KH3D Speculation on Dream Drop Distance

[StarCharm 54]

After recieving the message in the bottle from Mickey, Riku and Sora go to YenSid for guidance for where to begin. YenSid says that before going off to save those needed, they might encounter a great enemy that could stop them from rescuing them (Master Xehanort), and in order to defeat him, they need to become stronger; becoming Masters.

Expected from Sora, he is determined to pass the Mark of Mastery, claiming to be ready; Riku as well, feels he is strong enough to pass the Mark of Mastery. This is when 'Dream' from Dream Drop Distance comes; in order to pass the exam, they must overcome their greatest obstacle, Riku defeating Ansem SoD, and Sora Xemnas, but since they are 'gone', YenSid puts them to sleep, where they'll struggle against them inside their own minds. While travelling the new worlds YenSid placed as setting, they search for Ansem SoD and Xemnas, while needing to accomplish certain things in each world in order to continue, but needing to work as a team though in their own separate ways; that's where Trust comes, since there are moments of doubting the other, and themselves. The more they doubt, and do not trust, the deeper they will 'fall' thus not completing the Mark of Mastery.

 

For what I saw in the trailer, I believe Sora begins to doubt himself, realizing the big burden he now carries, feeling too pressured if he is capable of passing the Exam, and if he does, been capable of rescuing those that need him, because he fears he will fail, and so he needs Riku as support, that's why Riku gasps in the trailer when he sees all the Soras falling, because he realizes how much Sora needs him (Or at least that's what I think).

For distance, I think it'd be the distance doubt can create. If you doubt of someone, you get away from him or her, right? To work alone, and make it on your own.

 

I think the rest of the game is pretty much that, Sora struggling on his own to pass the Exam, Riku going his own way, and looking out for Sora, in the end, both defeating their obstacles with the support of the other, and passing the Mark of Mastery.

 

As for the huge and great shocking ending... I think, but I don't believe is very probable, that when Riku and Sora wake up, now as full Keyblade Masters, and informed by YenSid of what to do, Mickey comes in with a hooded figure in the Organization coat, and YenSid says that 'that person will aid you in your new journey'. The figure removes the hood, to reveal Aqua.

That would be the ending, or at least that's what I think.

 

But still, is all speculation right?

[DragonMaster 1,166]

I was just watching Re:coded's secret ending, and suddenly something Yen Sid said got me thinking. "Would not a single one of you suffice, if what you faced was not a single one of him?" What I think this basically means is that Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery Exam will be to fight a "single one of him". Think about it, in the final fight between both Ansem SoD and Xemnas, they were helping each other out. During Sora's fight with Ansem SoD, Riku was fighting Ansem mentally. During the fight with Xemnas, Riku fought along side Sora.

 

So, for them to show their mastery, they must face half of Xehanort alone, without the help of the other. Riku must fight Ansem SoD, as he had taken control of Riku and made him do terrible things (attack Sora for one). Sora must fight Xemnas, as he would not have been able to defeat him the first time without Riku's help (think Xemnas's "can you spare a heart" attack).

[keystrike 145]

somone said: 'hey joby's theory was pretty good'

aw you guys . . . . but any way, yeah. quit arguing over theories. lemme tell you why: T-H-E-O-R-Y. so please. be nice to other people.

 

If anything that reason disproves what you just said. A theory has an enormous amount of evidence and before it is even granted the title of a theory, numerous people critique it. However I don't feel that this is the sort of thread to be critiquing, individual threads should be where people savor every bite of the theory of tear it apart one sentence apart. So ya, people stop arguing over theories (here).

 

My theory:

 

During the time of bbs's production, hints to the story such as fate and master xehanorts disappearance were given. Now in retrospect we see how small these two hints actually were; fate being a very hidden theme and mx's disappearance lasted for roughly half the game. With kh3d we were given the theme and a bit of the story yet again so by seeing how these two aspects of bbs were worked into the game, maybe we could tell how they would be worked into kh3d.

 

As with many of the other games, the true conflict and isn't revealed till the end of the game, and even the new "conflict" that is revealed may be yet another scheme to hide the true driving force behind what is going on. For example in kh1 first we have the heartless who are being controlled by the league of disney villains who are being controlled by maleficent who is being manipulated by Ansem seeker of darkness, who is influenced by the heartless. In other words as the plot of kh3d progresses, the original conflict will shift towards a new one playing the puppet master of what was really going on in the first plot. This first conflict will be the mark of mastery. And by the end of the game,

 

As for the theme, many people have speculated that it will be the trust between Riku and Sora. This however would be a much more material theme versus the underlining theme to the plot of bbs which was fate. So might we look at this at a different level and we can imagine trust referring to "may one really trust what you see in a dream" or "trusting your heart and following what it believes." It might even be a combination of all of these.

[baylaust 2,531]

Well, if I have to make a theory...

 

Sora begins his journey to heal everyone connected to him, but is intercepted by Mickey partway through to be brought with Riku to the Mysterious Tower in order for them to take the Mark of Mastery Exam. However, while the two are taking the exam, neither of them are able to perform to their potential. Yen Sid (somehow) discovers that Xehanort has left a fragment, or 'dream', of himself within Sora and Riku, and it's beginning to affect them. So Yen Sid has Sora and Riku put to sleep, so they can go through their previous adventures and defeat the pieces that Xehanort left behind (Sora's in the form of Xemnas, Riku's in the form of Ansem SOD). They are both dreaming together, so the two of them are both, in theory, in the same dream, which is what allows them to be at the same place at the same time. This could also give Sora the opportunity to finally unlock his memories of what happened in Castle Oblivion.

