*Spoilers* Nomura has commented on a number of mysteries from Kingdom Hearts III

[DChiuch 5,773]

With Kingdom Hearts III now out for a month, series director Tetsuya Nomura has begun commenting on a number of mysteries from the game. In both the Dengeki PlayStation interview released yesterday, and the official companion book Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania released today, Nomura has answered a number of questions relating to plot points from the game.

We have summarised these below. Beware, these details may contain some endgame spoilers.

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

• Rage Form is different to Anti Form (Rage Form is Sora controlled by rage, Anti Form is Sora controlled by darkness).
• How Xion returned will be explained in DLC.
• Who the "nameless star" is will be revealed later.
• Scala ad Caelum and Daybreak Town are connected in some way, and there should be hints if looked upon closely.
• The armoured figures in Scala ad Caelum are replicas.
• The line Sora says in the opening takes place after the ending and is a reflection of what Sora feels after KH3.
• Naminé's heart left Kairi's body when everyone was struck down. That's why her heart was in Final World. But it was Xehanort's final blow against Kairi that finally freed her.
• Lingering Will and the armor disappeared when Terra returned. But if the conditions are right, the armor may return to Terra at some point.
• The wild card given to Sora by Luxord, could play a role in Sora's return.

Regarding the Secret Movie:

• The epilogue and Secret Movie will be explained later.
• The Secret Movie isn't as simple as people think it is – there hasn't been enough information revealed to players yet.
• We promised Neku in KHDDD that we will return to Shibuya, but this time isn't directly connected to it. This Shibuya is in a different reality compared to the real one.
• People might assume that Verum Rex is the same title as a game Nomura was planning in the past (Versus XIII), but he says it isn't.
• The black figure in the Secret Movie making a heart towards the moon with his fingers was the Master of Masters.

Thanks go to @sololonlon, @khunion and @RedMakuzawa for these translations.

It goes without saying that this is a heap of interesting information – so please speculate away!

Update: Thanks to @lunesacree, even more details from the Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania are now available. These have been summarised and quoted below!

