History Trivia / KingdomHeartsIII

** Minoru Inaba replaces George Tokoro as Buzz in the Japanese version of the game.

** In the Japanese side of things, this was the last time Sayaka Kanda would end voicing [[Franchise/{{Frozen}} Anna]] due to her tragic suicide at 2021.

** The Thirteen Seekers of Darkness originally had ranks just like the original Organization, but Nomura figured it would likely be too confusing to have veteran members have new ranks (for example, Xemnas formerly being 1 and now being 3). He changed his mind by the time the DLC was made, as the {{Bonus Boss}}es of the Seekers in the Limit Cut all have the ranks they were originally slated to have.

** If analysis of the [[https://twitter.com/ligero_miguel/status/1446955464042983428?s=21 official chess set]] is anything to go by, Dilan/Xaldin was at one point intended to be one of the Seekers of Darkness. In the game proper, however, [[DemotedToExtra he has no spoken lines and only serves as a guard at Radiant Garden]].

** Zachary Gordan, Tristan Chase, and Ashley Boettcher replace Justin Cowden, Sean Marquette, and Creator/JessicaDicicco as Hayner, Pence, and Olette respectively.

** Jesse [=McCartney=] not only plays Roxas and Ventus, but at one point, he plays them [[TalkingToHimself while the two characters are in battle at the same time]]. Roxas is given a noticeably deeper voice than Ventus.

* TalkingToHimself: Several instances, with many of them being examples of SignificantDoubleCasting.
** Creator/MiyuIrino and Creator/HaleyJoelOsment voice both Sora and Vanitas.
** Creator/MamoruMiyano and David Gallagher voice Riku, Riku Replica, and Dark Riku.
** Music/{{Jesse McCartney}} and Creator/KoukiUchiyama voice both Roxas and Ventus in the game.
** Creator/RichardEpcar and Creator/AkioOtsuka pull double duty as Ansem: Seeker of Darkness/Xehanort's Heartless and Terra-Xehanort, with Ohtsuka also voicing Master Xehanort in lieu of his late father.
** Creator/AlysonStoner and Risa Uchida voice both Kairi and Xion.

** Nomura has stated that the vastly more difficulty fights against the Data Real Organization XIII in ''Re Mind'' are how they were actually fought in canon during the game's final act. The toned-down movesets they had during the BossRush are more for the player's convenience; Sora and co. still fought them at full power even if the game didn't show it.

* RelationshipVoiceActor: Creator/MiyuIrino (Sora) and Creator/TasukuHatanaka (Yozora) previously worked together in ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' as Astral and Yuma Tsukumo, respectively.

** Master Xehanort was a necessary case, as both his [[Creator/ChikaoOhtsuka Japanese]] and [[Creator/LeonardNimoy English]] actors passed away in 2015. Now he's voiced by Creator/AkioOhtsuka (the son of the previous Japanese actor) and Creator/RutgerHauer (the man who played the Replicant Roy Batty in Creator/RidleyScott's ''Film/BladeRunner'') in those respective languages. After Hauer's death in 2019, a mere six months after the game's release, the role was recast in [=ReMIND=] with Creator/ChristopherLloyd.

** As is fitting for a character whose plans hinge on duplicating himself, Creator/AkioOhtsuka does triple duty in this installment; not only does he return to voice Terra-Xehanort and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, he also plays the original Master Xehanort, taking over for [[Creator/ChikaoOhtsuka his late father]].

** Creator/RichardEpcar and Creator/AkioOhtsuka pull double duty as Ansem: Seeker of Darkness/Xehanort's Heartless and Terra-Xehanort, with Ohtsuka also voicing Master Xehanort in lieu of his late father.

