That's actually what I was thinking. Due to my absolute lack of understanding Japanese, I had to go only on what was going on in the scenes. When Riku woke up, I thought he was trapped in some sort of weird, twisted Wonderland-ish thing going on with their tea-party, haha. But with the appearance of the Dream Eaters...is Sora still not awake?
I'm very, very excited for my Venny-poo to come back. I love the little guy. :'D
I am having literal chest pains from excitement and feel. I've been with this game ever since the first was released ten years ago. My god, I'm almost 19. I feel so old.
About that figure...I'm not sure whether I should say I believe it truly is Vanitas, if for no other reason than because the coat and the shape of it are all identical to
Roxas when he's cloaked and hooded.
Yes, that seems like a stretch, but keep in mind that every single member of the Organization has a distinct pattern or shape for their coats.
Cloudrunner62 mentioned that the Unversed all have red eyes, and while this is true they're all zig-zagged and misshapen. These look just like Heartless eyes, but red instead of yellow. Vanitas has indeed made an appearance in the game, but while he was in his own outfit. Also, we all know his eyes are gold as the typical pure-evil-KH-villain pattern dictates. Why now would his eyes be red? Someone mentioned that maybe Vanitas went back to his original state after he was defeated by Ven, but if that's the case then why would he appear the way he did in the trailer, as the unmasked Vanitas we all know and love?
I think that figure is
Roxas.
He was obviously important enough to be featured in the trailer, not to mention the fact that the background is, or at least looks like it is, The World That Never Was. Lea's been verified as having a key role in the game, so why not
Roxas
? He, as well as Vanitas and everybody else we've come to lose, is living somewhere inside of Sora. He could technically be counted as nothing more than an empty shell
(and if you're a fan of this theory, the vessel of Ven's heart [was this verified?])
. Is it possible that maybe Vanitas did have some hand in this sort of corruption?
EDIT: Cloudrunner62, where did you see Vanitas had red eyes and a shadow-like face??
"Take a look at this tiny place - to the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water."
As an island, it is surrounded by water. I think that was meant to be more of a literal meaning than a symbolic one. As Riku is only a kid, it would've been extremely difficult for him to get off the island and make it somewhere else (especially with such a list that Kairi provided, oye). He saw the darkness as an easier way to escape the island.
Whether or not his world was lost in darkness, his heart was not and it was his desire and will to find and rescue Belle that allowed him to travel to Hollow Bastion. It's still very possible Xehanort managed to do the same thing.
Probably the same way Riku did, with the power of darkness. Or maybe like the Beast in the first game, by sheer force of will.
Spiked up hair seems to be a pretty popular hairstyle in the Kingdom Hearts universe, so while it's an interesting theory, similar hair alone isn't enough to go on as we also never exactly get to see his face.
KH1:
I initially thought this as well, though Word of God states that it was King Mickey (however, Nomura's been known to lie for the sole purpose of leading people off-track so whether or not this is valid has yet to be revealed).
I'm pretty sure King Mickey was traversing the worlds as well, as you run into Gummi blocks he leaves behind and eventually gets stuck in the Realm of Darkness that lays on the other side of Kingdom Hearts.
That's more or less been debated upon for a while now, though it looks like it's leaning toward the "yes, Ventus' heart was also released and remains inside of Roxas" answer. What I'm curious about is where the hell Sora's heart went.
KH: COM:
Zexion and Lexaeus, I'm sure, were sent to Castle Oblivion for the same reason Vexen was: to investigate suspicions of a coux and spy on Marluxia, Larxene, and Axel.
Ventus' body lies in the Chamber of Awakening, which is a yet-to-be discovered room that only Aqua knows the whereabouts of. It's shown in 358/2 Days that Axel was sent to look for this room but couldn't find it. It's possible it's like the Digital Twilight Town in where it's on a separate plane altogether.
KH: 358/2 Days:
This has more or less been confirmed.
KH RE: coded:
He probably meant Maleficent (as she's seen in the trailer) or maybe even Braig, since the majority of Organization XIII seems to be back in action. Though, Vanitas is also a strong possibility, and I'm willing to bet he's inside of Sora just waiting for the right moment to come out.
Terra's heart is wherever Xehanort is, as Xehanort, too, is back in action.
Things to worry about:
- I highly doubt Xehanort will be going after Master Yen Sid. Rather, he'd be seeking out the ingredients for the infamous X-Blade. So, he'll definitely be looking for Ventus. As I'd stated before, I'm pretty sure Vanitas is somewhere inside of Sora, so Sora might also become a target.
- Terra's heart will not be lost forever, probably. He's been fighting Xehanort this whole time (or at least until he was turned into a Heartless/Nobody) and he has friends on the outside fighting for him. I think he'll get a happy ending.
ONE LAST THING:
For this particular arc, Xehanort is most likely the sole mastermind. There's no way he'd be someone's puppet because he's that powerful and merciless. The very thought of him being under someone else's command not only makes no sense, but would probably only further enrage the last of the fanbase; "What? He WASN'T the one behind everything?! SMD, NOMURA. AWKJTHAKWJThJAWKT" Y'know?
For future arcs, though, maybe.
Yes, Xehanort is such a pedo. In all honesty, I'm surprised he showed more interest in Terra instead of Aqua. Aqua, as a woman, should naturally be weaker than Terra, a man (this isn't exactly sexism so much as it's just simple biology). If you corner her with Vanitas and Xehanort, she'd be done in nothing flat. Terra, on the other hand, put up quite a fight even against the darkness.