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

• The Terranort from BBS and the Terranort from KH3 aren’t the same one. The guardian isn’t Terra’s heartless.
• Saïx rejoined the Organization to atone for what he did in the past. He drifted away from Axel and put Roxas through a lot because of his jealousy and displeasure, but vowed to do good for the sake of both Axel and Roxas.
• Organization XIII members 9-12 were invited into the Real Organization XIII to search for an ancient Keyblade wielder.
• Eraqus is a blueblood. His ancestor is someone in the Dandelions.
• The replica that Vexen and Demyx brought to Radiant Garden was used to bring back Roxas.
• Ava chose Strelitzia to be a Dandelion leader. Additionally, the “lady of magic” is indeed Maleficent.
• Luxu followed the 5 union leaders to a different worldline and, at this time, discarded his original body. This began his chain of inhabiting new vessels. Also, the MoM’s keyblade was handed down until it eventually reached Xehanort.
• When Luxu saw Xehanort come to power, he knew the Keyblade War would happen again and (as Braig) found a way to keep himself close by Xehanort to watch the events unfold (by pretending he wanted Xehanort’s Keyblade).
• What Sora says at the beginning of the game (“they can take your world...”) is said after the end of KH3, and not only that, but it’s supposed to show Sora’s mental state and offer us a hint.
• The interviewer asked, during the conversation with Naminé in the Final World, if “the person Naminé most wants to see” is Riku. Nomura says that in picking up Namine from Radiant Garden, Riku was acting on Replica Riku’s wishes, and that the bond between Naminé and Replica Riku can be strongly felt.
• Nomura was asked how Namine could come back if Kairi isn’t there. He says that when everyone lost their lives initially, Namine’s heart went to the Final World. Later, when Kairi took Xehanort’s blow, Namine’s heart escaped outside of her. Also he plans to explain more about this later, a little.
• A question was asked about who Nameless Star was waiting for and Nomura refused to say, but says Sora knows that person’s name. (Translator note: We know she tells him, but I think it’s implied he already knew)
• Q: When Sora and co leave the Final World, why did they return to the moment before their deaths?
  Nomura: The power of waking is originally meant to be used to restore a sleeping heart to normal, but because it was used to strongly pull the hearts of (Sora’s) friends back to where they were, the effect caused a singularity and caused reality to be overwritten. Depending on the rewrite, it can make everything “as though it never happened”.
• Q: How was Roxas able to come back?
  Nomura: Using the replica body Vexen and Demyx prepared, Ienzo used the data from the fake Twilight Town to mostly complete Roxas’ body. It’s similar to how Xion was made from Sora’s memories. In the Keyblade Graveyard Roxas, as a heart inside Sora, could sense that his best friend was in danger and his heart was able to return to its new body, completing him.
• Q: When Marluxia is defeated, he says he has finally remembered why he exists and what he is there for. Is he talking about his past memories from KHUx?
  Nomura: Yes. If you’ve played far enough in KHUx you’ll understand.
• Q: When Larxene is defeated, she mentions that she “just wanted to tag along with [him]”. Is “he”...?
  Nomura: Yes, Marluxia. It’s not determined whether or not Larxene still has her old memories, but something drew her to join the Organization and she became traitorous partners with (him).
• Q: Are the “ancient keyblade wielders” Xemnas is looking for Marluxia and Larxene?
  Nomura: I won’t say yet, but it will eventually become clear to the player in KHUx. By the way, the reason Xemnas was looking for the Chamber of Waking in 358/2 Days is because Ventus is an ancient Keyblade wielder too.
• Q: Wait, so does that mean Xehanort knew that Ventus was an ancient keyblade wielder? Nomura: Guess that just means I have to show their meeting.
• Q: I want to ask about Terranort. When Ansem SOD and Xemnas were defeated in KH1 and 2, were both Master Xehanort and Terra revived? Nomura: Ordinarily, Terra should have been revived at that point, but because his body was possessed by Xehanort, his heart didn’t return, and only his body did. That body was used as the vessel for the heart of Terra (from BBS) that was called from the past.
• Q: How long was Terra’s heart inside the guardian? Nomura: Inside Terranort, both the hearts of Terra and Xehanort we’re constantly clashing. During this time, the heart of Terra continually traveled back and forth between the guardian and his body continually possessed over and over. By the way, the guardian’s real name is “The Person Behind (you)”
• Q: What happened to Lingering Will after the fight? Nomura: When Terra came back, it disappeared, as did the armor. However, a Keyblade wielder’s armor, like the Keyblade, will come back to them if the conditions are right.
• Q: Do the New Organization members not have numbers? Nomura: I thought about including them at first, but because the numbers of some members from the original Organization would change, it got too confusing. (For example MX would be 1, Ansem 2, etc)
• Q: When Young Xehanort disappears, he warns Sora about something. What was the meaning of that? Nomura: He meant to say, “You will disappear from this world”. It was supposed to give a hint about the ending. Before that, he also warned that there is a large price to pay for using the power of waking recklessly. That power isn’t meant to revive people, but Sora used it to bring his friends’ hearts back and reverse time. YX was able to imagine that this would cause Sora to disappear.
• Q: Why does Maleficent know about the Black Box? Nomura: After the events of KH1, Maleficent ended up in KHUx. She then returned to the present day in KH2. The fact she can travel between the current time/future is related to why the ancient Keyblade wielders are in the current day.
• Q: Maleficent seems to think the Book of Prophecies is inside the box... Nomura: Yes she does. It’s still not clear when she came to think so, but but it will be revealed in KHUx going forward.
• Q: In BBS, it’s revealed that Xehanort wants to open KH to create a new world. But in KH3, he wants to reset the world. How is this different? Nomura: The most essential part is that he thinks the current world is a failure, and wants to remake it.
• Q: I’m interested to know why Xehanort came to think that way (that the world should be remade). Nomura: Initially, I wanted to dive deeper into the naive, untainted Xehanort who we see playing chess in the next installment (before KH3 was made), but if I did that, the dark seeker arc wouldn’t have ended (lol), so I decided to shelve it for now.
• Q: Underwater in Scala ad Caelum, we can see part of what looks like the tower in Daybreak Town. Was Scala originally Daybreak Town? Nomura: Yes. The staff member who made the model sheet presented me with two options: put the tower standing upright on the bottom of the sea, or put it upside down. In the end I went with the second one.
• Q: Who exactly are the “lost masters”? Nomura: Who we see in Back Cover: the Master of Masters and his six apprentices.
• Q: What does the joker card Luxord gave to Sora mean? Nomura: It’s to be revealed, but it can be thought of as a key to Sora’s revival.