** Likewise Zachary Levi, the voice of [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Flynn Rider]], has said that a part of the reason he took the role was in the hopes of being in ''Kingdom Hearts'' one day.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda:
** Ever since the game’s release, persistent fan speculation has opined that the death of Phil and Eeyore’s Japanese voice actors led to their being DemotedToExtra and PutOnABus, respectively, as a tribute to their late actors. No official word has been made on the subject, however. Phil’s tiny cameos can be explained by how Olympus doesn’t focus on the coliseum anymore, and Eeyore isn’t the only character removed from Hundred Acre Wood to begin with.
** Likely to express their frustration at the location not being openly playable, many fans have spread the rumor that Scala ad Caelum was cut as a playable world since it’s only explorable for a few moments before the FinalBoss begins. This actually has officially been refuted and ended up moot when the DLC had it open to be explored in Data Greeting.

** The staff that worked on ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' are ''Kingdom Hearts'' fans themselves and were heavily involved in the storytelling process and character design for the ''Toy Story'' world, and declared that the story is "Toy Story 2.5". Pixar [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/02/11/kingdom-hearts-3-the-challenges-and-rewards-of-working-with-disney even told Nomura]] that they consider ''Kingdom Hearts'' to be canon.

** The announcement of Sora and company turning into action figures while visiting the world of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' was made all the sweeter with the [[https://twitter.com/SQEX_MD_NA/status/886335339521953792 announcement]] of real life action figures.

* GodCreatedCanonForeigner: The "Galaxy Toys" area of the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' world and the toys that appear in it are original creations that haven't appeared in any of the films. However, Creator/{{Pixar}} did have a hand in creating some of the designs. The same goes for parts of the ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' factory; it contains new areas that the audience got to see little of in the original movie, such as the outside zone, which can now be viewed up close in this game.

** Woody is played by Jim Hanks, who voices him in merchandise and spin-off material ever since the ''VideoGame/DisneysAnimatedStorybook'' and ''VideoGame/DisneysActivityCenter'' series, replacing his brother Creator/TomHanks from the movies. Likewise, Buzz is played by Mike [=MacRae=], the designated video game voice actor for the character since the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' tie-in game, replacing Tim Allen, Patrick Warburton and Pat Fraley from the movies, the animated series and the Ride/DisneyThemeParks' Buzz Lightyear attractions respectively.

** Nomura wanted to have ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' representation in some fashion as far back as the first ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI Kingdom Hearts]]'', pitching a world incorporating Al's Toy Barn, Pizza Planet, and Andy's house; Buzz and Woody were also almost included as Summons in the ''Final Mix'' version of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. On both occasions, Nomura's ideas were declined due to Disney and Pixar's relationship at the time. ''III'' includes a fully fledged world based on the movie series, with Buzz and Woody being [[GuestStarPartyMember its temporary party members]].

** John Ratzenberger as Hamm, Creator/WallaceShawn as Rex, and Jeff Pidgeon as the Little Green Men/Squeeze Toy Aliens in the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' world.

* SelfAdaptation: Some of the staff from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', including Creator/JohnLasseter himself, were involved in the development for the respective worlds, which included the story writing and character design for Sora, Donald and Goofy's appearance.

** Nomura said that a big theme of the game was "closure" and that the Xehanort Saga would have a definitive resolution, which got many peoples' hopes up that the story would be close-ended and the following saga would start fresh. [[spoiler: It turns out that while closure is given to certain characters' situations and Xehanort himself had a definitive resolution, there are many plot threads still left hanging at the end of the game, and a last-minute cliffhanger where Sora fades away as a price for misusing the Power of Waking.]]

* SwanSong: The base game ended up being the only time Creator/RutgerHauer played Master Xehanort as he passed away mere months after release.

** Rabbit was voiced in ''II'' by his 90’s/00’s voice actor Ken Samson. As Samson passed away in 2012, Rabbit's new regular voice actor, Creator/TomKenny, voices him here.

