Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Chat

[hawk222_1550644792 16]

That's probably a smart move, all things considered

[Inçendyne 31]

We still get V. 5.0.0. come Winter, which can extend to next year.

It might be likely if they are using the twentieth anniversary tag.

[Superslash 5]

That’s what I was thinking actually

Like there literally hasn’t been a single African American KH original character till now

Shame he’s probably not gonna be seen after dark road tho 🥴

[FadedSparkle 18]

Wait, is that meant to be an African American character or is that just another deeply dark tanned character alla Ansem Seeker of Darkness who for all we knew back before he was revealed to be a heartless and not the real Ansem could've also been an African American due to his skin's shading/color selection? And why does it even matter at this point? Are people actually invested in something like racial diversity when it comes to KH that this is a talking point or is it just because it's 2021?

Edited October 6, 2021 by FadedSparkle

[Otti#8624 26]

I mean, it is the first dark skinned original character in KH other than all the Xehanorts. I see no reason why it shouldn't be talked about when it's something new the series is doing.

[ienzo628 548]

Wait, how do I access Dark Roads?  Don't I have to be offline?

[Vèńťúş_wíņđ_⅔ 0]

38 minutes ago, Otti#8624 said:

I mean, it is the first dark skinned original character in KH other than all the Xehanorts. I see no reason why it shouldn't be talked about when it's something new the series is doing.

Exactly, I for one am super grateful at the African representation in khdr and I would love to see more in the future of kh.

[Inçendyne 31]

It’s a shame he had to be introduced in a mobile game and will be killed off.

[FadedSparkle 18]

I wasn't trying to make it out like African American representation would be something bad or something not to be celebrated, but I still don't know if the character is meant to be African American. Saying dark skin = African American would be like saying I should suddenly consider Mihoshi Kuramitsu from Tenchi Muyo an African American just because of her skin color. Since when in a Japanese IP does dark skin = African American representation is essentially the question I'm posing here. And while representation is important, making a big deal out of it only makes people come off as insecure. That doesn't even just apply to African American representation. Other cultures/minorities are the same way. It can get pretty cringey seeing people get ecstatic over devs addressing "diversity"

Edited October 7, 2021 by FadedSparkle

[Superslash 5]

I mean Xehanort is legit right next to the dude and you can just tell how much darker the skin tone is based off of that, and honestly I don’t see how anybody was supposedly making a big deal outta it, seemed like nothing more than an observation to me, unless you saw something we didn’t

[FadedSparkle 18]

You mean aside from anyone having to point it out at all instead of just the character's existence being left to simply be a thing instead of him being treated like an elephant in the room.

Because aside from it being pointed out here someone made an entire separate topic "The first African American KH Character" https://www.kh13.com/forums/topic/129544-1st-african-american-kh-character/?do=getNewComment or something to that effect. And all I could think is; Would you like fries with that virtue signal sandwich? I imagine that in times of segregation and more recently in the immediate aftermath of the events that led to the Black Lives Matter movement Blacks walking into establishments with mostly white people who just stared at them suspiciously must feel much like the fictional character in this game would feel if they were real and that topic was a literal sign not a forum topic on the internet (and vice versa for any whites who happened to be walking into establishments filled with mostly blacks it goes both ways). I hope you can see why I find this all just a little bit ridiculous of a talking point. The character's skin color is irrelevant. The fact that the character is a person is relevant.

 

Representation for the sake of representation, or just to cover your bases (tick off all the boxes) is also just another form of the long time used in various ways thing known as tokenism, which is another thing to keep in mind. We don't know if this KH character is an example of this or not anymore than we know if the character is meant to actually be an African American, but considering what Disney's doing outside of KH right now it wouldn't surprise me. Truly people, do we want to go backwards instead of forwards. Do we want to keep putting emphasis on what makes us different instead of what makes us all the same human beings? I remember when zombies bled every color of the rainbow in video games instead of just red like real life humans. I remember when character skins in video games could be every color under the sun because your skin color was irrelevant. Now everything has to be hyper realistic and nothing can ever be fun for long because politics this, agendas that. Please no more.

Edited October 7, 2021 by FadedSparkle

[Leamax_1559862996 16]

Actually they are the 3rd African American character. The clown kid and the Boss girl from the side missions in KHUX were the first two

[Inçendyne 31]

Maybe he, as a classmate from the other class, will bear more plot relevance.

[hawk222_1550644792 16]

Oh boy, we're gonna be talking about this, huh?

[Evi98 15]

Maybe because japan and anime design characters and this trope has applied throughout the main series

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Mukokuseki

[Vèńťúş_wíņđ_⅔ 0]

We need more black representation in kh and video games in general. I think we can all agree on that.

On 10/7/2021 at 12:05 AM, hawk222_1550644792 said:

Oh boy, we're gonna be talking about this, huh?

Hey its a big moment in kh history. I'd say 95% of kh characters are light skinned, it's a nice change of pace. 

On 10/6/2021 at 7:14 PM, Inçendyne said:

It’s a shame he had to be introduced in a mobile game and will be killed off.

Sadly it's looking like that will happen. 

R.I.P 

On 10/6/2021 at 6:05 PM, Otti#8624 said:

I mean, it is the first dark skinned original character in KH other than all the Xehanorts. I see no reason why it shouldn't be talked about when it's something new the series is doing.

Thank you, I feel the same!.

[hawk222_1550644792 16]

Lol, I was referring to the stuff faded was saying mostly

[Evi98 15]

I do agree, and I think it makes his character design stand out. I just think it's funny people are calling him american specifically. I understand the self insert appeal ofc, but I don't think america exists in the kh universe lol outside of disney properties of course.

It is also pretty sad he'll probably get killed off but at least they all die?

[GoldenDrummer730#4323 24]

They'll all die and have their souls will transfer

[Epheymer 14]

Plot twist: their hearts went into the FF characters

[Evi98 15]

https://tenor.com/view/soraya-montenegro-gasp-in-spanish-maria-la-del-bario-shocked-surprised-gif-10045905

I don't even put it past nomura lol

That's absolutely something he'd do

[Inçendyne 31]

Even Bragi?

[GoldenDrummer730#4323 24]

Probably

[Inçendyne 31]

B/c of the hair…

It’s a joke.

[FadedSparkle 18]

I'm just gonna reiterate that feeling the need to make a separate thread drawing attention to a dark skinned/"colored" character is the exact opposite of taking pride and celebration in it. If it's really that great a thing you shouldn't feel the need to treat it like the elephant in the room otherwise full of cats. You should just be happy to let it exist and continue on with your life, not suddenly stop to acknowledge it like something revolutionary occurred. We are all human, all people. These are the kinds of life lessons your homeroom teachers are meant to have taught you in kindergarten or first grade for crying out loud. We all look different in some way or another, but we're all people in the end.

Edited October 9, 2021 by FadedSparkle