 

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[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

"People might assume that Verum Rex is the same title as a game Nomura was planning in the past (Versus XIII), but he says it isn't."

 

[Movies798 1,360]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

Can't wait to get the DLC. Xion's resurrection. The Master of Masters. The mysteries of the Nameless Star. Lea and Isa's Missing Friend. And Shibuya? Geez a lot of new mysteries going on in the Kingdom Hearts Lore.

[Tyranto Rex 277]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

So much for going to Shibuya. Anyway looks like the next game is gonna be a fresh new start! Not!? But I can take it!

 

[AnotherXehanort13 22]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

I think that he means Verum Rex isn't literally Versus xiii but an individual "identity" (but come on its totally Vsxiii lol)

 

I wonder who "X" is supposed to be and who the star is. And Demyx being shady as hell, didn't he always hang out with Xigbar?

 

Also it's interesting that the place in the secret ending isn't the "real shibuya" from twewy. 

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by AnotherXehanort13

[Darkfire1408 43]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

So if it's not the real Shibuya, that probably means that it's taking place in one of the alternate worldlines mentioned in the secret reports. Which explains why Verum Rex is there, it's a worldline where he was real rather than a video game. Maybe Sora dove so deep into the realm of death to rescue Kairi that he started playing the Reaper's game in another worldline?

 

[setsugekka 162]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

I can't believe Demyx is the Master of Masters. (Yes I can.)

 

[Connected 978]

I heard

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

that the ''However, the person talked about in the secret reports is said to *not* be Ava. (This seems to point towards Skuld.)'' 

part was wrongly translated 

[Fariku 0]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

OMG DAYBREAK TOWN IS UNDER SCALA AD CAELUM! YOU CAN SEE IT DURING THE UNDERWATER PHASE OF THE FINAL BOSS FIGHT 

 

[ocean's rage 775]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

great cant wait for info on xion and demyx and even more teasers

[Maffy 45]

  Quote

People might assume that Verum Rex is the same title as a game Nomura was planning in the past (Versus XIII), but he says it isn't.

That must be the most hilarious thing I've heard :^) "Oh nooo, it's just a coincidence that almost every character looks similar to FFvs13's".

As for the rest, I'm not THAT excited cause it's either information we pretty much knew or he says "you'll get to know later". Duh, Nomura, we know we'll find out things later, we just wanted something more specific than that. Nonetheless, a couple of things were a bit nice.

[Dustin Lübbers 933]

  On 2/28/2019 at 4:18 AM, Hero of Light XIV said:

"People might assume that Verum Rex is the same title as a game Nomura was planning in the past (Versus XIII), but he says it isn't."

 

I am with you 110%

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

Okay the lets build up the next saga in the dlc and see what our Favorite underling xigbar is up to

 

[Mkucherina 84]

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Oh damn I really hope Demyx isn't MoM. That would really downplay the fact that Xig is Luxu

 

[Ultima Spark 753]

  On 2/28/2019 at 9:11 AM, Connected said:

I heard

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

that the ''However, the person talked about in the secret reports is said to *not* be Ava. (This seems to point towards Skuld.)'' 

part was wrongly translated 

That was apparently just Japanese trolls spreading fake info around, it doesn’t actually exist.

