Kingdom Hearts 3 Teaser Analyzed

Misty · Jun 6, 2014

If you all missed it, Square released a pre-E3 Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix trailer a few hours ago. The nostalgia and emotion no doubt gripped us all as we saw some of our favorite scenes in their full HD glory, and I'm sure many of us would have been happy just with the December 2nd (NA) and December 5th (EU) release dates confirmed.

Square Enix decided to take an extra step and tease some information about the in-development Kingdom Hearts 3. Announced at E3 last year, we've had precious few updates on it since. Unsurprisingly, the teaser was short and rather cryptic, fitting for the Kingdom Hearts series. Let's take a look, shall we?

General warning: spoilers up to and including Dream Drop Distance are fair game for this post! We can of course only speculate on Kingdom Hearts 3, but if you're not quite up to date on the series & don't want to be, don't read ahead!

The teaser begins by flashing some Dream Drop Distance scenes, as the plot of Kingdom Hearts 3 will unquestionably be influenced by the events of the latest installment in the Kingdom Hearts series. To recap the events of Dream Drop Distance...

Set after the events of Kingdom Hearts II, both Xehanort's Heartless (Ansem Seeker of Darkness -- the main enemy in Kingdom Hearts) and Xemnas (Xehanort's Nobody and the leader of Organization XIII) have been defeated, and the humanoid Xehanort can therefore return. Sora and Riku, in preparation for this threat, undergo the Mark of Mastery exam.

Through their journey, which includes several encounters with various forms of Xehanort, it is revealed that Xehanort originally aimed to use the members of Organization XIII as his clones, who would eventually be pitted against the Guardians of Light to reform the χ-blade.

While Riku and Mickey stop Xehanort from turning Sora into one of those vessels, Xehanort is still a threat to the Realm of Light, and our heroes must gather the Guardians of Light to defeat him once and for all.
Click to expand...

Seems a good lead-in for Kingdom Hearts 3, does it not? There are, of course, a fair share of complications on both sides of the conflict -- notably, who will be the Thirteen Darkness and Seven Guardians of Light, especially considering the fates of our Birth by Sleep trio.

But this is Kingdom Hearts we're talking about -- nothing is ever simple (and clean)! Many fans want to know more about Xehanort's past before his saga comes to a close, and it certainly seems necessary. This is where the teaser comes in -- the outlines of two people were faint and shown briefly in conversation. I've inverted the colors and increased the contrast to give a better look at both figures...

While pointy, long hair is not unique to any one character in the Kingdom Hearts series, we could identify this sketch as a younger Xehanort purely on that basis. However, the positioning of the (gloved!) hand is also eerily familiar, making me pretty confident in that identification. For comparison...

That established, let's look at the other figure.

The hair on this character seems to be more waved, and there seems to be a faint scar under his eye.

Thus identified as a young Xehanort and a young Eraqus, let's look at the conversation between the two.

Xehanort: Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War? Many years ago, Keyblade wielders started a war over the ownership of light.
Eraqus: Yep, the Master loves telling that story.
Xehanort: Then I take it you also know of the "lost masters"?
Eraqus: Nope, where'd you hear about that?
Xehanort: "On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire." But you knew that, didn't you?
Click to expand...

Well, we're certainly accustomed to tales of the Keyblade War. In Dream Drop Distance, Xehanort explains it to Riku and Mickey. The final "But you knew that, didn't you?" appears separated from the rest of the conversation, a seeming taunt to the fans as much as to Eraqus! Kingdom Hearts χ (Chi) also gave us this hint towards the future of the series...

Chirithy:
You've really shaped up as a Keyblade Wielder, haven't you.

Uh-huh, you're looking really fine, too!

I think it's time to tell you, then.

Before my master, He who created me, disappeared,

He bestowed His six followers with new names, and gave five of them a tome of prophecy.

These five followers, who were to become the Foretellers, read the future written in the tome.

