girl [[spoiler:who possibly traveled from the past]] was found in Radiant Garden and experimented on by the apprentice Xehanort. She also befriended Lea and Isa when they snuck into the castle. When Ansem learned what Xehanort was doing, he sent the girl away to a location that only he knows. Who the girl is, what happened to her, and why the Seekers considered her important is not elaborated on. |
| 935 | ** How Xemnas knew that [[spoiler:Ventus, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene are keyblade wielders from the Age of Fairytales]] is unknown. |
| 936 | * UnusuallyUninterestingSight: For some reason, the fact that the Darkubes resemble the Bugs from the Datascape is never brought up by Goofy, Donald, or Jiminy. |
| 937 | * UrbanFantasy: Similar to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV the game]] it's an AffectionateParody of, ''Verum Rex'' takes place in a modern-day Japanese city infested with varying types of HumongousMecha called Gigas, while its protagonists are stylish-looking young men armed with modern weaponry combined with magic. [[spoiler:This also goes for the Secret Ending, where Sora wakes up in Shibuya's Scramble Crossing.]] |
| 938 | * VariantChess: The young Eraqus and Xehanort's chess game [[{{Calvinball}} doesn't seem to be anything even close to regular chess]], with a wide array of completely unique pieces, inconsistent movement rules at different points in the story, and even random magic that lets multiple pieces materialize out of nowhere. |
| 939 | * TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:Scala ad Caelum, the world apparently inside Kingdom Hearts.]] |
| 940 | * VillainForgotToLevelGrind: Or forgot to change their fighting styles. Many of the Seekers use the same or similar fighting style and tactics from previous games, but because they're more suited for the more ground-oriented combat in previous games, compared to the improved air-oriented combat in this game, and because many players who have played the previous games will be familiar with their fighting styles, their attacks are much easier to dodge and react to. Some attacks like Marluxia and Larxene's can be easily dodged just by staying in the air. WordOfGod is that this is GameplayAndStorySegregation to make the game winnable for regular players, and the Limitcut portion of the ''Re𝄌Mind'' DLC shows what the bosses are really supposed to be like in the story. |
| 941 | * VocalEvolution: |
| 942 | ** After a divisive portrayal in ''Dream Drop Distance'', Creator/HaleyJoelOsment has been given props for finding a good middle ground between his ''Kingdom Hearts II'' Sora voice and the later one in ''Dream Drop Distance''. |
| 943 | ** Vanitas has gotten more gravelly and sinister compared to ''Birth By Sleep'' when his voice was a bit deeper than Sora's; this serves a purpose, as Vanitas and Sora actually interact with each other in this game. |
| 944 | * WakeUpCallBoss: On Critical, the Rock Troll in Olympus. Despite only being miniboss-class, it is the first enemy in the game that will truly punish you for blindly hacking and slashing. Most of its attacks can two-hit or even OneHitKill at your given HP level, and simply going ham will lead to an early grave. Learning how to block and execute Reprisals is necessary to take it down. |
| 945 | * WallJump: Part of Sora's acrobatics. |
| 946 | * WallRun: Sora can run up walls marked by a glowing visual effect. The Rock Titan fight has Sora running straight up a cliff face to reach it. |
| 947 | * WalkingSpoiler: |
| 948 | ** [[spoiler: Luxu did not count as a WalkingSpoiler in [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX his debut game]], but he does count in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', as virtually all his appearances in that game reveal that [[TheManBehindTheMan he backed all]] of [[BigBad Xehanort's]] actions for his own purposes, and that he spent the entire series taking place after ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'' masquerading as Braig and his Nobody counterpart Xigbar, who serves as Xehanort's top confidant.]] |
| 949 | ** [[spoiler: The adult Eraqus becomes a WalkingSpoiler in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' as he only reappears at the very end of the game to be the one who [[KilledOffForReal kills off Xehanort]] literally via GhostReunionEnding. Bringing up adult Eraqus will also spoil that [[NotQuiteDead Xehanort failed to completely kill him off]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep''.]] |