[DaRichMan 0]

This is very exciting stuff. I can't wait to learn more.

[Bethany Ann Funnell 2]

I'm pretty sure Demyx is the Master of Master's. If you listen to the way they speak and see the way they move it's the same. Vexen also dropped a hint by saying "no one will ever suspect you." He also handles complex situations the same way - by disappearing.

Maybe I'm wrong but it just feels right.

[SpiderPops 0]

Just like Aqua, Terra is missing his key blade armor.

[VisitJoan 2,713]

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

That part about singularity blew my mind.

[corpiman 26]

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why would Saix think to rejoin the organization as a way to atone and do good by axel and roxas? I actually don't care to dive deeper into that, He was just Jealous seems good enough for me

That's the only one that seems out of place to me

[rizar15 2]

  On 2/28/2019 at 10:02 AM, ocean's rage said:

 

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

great cant wait for info on xion and demyx and even more teasers

 

I really think demyx sacrfied himself for Roxas to take his vessel 

  On 2/28/2019 at 7:25 AM, setsugekka said:

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

I can't believe Demyx is the Master of Masters. (Yes I can.)

 

I really hope he is but I think he just sacrificed himself for roxas. Like too take his body or something. Now if he is mom this would make roxas a plot point tho. Actually that doesn’t make sense because of the replica so maybe namine 

Edited March 9, 2019 by rizar15

[ocean's rage 775]

  On 3/9/2019 at 5:42 AM, rizar15 said:

I really think demyx sacrfied himself for Roxas to take his vessel 

I really hope he is but I think he just sacrificed himself for roxas. Like too take his body or something. Now if he is mom this would make roxas a plot point tho. Actually that doesn’t make sense because of the replica so maybe namine 

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

roxas' vessel was the repilca demyx delivered to raidient garden

[AnotherXehanort13 22]

  On 3/6/2019 at 3:43 AM, corpiman said:

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

why would Saix think to rejoin the organization as a way to atone and do good by axel and roxas? I actually don't care to dive deeper into that, He was just Jealous seems good enough for me

That's the only one that seems out of place to me

I feel like it made more sense back in BBS/DDD where Xigbar and Saix were implied to have been forcibly norted explaining their weird personality shift and shared facial features 

 

eg Xigbar getting yellow eyes in BBS in every scene after he pleads Xehanort for a second chance 

Or Saix coming back changed ever since he and Axel broke into the castle 

Honestly felt like a cop out when being "half-Xehanort" didn't mean much or affect muchand could be cured with some penicillin, and Saix's only remaining reason for being an ass was bc he was Tsundere

Edited March 9, 2019 by AnotherXehanort13

[corpiman 26]

  On 3/9/2019 at 2:09 PM, AnotherXehanort13 said:

I feel like it made more sense back in BBS/DDD where Xigbar and Saix were implied to have been forcibly norted explaining their weird personality shift and shared facial features 

 

eg Xigbar getting yellow eyes in BBS in every scene after he pleads Xehanort for a second chance 

Or Saix coming back changed ever since he and Axel broke into the castle 

Honestly felt like a cop out when being "half-Xehanort" didn't mean much or affect muchand could be cured with some penicillin, and Saix's only remaining reason for being an ass was bc he was Tsundere

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

Lol kinda, I mean, mainly with the "death" scenes of Luxord, Larxene and Marluxia we can assume that Xehanort was actively controlling the members of the real organization at least to some degree, which would explain the personality shift, even if Isa/Saix was always more serious, here he is almost a robot, standing by while Xemnas attacks Lea, but Xigbar/Luxu could very well be immune to this control, only pretending to be under his comman in order to follow his role, since its pretty much confirmed he has much more experience on the whole "possesing other bodies" deal