** After ''Kingdom Hearts II'', Nomura flat out told Disney that he wanted to include Pixar properties (''Toy Story'' especially) or he wouldn't make ''Kingdom Hearts III'', and even then, it initially took Pixar several years to get back to him with confirmation, let alone OK the designs and stories of the respective worlds. Considering that, minus ''Kingdom II Final Mix'' and the ''Chain of Memories'' remake, the gap between ''Kingdom Hearts II'' and ''358/2 Days'' is the longest between story entries, it shows not only that the story isn't entirely [[TheChrisCarterEffect Chris Carter'd]], but Nomura is a master of playing hard ball.

* FanNickname:
** Riku [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Lucis Caelum]] has been thrown around due to the similarities Riku's new design has with Noctis.
** [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Unlimited (key)Blade Works]] for the Ultima Weapon's Formchange, Ultimate Form, since it involves him summoning infinite Keyblades.
** "The Battle of 10,000 Heartless" for the battle against a massive swarm of enemies in the Keyblade Graveyard, to parallel the Battle of 1,000 Heartless in ''Kingdom Hearts II''. This is a misnomer, though, since the battle contains Unversed and Nobodies as well.
** [[spoiler:The penultimate boss fight, the [[DualBoss triple battle]] against Young Xehanort, Ansem, and Xemnas, is sometimes referred to as "The 'Nort Court".]]
** Since the game's official soundtrack was not released until late 2020, almost two years after release, nicknames were particularly prevalent during the lengthy period before the reveal of each track's name.
*** "[[spoiler:Oscurita di Xehanort]]" for the aforementioned penultimate boss fight, later revealed to be called "Forza Finale".
*** "The Key to All" for the FinalBoss theme, officially titled "Dark Domination".
*** "Cercatori Del Buio" or "Cercatori di Oscurita" for the first phase of the final boss fight, officially titled "Replicas".
*** “A Glimmer Atop 104” or simply "[[spoiler:Yozora]]" for the TrueFinalBoss in ''Re Mind'', officially titled "Nachtflügel".
** [[BlandNameProduct "Kingstagram" or "Heartstagram"]] for the in-game Instagram-like social media.
** Some fans have taken to calling [[spoiler:the Nameless Star "Stella" or "Hoshi" for her star motif and being the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Stella Nox Fleuret]] to the Versus XIII parallels seen in Verum Rex.]]

** Since the game’s official soundtrack was not released until late 2020, almost two years after release, nicknames were particularly prevalent during the lengthy period before the reveal of each track’s name.
*** "[[spoiler:Oscurita di Xehanort]]" for the aforementioned penultimate boss fight, later revealed to be called “Forza Finale”.
*** "The Key To All" for the FinalBoss theme, officially titled “Dark Domination”.
*** "Cercatori Del Buio" or "Cercatori di Oscurita" for the first phase of the final boss fight, officially titled “Replicas”.
*** “A Glimmer Atop 104” or simply [[spoiler:”Yozora”]] for the TrueFinalBoss, officially titled “Nachtflügel”.

** "The Battle of 10000 Heartless" for the battle against [[spoiler:a massive swarm of enemies in the Keyblade Graveyard]], to parallel the Battle of 1000 Heartless in ''Kingdom Hearts II''. Though this is a misnomer since [[spoiler:the battle contains Unversed and Nobodies as well.]]
** [[spoiler:The penultimate boss fight, the [[DualBoss triple battle]] against Young Xehanort, Ansem, and Xemnas is sometimes referred to as "The 'Nort Court".]]

* BTeamSequel: Though the Osaka Team had been making ''Kingdom Hearts'' games since 2007 with the 3D remake of ''Chain of Memories'', they'd been relegated to the 3D side games while the Tokyo Team had made the first two numbered games. Nomura originally sought to have Tokyo Team work on this game as well, but due to some people either not working at Square Enix anymore, being transferred to other parts of Square, or working on other games with Tokyo Team, the original team from both ''I'' and ''II'' either wasn't the same, or the ones who were still at that department were too busy to make ''III'', thus relegating and necessitating Osaka Team to be the team mainly making the game.