| 950 | * TheWarSequence: At the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora, Donald and Goofy are forced to mow down an absolutely enormous swarm of Heartless, Nobodies, ''and'' Unversed in a similar fashion to the Battle of 1000 Heartless from ''II''. However, after a minute of fighting, Goofy points out that just beating up the Heartless one by one isn't really thinning their numbers, so they decide to bust out Big Magic Mountain and take out the entire crowd in one fell swoop. |
| 951 | * WeaponTombstone: [[spoiler:In the ending, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua visit Eraqus's grave to pay their respects. Since Eraqus [[NoBodyLeftBehind did not leave a body behind]] when he died, they placed the Master's Defender above a plot of land in the Land of Departure to form the memorial.]] |
| 952 | * WeHaveReserves: Vexen and Demyx are kept around as backups for the Seekers, just in case the others weren't up for the task. [[spoiler:The resentment from being so casually disregarded by the other members is one of several reasons for their [[HeelFaceTurn defecting]].]] |
| 953 | ** Xemnas himself brutally lampshades this as a reversal to Sora as he abducts [[spoiler:Kairi]]. |
| 954 | --> "What difference does one little light make? You have others. Just as we have more darknesses to replenish our ranks." |
| 955 | * WellTrainedButInexperienced: Lea and Kairi spend most of the game being trained to use their keyblades under Yen Sid's supervision in preparation for the upcoming battle against the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. When the battle occurs, Lea and Kairi are proven to be the weakest of the Seven Lights. While Lea does have experience wielding his chakrams and fire magic as Axel, he has only recently acquired his keyblade, and Kairi has no combat experience. Worse still, Merlin is the one to supervise them, and while he is very intelligent, he has no keyblade or combat experience of his own and thus lacks certain qualities that would make a proper teacher for them. When they are brought into the final battle, Lea is quickly overpowered by Xemnas and Kairi is also kidnapped. |
| 956 | * WhamLine: |
| 957 | ** Mickey and Riku have finally found Aqua in the Realm of Darkness, but... |
| 958 | --> '''Aqua:''' Mickey...[[FaceHeelTurn you're]] [[DemonicPossession too]] [[YouAreTooLate late.]] |
| 959 | ** "Eraqus is a blueblood, descended from the very first masters of the age of fairy tales" –Xehanort |
| 960 | ** "He will return..." –Unknown ([[spoiler:Luxu]]) |
| 961 | ** Xigbar has this to say at the end of Olympus world: "[[spoiler:[[ArcWords May your hear--]]]]" [''SmashCut [[FadeToBlack to black]]''] |
| 962 | ** Donald: '''[[spoiler:"[[FantasticNuke Zettaflare!]]"]]''' |
| 963 | ** [[spoiler:"One day... I... will... set... this... right..." —Terra's final words from his story in ''Birth by Sleep'', now uttered by the Guardian.]] |
| 964 | ** Xemnas to Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene, [[spoiler:"You four are going to reveal your greatest secret: the ancient Keyblade legacy that slumbers within you."]] |
| 965 | ** "Changing sides again?" [[spoiler:—Xemnas, to [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Xion]] as she stops The Superior of the In-Between from killing Lea.]] |
| 966 | ** Throughout the game, the other characters and the player had believed that the Dark Riku in the real Organization XIII was a past version of Riku from when he was possessed by Ansem. Then, in the Keyblade Graveyard, this happens. |
| 967 | --->'''Dark Riku''': You're not...real... |
| 968 | --->'''Riku''': Huh? |
| 969 | --->'''Dark Riku''': I'm...the real one... |
| 970 | --->'''Riku''': Aren't you my past self? From when Ansem possessed me? |
| 971 | --->'''[[spoiler: Riku Replica]]''': [[spoiler: No, you beat Ansem and you're still here. This guy...is me!]] |
| 972 | ** "[[ArcWords There is one sky, one destiny!]]" [[spoiler:—Master Xehanort, telling the heroes that it doesn't matter if he's not in the Keyblade Graveyard; since all the worlds are connected, he can still summon Kingdom Hearts.]] |
| 973 | ** The epilogue from ''Kingdom Hearts III'' also has a whammy: |
| 974 | --->'''Ira:''' Is that you, Luxu? You look different. |
| 975 | --->'''[[spoiler: Xigbar]]:''' Haven't heard that name in a long while. |
| 976 | * WhamShot: |
| 977 | ** The battle against [[spoiler:Terra-Xehanort + Vanitas. The Guardian that protects Terra-Xehanort contained Terra's heart all along. He then manages to rebel against his own possessed body in order to save his friends]]. |
