Cryptonix gave multiple Adaptational Angst Upgrades to various canon, and while the series always holds hopes that things could be better, there still is a lot of sad stuff.
Note: The following list contains moments exclusive to Cryptonix's series. Anything taken from the games must stay in the games.
Kingdom Hearts Days Between
- While Xion's death was already sad in canon, Cryptonix changed Roxas asking who he'll have ice cream with with Xion having a Dying Declaration of Love.
- Heck, the fact Roxas and Xion are a couple in this continuity makes their fights much sadder, as Crypto himself acknowledges this.
Cryptonix: "So yeah, 358 is now a love story, but as Xion starts questioning her presence in the Org and is convinced to return to Sora, the love Roxas and Xion feel turns distant and strained by the fact that they're pitted against each other by forces seemingly outside of their control, losing Xion as a result." - Day 141: When Riku offers Namine to come live with him, Sora and Kairi on Destiny Islands so she could have a home, Namine states that, according to DiZ, Kairi's heart is her home, since Nami was not meant to exist. She also adds that if she doesn't return to Kairi, Kairi will never be whole again. Namine's tone and Riku's reaction makes it clear this is a Sadistic Choice for Nami and a Kick the Dog moment for DiZ. Thankfully, Namine doesn't return to Kairi.
Kingdom Hearts 2
- Unlike in canon, Riku decides to actively defy DiZ's order to destroy Namine by telling her he doesn't want to lose her and that the two need to take advantage of the fact the Organization is gunning for Sora and everyone Sora knows to hide from DiZ in the shadows. He then tells Namine to keep Kairi safe while Riku helps Sora from the dark to destroy the Organization. The moment is sweet as much as it is sad.
- When DiZ tries to infiltrate the Castle That Never Was to destroy Xemnas, he's intercepted by Axel, who attacks DiZ for killing Roxas and Xion. While DiZ claims that Roxas and Xion were never meant to be and, as such, had no right to exist, Axel tells DiZ about all the good times Axel had with Roxas and Xion, as well as Roxas and Xion's love, and that DiZ is a heartless crook for thinking Roxas and Xion have no right to exist.
- Since the wheel keeps turning, DiZ himself gets a sad moment. When Xemnas thanks him for awakening Sora, since now Sora could deliver him the Kingdom Key, the combination of the fact DiZ was an Unwitting Pawn to Xemnas and Axel's "The Reason You Suck" Speech made DiZ have a Heel Realization.
- In The World That Never Was, Kairi is subjected to Yank the Dog's Chain, being briefly reunited with Gnosis, her grandfather, only for Gnosis to vanish in the Realm of Darkness after he fractures Xemnas's heart. This causes Kairi to think Gnosis is dead, but thankfully, Blank Points show that Gnosis was still alive, as Aqua managed to find him.
- After his defeat at Anti-Sora's hands, Saix invokes Alas, Poor Villain by lamenting if only he could bring balance between light and darkness to Kingdom Hearts before vanishing. Sure, he was Faking the Dead, but his lament is sad nonetheless.
- Xemnas has a minor Alas, Poor Villain, albeit more genuine than in canon. After his heart was fractured by Gnosis, Xemnas was constantly losing memories, near to the point of Loss of Identity, and the only thing he has left is subconcious rage and hatred towards Sora and Riku for ruining his plans, making his death almost a Mercy Kill.
- The ending. Hoo boy. While the Organization is destroyed and Namine is still around, Roxas and Xion are trapped in Sora's heart, Riku and Namine feel horrible because of it, Kairi lost her grandfather right after reuniting with him, and nobody knows what to believe about light and darkness anymore.
Birth By Sleep
- Cryptonix portrays Xehanort closer to the Fallen Hero he's painted as in the Xehanort Report in canon. Upon being banished to the Realm of Darkness, his worldview is turned upside down, and upon return, nobody believed him when he tried to reveal the denizens of darkness are consistently suffering under the tyranny of light. The fact that even his colleagues, who Xehanort previously saw as his True Companions, refused to believe him has turned Xehanort into a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
- Ephemer's death. We learn that he was a close friend of Terra's and that he died in a massive Heartless attack, of which Terra, Aqua and Ventus were seemingly the only survivors. This incident scarred Terra for life and, according to Word of God, caused him to doubt his superiors.
- Upon defeat, Eraqus reveals that he had a My God, What Have I Done? upon Ephemer's death, and that he feels partially responsible for it due to having too much pride in his soldiers.
- We learn that Lea and Isa had no purpose and were desperately looking for one. No wonder Isa is loyal to Xehanort, he's the one who gave him a sense of purpose!
- The many changes to Vanitas make him a spokeperson of the denizens of darkness to the audience, which turns The Heartless into a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Species.
Dream Drop Distance
- Throughout this entry, Sora has various interactions with the true Xehanort. Not Ansem, not Xemnas, but Xehanort himself (and a Living Memory based on his past). Throughout these interactions, Sora ends up seeing how Xehanort ended up the way he was and ultimately ended up feeling sorry for him.
- Xehanort reveals that, after his defeat at the Keyblade Graveyard and before Gnosis took him under his wing, he felt like he had nothing to live for anymore.
- This makes it sad for Isa, since he just got a purpose in life, and the man who gave it to him lost his own sense of purpose.
- Upon learning what Ansem and Xemnas did and that the Kingdom Keys don't have to be wielded by the opposing forces, Xehanort realized he Jumped Off The Slippery Slope. It may be possible, though, that Terra's heart was what made Xehanort have this realization.
- With knowledge that everyone Xehanort knew betrayed him, Sora figures out that Xehanort is a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds that genuinely wants to help, but nobody accepts it, and he's feeling all alone because of it.
- Xehanort reveals that, after his defeat at the Keyblade Graveyard and before Gnosis took him under his wing, he felt like he had nothing to live for anymore.
- At the end, after Sora reveals to his friends that Xehanort is a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds, Axel explains what Xehanort taught him, and everyone comes to the conclusion that War Is Hell. Riku coming the idea of taking the lead of the Heartless makes it a "Ray of Hope" Ending, as his plan was to have the forces of darkness to be lead by someone who has True Companions from the light (in Riku's case, Sora and Kairi).
- There's an implication at the end that Roxas was taken hostage by Isa.
