By Bryan Smith on July 19, 2015 at 12:21pm
So with word of “Kingdom Hearts III” being at Disney’s D23 Expo with loads of “Star Wars” games, there might be some “Star Wars” content in the game. For some, this is exciting news to see Sora dueling Darth Vader (which is something I would love to see… down the road). Others, myself included, are seeing red flags about this speculation. The current saga, that being the Xehanort saga, shouldn’t have anything “Star Wars” or Marvel worlds or major representations… yet.
Why is that? “Kingdom Hearts” is a crossover series after all. The more characters and settings, the better, right? There are several reasons why “Kingdom Hearts III” should primarily focus the original, “Final Fantasy,” and Disney characters and worlds.
The most important thing to understand about the “Kingdom Hearts” series is that, starting with “Kingdom Hearts II,” the plot got really convoluted. People losing their hearts can turn into a Heartless form and have a Nobody form that can look identical with them. Nobodies may have feelings and a heart, but not really. Then they suddenly can have those things because someone lied for a greater scheme of immortality that involves hijacking bodies and a time travelling villain… As a big fan of the series ever since its inception, I have fully come to terms that “Kingdom Hearts” is an extremely difficult series to understand when plot elements like hearts, darkness, keyblades, and more get even more complicated.
And people really want “Stars Wars” and Marvel characters to get mixed up in this mess? That’s a living nightmare waiting to happen. Having the force, Infinity Stones, and the like getting tossed into a loophole that people can live by loosing their hearts first and slaying their Heartless and Nobodies is just asking for disaster.
Another reason is that there are Disney and Square Enix worlds and characters that should get some attention before we even get outside of the main two. “Toy Story,” “Frozen,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Robin Hood,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Princess and the Frog,” and many more have yet to be tapped. These worlds are just begging to be made and would fit better within the “Kingdom Hearts” universe before “Star Wars” and Marvel gets involved.
Now here’s an interesting thought: take a look at “Disney Infinity," the first version had only Disney characters at first to establish what to expect. Then came “Disney Infinity 2.0,” where Marvel characters were introduced. However, did you notice how Disney and Marvel characters were introduced? All the Marvel characters, such as Black Widow, Captain America, Spiderman, and the Hulk, were their own thing while other Disney characters, like Stitch, Maleficent, and Donald Duck were still Disney. There was a consistency for the two and had a healthy representation to start off with. One didn’t necessarily overpower the other.
Back to “Kingdom Hearts,” representation has been Disney and “Final Fantasy” (more so “Final Fantasy” representing the gameplay and Disney the plot) with some Square Enix thrown in as well. Whereas “The World Ends With You,” I feel that the characters, them being Neku, Shiki, Josh, and the like, blend in almost perfectly with Sora and Riku. Imagine all of these Disney and Square Enix elements existing in harmony throughout the eight games, and then suddenly Darth Vader or Iron Man shows up. Something is going to stick out like a sore thumb. If “Star Wars” and/or Marvel show up and have only one world, then they’ll be overshadowed by the Disney stuff. If they overpower the Disney/Square Enix stuff, then it might as well be “Marvel’s Superheroes: Star Wars Edition.”
With that said, I think Square Enix can introduce the new opening for “Star Wars” and Marvel worlds. It just has to be at the end of “Kingdom Hearts III.” Remember, this is the end of the Xehanort saga. They should get in as much Disney stuff with “Final Fantasy” and whatever Square Enix game (hoping for “Chrono Trigger”) they can here. Then, with the Xehanort saga over, open up new worlds for future games. The secret ending can be Darth Vader speeding in his TIE-fighter as the Death Star looms over a world. That would be an excellent way to keep “Kingdom Hearts” flowing.
Am I opposed to there being any representation of “Star Wars” and Marvel, if not for my proposal for future games? Actually no. Weapons for Sora, Donald, and Goofy are always a welcomed gesture.
Sora with a lightsaber keyblade? Hell yeah. Donald should also get Thor’s Mjolnir as a staff and Goofy gets Captain America’s shield. Deadpool appearing as a summon would also be hilarious. Tiny allusions to “Star Wars” and Marvel would be great to allude to possible, bigger plans for future “Kingdom Hearts” games.
Right now, however, I think “Kingdom Hearts III” should focus more on Disney/”Final Fantasy” before tackling anything big with “Star Wars/Marvel.” The story, while trying to wrap up the Xehanort saga, could just end horribly with what could happen if, say, something like the Force is introduced when we’re still wrapping our heads around Xehanort’s master plan. Would I like to see something like the Death Star or Marvel’s New York? Absolutely, but now isn’t the time for it. Let the Xehanort sage end first.