Apparently a passage written on the last page shocked them.

"The war in that place will lead to the defeat and destruction of the Light.
The World will be enveloped in eternal Darkness."

In order to save the future World, the five Foretellers thought to use the power hidden in the tome of prophecy.

That's the power you are all using now.

Through the cards, you are using the power of the future to try and protect the light from the darkness, and avert the future enveloped in darkness.

Also, as you know, even though the five Foretellers share the same goal, they by no means share the same will.

So, you mustn't lose sight of it yourself.
Click to expand...

The teaser isn't, therefore, much new information -- we've known for a long time that Xehanort is obsessed with tales of the Keyblade War and past wielders. But Kingdom Hearts 3 seems to have some history in store for us, building perhaps upon the time travel presented in Dream Drop Distance. Who was Xehanort and Eraqus's Master? Who are these old Masters Xehanort references? Will we see more of young Xehanort and young Eraqus? Only time will tell, really, but we can have fun speculating!

Only Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix is confirmed to appear at E3, which begins next week, so this teaser may very well be all we see of Kingdom Hearts 3. Hopefully this analysis has got the wheels turning in your head, even if the identities of our figures were obvious to you. Sound out in the comments or visit our Kingdom Hearts 3 section for more conversation about the final installment in the Xehanort Saga!

Shiki · Jun 6, 2014

I can say that the voice for the left figure that you've identified as Young Xehanort, has a very similar, if not same, voice actor as the Young Xehanort from KH3D.
Although, I could be wrong, but I feel that this is a true teaser alright.

Twero · Jun 6, 2014

Well ,the only thing that teaser shows us is that there's a possibility to us know more about the youth of Eraqus and Xehanort, what is great.

For now, better focus on 2.5 Remix.

Meilin Lee · Jun 6, 2014

Usagi Tsukino said: ↑

I can say that the voice for the left figure that you've identified as Young Xehanort, has a very similar, if not same, voice actor as the Young Xehanort from KH3D.
Although, I could be wrong, but I feel that this is a true teaser alright.
Click to expand...

The guy on the left was definitely Young Xehanort. I wasn't sure about the guy on the right, but Misty made a good point about him. He really might be a young Eraqus.

A Zebra · Jun 6, 2014

Young Eraqus was my immediate assumption seeing the trailer, it makes the msot sense given the context, but it's not like KH has never thrown in curve balls

Misty · Jun 6, 2014

Yeah I didn't want to go too hard on voice actors because the Japanese ones always differ from the English ones (though they keep the same tone usually) and I'm not comfortable identifying Japanese VAs. Plus they could always get different VAs for the young versions (like they did with Young Xehanort in KH3D).

hatok said: ↑

Young Eraqus was my immediate assumption seeing the trailer, it makes the msot sense given the context, but it's not like KH has never thrown in curve balls
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hope KH3 does introduce some original characters -- and let's not forget that, when Another Side Another Story & Deep Dive wee being analyzed by fans, we were pretty confident it was Sora in them. I guess we weren't totally wrong there.

EmilyCupcakeee · Jun 6, 2014

I figured one of the figures was Young Xehanort, but I didn't know the other was Eraqus

. : tale_wind · Jun 6, 2014

EmilyCupcakeee said: ↑

I figured one of the figures was Young Xehanort, but I didn't know the other was Eraqus
Click to expand...

Technically, neither do we; it's just a very good guess. :P

Calxiyn · Jun 6, 2014

Is it possible that those are the Keyblade Masters from KH X Chi? I mean, I can't really tell what character the Japanese actor in the trailer plays in the KH Series, it just doesn't really sound that familiar.

. : tale_wind · Jun 6, 2014

Calxiyn said: ↑

Is it possible that those are the Keyblade Masters from KH X Chi? I mean, I can't really tell what character the Japanese actor in the trailer plays in the KH Series, it just doesn't really sound that familiar.
Click to expand...