* BTeamSequel: Though the Osaka Team had been making ''Kingdom Hearts'' games since 2007 with the 3D remake of ''Chain of Memories,'' they'd been relegated to the 3D side games while the Tokyo Team had made the first 2 numbered games. Nomura had originally sought to have Tokyo Team work on this game like the first two numbered entries. However, due to some people either not working at Square Enix anymore, being transferred to other parts of Square, or working on other games with Tokyo Team, the original team from both ''I'' and ''II'' either wasn't the same, or the ones who were still at that department were too busy to make ''III'', thus relegating and necessitating Osaka Team to be the team mainly making the game. Initially, people were skeptical since ''Birth By Sleep'' and ''Dream Drop Distance'' [[ContestedSequel weren't seen as the best entries after]] ''[[EvenBetterSequel II]]'' by some fans gameplay wise, but the team showed through the trailers and gameplay events that they were doing well with incorporating the original gameplay elements into theirs. Even after the game came out, most criticisms were aimed at the story's pacing (which is a fault of the writing and directing, not the developers), and the game being on the easy side of things. Fortunately, after the patches added in Critical Mode, new Keyblades, combo modifiers, and gameplay fixes, on top of the paid DLC ''Re Mind'', a lot of people started seeing this game as a worthy successor to ''II'' in terms of gameplay while also seeing it as being a good base for the Osaka Team to experiment with for future titles.

** Robin Atkin Downes voices both Luxord and Davy Jones. And in ''Re:Mind'', [[spoiler:he also voices Yozora's driver, who may or may not be Luxord himself]].

* BTeamSequel: Though the Osaka Team had been making ''Kingdom Hearts'' games since 2007 with the 3D remake of ''Chain of Memories,'' they'd been relegated to the 3D side games while the Tokyo Team had made the first 2 numbered games. Nomura had originally sought to have Tokyo Team work on this game like the first two numbered entries. However, due to some people either not working at Square Enix anymore, being transferred to other parts of Square, or working on other games with Tokyo Team, the original team from both ''I'' and ''II'' either wasn't the same, or the ones who were still at that department were too busy to make ''III'', thus relegating and necessitating Osaka Team to be the team mainly making the game. Initially, people were skeptical since ''Birth By Sleep'' and ''Dream Drop Distance'' [[ContestedSequel weren't seen as the best entries after]] ''[[EvenBetterSequel II]]'' by some fans gameplay wise, but the team showed through the trailers and gameplay events that they were doing well with incorporating the original gameplay elements into theirs. Even after the game came out, most criticisms were aimed at the story's pacing (which is a fault of the writing and directing, not the developers), and the game being on the easy side of things. Fortunately, after the patches added in Critical Mode, new Keyblades, combo modifiers, and gameplay fixes, on top of the paid DLC ''Re:Mind'', a lot of people started seeing this game as a worthy successor to ''II'' in terms of gameplay while also seeing it as being a good base for the Osaka Team to experiment with for future titles.

** According to ''Ultimania'', models for Leon, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}''[='=]s Fairy Godmother, and other ''Final Fantasy'' characters were partially made but then scrapped. Leon was dropped because there were already so many characters that the ''Final Fantasy'' cast on top of that would be too much, but the reason the Fairy Godmother didn't show up wasn't given. All of them were brought back for the ''Re:MIND'' DLC.

** Unused voice clips for Sora suggest that Magnet and Zero Gravity magic were meant to appear in the game.

** Allegedly, the Arendelle world plot originally had a much greater focus on Larxene attempting to corrupt Elsa's heart, with the Labyrinth of Ice being created by Elsa instead of Larxene and Sköll was going to be created as the manifestation of Elsa's fear rather than the darkness in Hans' heart. Disney intervened, given what a profitable character Elsa is for them, and the end result was Sora, Donald, Goofy and Larxene having as minimal of an impact as possible on the plot of ''Frozen''.

** Kelsey Lansdowne voices Rapunzel, replacing Music/MandyMoore.

** Robin Atkin Downes voices both Luxord and Davy Jones. And in ''Re:Mind'', [[spoiler:he also voices Yozora's driver]].