| 978 | ** [[spoiler:Master Xehanort killing/shattering Kairi, prompting an enraged Sora to deliver the final clash between light and darkness that allows the χ-blade to be formed.]] |
| 979 | ** Diving under the water in Scala ad Caelum reveals that [[spoiler:underneath is [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Daybreak Town]]]]. |
| 980 | ** [[spoiler:Sora's supposed HeroicSacrifice near the end, allowing Kairi to return back to Destiny Islands — possibly at the cost of his own life.]] |
| 981 | ** In the epilogue, [[spoiler:the Foretellers emerge in the Keyblade Graveyard to find themselves greeted by a figure in a black hood carrying the No Name Keyblade and waiting next to the mysterious black box. Upon being identified as Luxu, the figure acknowledges that he hasn't gone by that name in a long time and removes their hood...to reveal the face of '''[[TheManInFrontOfTheMan Xigbar]]'''.]] |
| 982 | ** The secret movie reveals [[spoiler:that Sora's still alive, and is in ''[[UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}} Shibuya]]'' [[note]]WordOfGod debunks it being ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''[=’s=] Shibuya, despite both having the 104 Building in place of real life’s 109 Building[[/note]]. Riku may be close by, and is being observed by [[ChekhovsGunman Yozora]]. The final shot is of a figure in a black coat who is the Master of Masters looking at the moon and making a heart shape with their hands.]] |
| 983 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: |
| 984 | ** [[spoiler:After agreeing to help Vexen and showing up at the Hollow Bastion's castle in order to bring back Ansem the Wise and a replica for Roxas to use, Demyx is absent for the rest of the game from that point on.]] |
| 985 | ** The final fate of [[spoiler:the χ-blade is unclear. Sora uses it to close Kingdom Hearts after the final battle, but the next time Sora summons a Keyblade to go after Kairi it’s just the standard Kingdom Key. It’s unknown what the potential repercussions would be of allowing something so immensely powerful to remain intact in the Realm of Light]]. Going by ''Birth By Sleep'''s explanation, the implication is [[spoiler:the χ-blade dissipated once Kingdom Hearts was closed again.]] |
| 986 | * WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: |
| 987 | ** A pointed aversion. After his realizations in ''Dream Drop Distance'', Sora is determined to bring Roxas back into existence. [[spoiler:Vexen and Ansem the Wise likewise seek to restore Naminé as well to make up for their own mistakes.]] |
| 988 | ** ''Everyone'' has measure. Even [[spoiler:the other Baymax that was sent into the void]]. |
| 989 | * WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:Anti-Aqua]] gives a rather scathing one to Mickey for not helping find a way back to the Realm of Light. |
| 990 | -->'''Mickey:''' What happened?\ |
| 991 | '''[[spoiler:Anti-Aqua]]:''' You ''abandoned'' me, that's what. [[spoiler:You left me in this shadow prison for more than a ''decade'', knowing what it would do to me… […] I reached this shore after endless wandering. Waited forever for help to arrive. But no one ever came. I lost my Keyblade. Had no means of fighting my way back through the Heartless. You should have ''known'' I was stranded. Do you have ''any idea'' how ''lonely'' it is here? How ''frightening'' it is to have no one? [[DespairEventHorizon All that's left in my heart is misery and despair…]] And now… you can share it!]] |
| 992 | * WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The credits show how the Disney worlds are doing after meeting Sora and friends. In Olympus Coliseum, Hercules is cleaning up the mess Hades made and Meg shows him a statue erected in his honor while the city applauds him; in Twilight Town, Scrooge is surprised at the extent of Rémy's cooking in the kitchen of Le Grand Bistrot; in the Toy Box, Andy finally returns; in Port Royal, Elizabeth watches Will leave at sea while Barbossa steals the ''Black Pearl'' again, while Jack and Joshamee watch it sail away; in San Fransokyo, Big Hero 6 continues to save the day, now with another Baymax at their side; in Monstropolis, Sulley and Mike put Boo to rest in her room after another day of play; in Arendelle, the group has gone sleighing with Marshmallow; in Corona, Rapunzel and Eugene dance together in the town square; and in the Hundred Acre Wood, the animals work together to plant vegetables in a garden. |