The characters speaking? I don't think so. The Keyblade Masters you're referring to—the Foretellers—all wear hoods and masks at all times. Also, there are five of them, rather than just two.

I'm willing to believe that the two trailer figures—whom I will refer to as Xehanort and Eraqus until proven otherwise, because seriously—are referring to the Foretellers when talking about the "lost masters," though.

Krowley · Jun 6, 2014

Glad it's better than nothing. Always interested in more lore for the story.

Calxiyn · Jun 6, 2014

. : tale_wind said: ↑

The characters speaking? I don't think so. The Keyblade Masters you're referring to—the Foretellers—all wear hoods and masks at all times. Also, there are five of them, rather than just two.
I'm willing to believe that the two trailer figures—whom I will refer to as Xehanort and Eraqus until proven otherwise, because seriously—are referring to the Foretellers when talking about the "lost masters," though.
Click to expand...

Hmmm I suppose that's a point. I can kind of see though where the Xehanort/Eraqus thing it's coming from especially when I saw this floating around. It does make a lot of sense but at the same time I'm like on 50/50 on it.

Allen Tor · Jun 7, 2014

As much sense as this theory makes, Eraqus didn't have that scar under his eye until Old Master Xehanort hit him with darkness in the birth by sleep flashback. Though, the guy on the right does look like Eraqus and I wouldn't be surprised if the developers forgot that detail.

A Zebra · Jun 7, 2014

Allen Tor said: ↑

As much sense as this theory makes, Eraqus didn't have that scar under his eye until Old Master Xehanort hit him with darkness in the birth by sleep flashback. Though, the guy on the right does look like Eraqus and I wouldn't be surprised if the developers forgot that detail.
Click to expand...

I think that's hair, not the scar

Heart2Heart · Jun 7, 2014

Allen Tor said: ↑

As much sense as this theory makes, Eraqus didn't have that scar under his eye until Old Master Xehanort hit him with darkness in the birth by sleep flashback. Though, the guy on the right does look like Eraqus and I wouldn't be surprised if the developers forgot that detail.
Click to expand...

However, there was a time Eraqus & Xehanort shared a body (Terra's) and considering all the complicated theories about where Terra's heart and body come into play with the Ansem+Xemnas equation, and Eraqus complicates things further. So this conversation can still happen following BBS.

A Zebra · Jun 7, 2014

Heart2Heart said: ↑

However, there was a time Eraqus & Xehanort shared a body (Terra's) and considering all the complicated theories about where Terra's heart and body come into play with the Ansem+Xemnas equation, and Eraqus complicates things further. So this conversation can still happen following BBS.
Click to expand...

We have no idea what Eraqus did, only that Xehanort says it's sly. There is absolutely no confirmation Eraqus entered Terra or something

Misty · Jun 7, 2014

Allen Tor said: ↑

As much sense as this theory makes, Eraqus didn't have that scar under his eye until Old Master Xehanort hit him with darkness in the birth by sleep flashback. Though, the guy on the right does look like Eraqus and I wouldn't be surprised if the developers forgot that detail.
Click to expand...

Good point! I forgot about that. Like hatok said I wouldn't be surprised if whoever did the art overlooked that as well, since these seem to be pretty quick drawings -- maybe we'll see full versions one day? -- but Eraqus does still seem the most likely option (barring an original character).

Ty · Jun 7, 2014

Pretty sure that's just a lot of shading in the drawing. Also, the drawing displays the left side of Eraqus's face, which has a scar on the cheek. The right side of his face (not shown) has the eye scar. Furthermore, that scar is only visible above his eyebrow.

Mixt · Jun 11, 2014

Apparently that KH3 segment isn't just a teaser but is actually part of the game intro. Fairly interesting, though it doesn't change how I see it that much.

Log in or Sign up

Kingdom Hearts 3 Teaser Analyzed

Misty gimme kiss

Premium

Comments