Kingdom Hearts has become notorious for being one of the most complicated, convoluted franchises to follow. When the first game released back in 2002, it was a relatively straightforward story that followed a 14-year-old boy traversing various Disney worlds in search of his two best friends.
The franchise has since spun itself into a web of entangled threads featuring a host of original characters, MacGuffins, and spin-offs - all integral to understanding the central plot. Among these facets, the franchise's MacGuffins have been the most challenging to unpack, often facilitating community engagement that questions its potential meanings and metadiscourse.
10 The World Of Fiction Is A Place Beyond Reality
The ending of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory introduces the idea that the place where franchise protagonist Sora disappears to at the end of Kingdom Hearts III exists beyond the game's conceptualization of "reality." As Ansem the Wise explains it (rather unhelpfully), it exists outside the Realm of Light, Darkness, and Between.
In short, it would seem that this mysterious Shibuya-like city, Quadratum, exists outside the currently known canon of Kingdom Hearts. Fortunately, as Sora notes, nothing seems to really be awry on the other side, save for the protagonist's fateful encounter with one Yozora, who was previously thought to be nothing more than a fictional character in Toy Box.
9 Many Forgotten Secrets Hide In The Datascape
The 2008 mobile spin-off Kingdom Hearts: coded is often perceived as the black sheep of the series, featuring a rather convoluted episodic story that really failed to progress the narrative forward in any meaningful way. Despite this, coded did introduce a MacGuffin that has had an enduring impact on the series: datascapes.
These digital recreations of familiar worlds would go on to reappear with some import in later titles like Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Union χ[Cross]. The latter, in particular, leans heavily into the MacGuffin as a narrative device that enables the Dandelions to escape the ancient Keyblade War (although not without consequence).
8 Time Moves Differently In The Realm Of Darkness
Players dedicated enough to grind through to the Final Episode of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep are rewarded with the secret ending "Blank Points" that reveals Aqua meeting Ansem the Wise in the Dark Margin after an undisclosed amount of time.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage further elaborates that time moves differently in the Realm of Darkness, with Aqua learning from Mickey that ten years have passed in the Realm of Light following their unanticipated encounter. While players can't track the actual time Aqua spends in DarkWorld, the slowing of time provides a convenient excuse to keep this Keyblade Master's looks the same for Kingdom Hearts III.
7 Dreams Are Weaponized In The Sleeping Worlds
In an effort to prepare keyblade wielders for a coming war with Xehanort, Yen Sid sends Sora and Riku on a mission to unlock the seven sleeping worlds for their Mark of Mastery exam. In order to complete this task, however, the two boys had to enter the realm of dreams, where they encountered colorful creatures known as Dream Eaters.
Unfortunately, Master Xehanort had anticipated Yen Sid's actions and sent his past self to lay a trap for Sora to become his thirteenth vessel, effectively weaponizing the brown-haired boy's dreams against him. Fortunately, Riku dove into Sora's dreams to protect him from Xehanort's nightmares and was ultimately able to reawaken his friend.
6 Castle Oblivion Claims One's Cherished Memories
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories kicks off by introducing players to a brand new original world: Castle Oblivion. However, as the castle's lord Marluxia explains early on to Sora and his friends, progressing through the castle will cause them to lose their memories, including those of their loved ones like Kairi, Riku, and Mickey.
It's later revealed, however, that Naminé is actually the culprit behind this phenomenon, as she slowly twists Sora's memories of Kairi to be about her instead. The ensuing chaos leads to Sora besting Marluxia and his sinister plan, with the blonde-haired Nobody making a promise to Sora to restore his memories to the way they were.
5 Possession Is A Means Of Prolonged Survival
One of the running jokes among the Kingdom Hearts fandom is that no one ever truly dies in the series. This especially holds true for the franchise's antagonists, namely Xehanort and Luxu. In an effort to witness what lies beyond the next Keyblade War, the older Xehanort forcefully possesses the younger Terra, a man who struggles to keep his darkness at bay.
Likewise, Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem the Seeker of Darkness, preys on a similar weakness in the original Kingdom Hearts, briefly taking control of Riku's body. However, as the series has progressed, fans have started seeing more advanced forms of possession, with Luxu continually jumping bodies in order to survive until present events.
4 Characters Can Be "Reincarnated" With Replicas
The idea of replicas is first conceived with Kingdom Hearts with Chain of Memories. Vexen, one of the game's antagonists, is a duplicitous scientist fascinated with creating the perfect human clone. Initially, he creates an "unsuccessful" replica of deuteragonist Riku, who is incapable of free will.
It is revealed, however, that the Riku Replica is actually Vexen's second clone. His first, No. i, eventually sought self-autonomy and names herself Xion. Given the promise of replicas, Vexen rejoins the villainous Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts III with hopes to mold his replicas into the perfect "vessels."
3 The Rules Of Time Travel Are Downright Confusing
Introduced in Dream Drop Distance, time travel is mainly used by franchise antagonist Xehanort. Two things are required for an individual to time travel: a vessel at the intended destination and someone who remembers the traveler.
In Kingdom Hearts III, replicas become the perfect vessels to explain how Xehanort's previous incarnations reappear despite already being defeated by Sora and company. As the series moves forward, time travel is becoming a more commonplace explanation for justifying narrative threads like Ventus, Lauriam, and Elrena escaping Daybreak Town.
2 A Body That Lacks A Heart Becomes A Nobody
Despite the convoluted nature of its explanations, Kingdom Hearts is rich in lore. The history of the many enemies players encounter throughout the series is no exception. While the most iconic enemy is the Heartless, a creature born from a heart consumed by darkness, the empty husk left behind is the series' most intriguing enemy: the Nobody.
These malleable white entities may sometimes retain their previous form's appearance if their human self held a strong heart, resulting in the formation of the first Organization XIII. To make the MacGuffin even more confusing, Nobodies can also be conceived through the replica program like Riku Replica and Xion or through the proxy of another's body like Naminé.
1 What Exactly Is Kingdom Hearts Supposed To Be?
In the franchise of Kingdom Hearts is something called "Kingdom Hearts." To this day, fans would be hard-pressed to explain what exactly this MacGuffin is. In fact, four versions of Kingdom Hearts have appeared to date - one conjured by Ansem, one conjured by Xemnas, and two conjured by Master Xehanort.
While each iteration is created and utilized in a different way, the general consensus is that the Kingdom Hearts that appears in Kingdom Hearts III is the "real" Kingdom Hearts. This Kingdom Hearts will only appear upon the completion of a true χ-blade, which can only be properly forged by a clash between seven lights and thirteen darknesses.
0 Comments