| 993 | * AWizardDidIt: Xehanort's meddling in the Toy Box causes the toys' weapons to actually function like real weapons. This includes Buzz's wrist laser, which is otherwise just a laser pointer. |
| 994 | * WholePlotReference: The Arendelle World is one huge retelling for the ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' movie, though the cast never sets foot near the castle until the end. It even has Elsa's ''Let It Go'' musical number. |
| 995 | * WolfpackBoss: A ton of Minotaur-like Heartless are summoned by one of their kin blowing a war horn to stampede Sora on Mt. Olympus. |
| 996 | * WolverineClaws: |
| 997 | ** The ''Monsters, Inc.'' Keyblade, Happy Gear, can transform into Quick Claws, which can then become [[KillerYoYo Quick Yo-Yo's]]. |
| 998 | ** Larxene wields her kunai like these, as usual. |
| 999 | * WreckedWeapon: Riku's Keyblade gets its tip broken off after an encounter with a Demon Tower, rendering it unusable… at least, to him. He leaves it on the beach in the Realm of Darkness for "the other me." |
| 1000 | * WrongContextMagic: The Seekers are interested in Davy Jones and his heart in the Dead Man's Chest because they're curious as to how a being could extract his own heart without becoming a Heartless, fading away, or dying. However, what they don't know is that the "heart" of Davy Jones in the chest is the actual biological organ, not the metaphysical heart that the series usually refers to. When Vexen sees Jack open the chest and realizes this, he's disgusted and disappointed that he's been wasting his time chasing a useless lead. |
| 1001 | * XanatosSpeedChess: Following the heroes [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance rescuing Sora from becoming Xehanort's thirteenth vessel]], the XIII Seekers of Darkness spend a good chunk of the game trying to find their thirteenth member. [[spoiler:By the Keyblade Graveyard, they've got their thirteen. Xion ended up being the final addition.]] |
| 1002 | * YearInsideHourOutside: [[WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone Merlin]] trains Lea and Kairi in a place called the Secret Forest where time does not pass. |
| 1003 | * YouAreTooLate: Mickey and Riku only find Aqua after she's succumbed to darkness. [[spoiler:She gets better after Sora defeats her.]] |
| 1004 | * YouCantFightFate: [[TheFatalist Young Xehanort]] believes that the future has "already been written," due to [[BecauseDestinySaysSo the prophecy about the Keyblade War]] and [[StableTimeLoop the experiences ingrained on him]] in ''Dream Drop Distance''. [[ScrewDestiny Eraqus is more optimistic.]] |
| 1005 | -->'''Eraqus:''' Who's to say I can't change it? [...] You might be surprised.\ |
| 1006 | '''Xehanort:''' Oh, I hope so. |
| 1007 | * YouCantThwartStageOne: And Xehanort demonstrates it in the most backhanded way possible. [[spoiler:It looks like the fatal flaw in Xehanort's Keyblade War has been exposed when the heroes suffer ''no'' losses to their side other than Kairi getting abducted, leaving Xehanort one key short of completing the χ-blade when he is at last confronted with no more minions protecting him. His simple response is to summon Kairi and slam his Keyblade into her back before anyone can react, netting a cheap kill that forms the final key. He then casts Stopza to escape.]] |
| 1008 | * YouHaveFailedMe: Xemnas decides to dispose of [[spoiler:Xion after she refuses to kill Lea]], since she becomes useless to the Seekers at that point. [[SubvertedTrope He doesn't get very far]] thanks to [[spoiler:Roxas's intervention]]. |
| 1009 | * YouWillNotEvadeMe: At one point, [[spoiler:Terra's Lingering Will]] transforms his Keyblade into a whip and latches it to Terra-Xehanort's Keyblade, then pulls in an effort to drag Terra-Xehanort to him. He succeeds at getting Terra-Xehanort into the air, but the latter lets go of his Keyblade and attempts to attack directly. |
| 1010 | * ZeroEffortBoss: Saïx in the Keyblade Graveyard, who would normally be a challenge due to his high HP and attack power... except you have [[spoiler:a completely invincible, extremely powerful, and ''royally pissed-off'' Roxas on your side, who ''will'' annihilate him without any input from the player.]] |
| 1011 | [[/folder]] |
| 1012 | ---- |
| 1013 | ->''"[[SequelHook May your heart be your guiding key...]]"'' |
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FollowingContext VideoGame / KingdomHeartsIII
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