 

"Dream Drop Distance" implies the general idea that when you're in a dream, if you fall from a distance that would do serious harm to, or kill you, you wake up. So I'm thinking that the "Drop Meter" as it's called might begin to grow as your character repeatedly falls great distances. And if it fills up, your character gets switched from Sora to Riku, or vice versa.

 

Well, that's my theory at a basic form for the main plot. I really don't have enough info on the game to speculate further.

[6metamorphosis 1]

Got a feeling it will "be an undertoned highlighting" of the first 3 plot segments (BBS,KHI,andKHII), including Roxas's Story, and Coded to bridge them together in a "Thirty Xanathos Build up" to the future games (thinking, the III one). Kinda like reintroducing the plot from a "familiar grand entrance" perspective.

 

So my guess...

 

It'll be Sora and Riku (with a few obvious others) trying to surpass the Keyblade exam in a "running the gauntlet" style while dealing with past re-takes brought on by the crew behind the scenes. Gotta feeling something about "Ansem's Twilight Town Computer crossing wires with Namine's powers" is somehow going to "relay this plot" into the build up for the next one. I know they wanted to retouch on Xehanort's past (from BBS) that would bring on how he actually discovered the evidence of the "Drive Realm", so they may use this game as a "recon"..in a way...

 

I'm fearing what may happen when the game obviously brings up the "unanswered questions" between Sora and Riku.

 

Could either make or break...but with the series intentionally getting darker and more detailed...I'm hoping for the best...

 

"Riku...are you jealous of Sora? Sora...do you trust Riku?, and the whole "Kairi" bit....comes to mind when I say this.

[got it memorized 3]

shocking ending: Terranort shows up, he's as he was with MX's mind/heart in control, finds and battles Sora and Riku, gains the upper hand, and just as he's about to finish Sora and Riku, Kairi shows up out of nowhere with a keyblade, stabs Terranort in the heart, and uses her princess of heart abilities to save Terra and remove MX's heart from him, and brings out a weakened MX. he escapes, and recovers during events of KH3, and from there the keyblade crews of SKR and TAV fight and take out MX in KH3.

[Razorwind Keyblade 304]

Boy I sure missed out. Anyways I think that Dream Drop Distance's gameplay will be a combination of KH2 and BBS. The game hopefully will feature a great number of new worlds and keyblades.

[Iamkingdomhearts1000 1,170]

I think they should do DLC Costumes for sora and riku.

[Pandora333 48]

I hate theories...I have nothing against the ones who made one, but I'm afraide all these theories may become real...so I'm only sure about one thing: Tha game will be awesome!

[Mokyn 1]

I really can't make many predictions about gameplay, because I am not a game designer and have no idea what would be within the realms of possibility of the 3DS's capabilities. But the way the shot is set up of Sora falling down to the ground in the Hunchback of Notre Dame world reminds me a lot of Mirror's Edge, so it seems likely that that world will require parkour-like gameplay.

 

I would very much like to see how Sora and Roxas, and Kairi and Namine, are dealing with their situations, since this is now an unprecedented moment of the Kingdom Hearts universe, and there could be a lot of interesting ways the story (and gameplay if they choose to use it for such) could go with that.

 

As to the Mark of Mastery exam, I don't have any speculation on the beginnings of it, but I think it would be interesting if Riku is the one to be given the title of Keyblade Master, if only because Sora is becoming a bit too much of a high figure. He needs to be taken down a few pegs in terms of power in the story, and there is nothing that says he can't still help everyone without being a Master. He could just get help from Riku from now on, or from Kairi, depending on the extent of what she can do as a Princess of Heart.

 

I hope Kairi will have more screen time in a new game, but I have no idea how this could be brought about right now. The trailer focuses on Sora and Riku and nothing about her, which is fine at the moment for a teaser, since she isn't a playable character.

 

Sora and Riku have to learn that there are people who need their help, since it was only data versions of them who found out in Re:Coded. This could possibly be learned over the whole course of the game, having different pieces of information going to Sora and Riku individually.

 

They also have to learn what the secret ending to Re:Coded told us, that since Xehanort's Heartless was destroyed before his Nobody, the real Xehanort can now come back. That's most likely why it shows (fake) Ansem and Xemnas at the end of the trailer, hinting that they are not going to be separated any more.

 

And this point is much more a wish I'd like to see granted, but I doubt will actually happen, but... I'd love to see Xehanort actually get Kingdom Hearts. Then KH3 (if it does in fact get made) can focus on saving everyone (if they haven't already been saved in KH3D, in which case, just rally them together) and stopping the full extent of whatever would happen after Kingdom Hearts is obtained from being carried out. The reason I think this would be an interesting idea for the story to take is because Birth By Sleep brought the characters as last minute as you can possibly get to stopping Xehanort, and the point of a series is to continuously be adding to previous installments. Have KH3D end with that as a twist, but still with a strong sense of hope that things can be saved, and then have the next game be about fixing this all with a big team of people. Basically, like Final Fantasy 6, but within a Disney-esque universe.

[waytothexdawnx 1,159]

Here is my theory:

Yen Sid wants to test Sora and Riku in the Mark of Mastery Exam, but he can't. That is because Sora and Riku don't have their full power. They lost some of it whenever they lost their memories in Castle Oblivion. That being, Yen Sid sends Sora and Riku in a dream, where they must travel through dream worlds and recover their lost power. After they've gained their power, they change back into their KH 1 clothes. But before they can take the test, Xehanort is inside of the dreams, in the form of Xenmas and Ansem. After a big adventure with thrilling subplots, Xehanort is forced out of the dream, although he is still alive. This is when Sora and Riku learn that Xehanort is back, which is why they need to take the exam. The game ends with Sora and Riku awakening and taking their exam at Yen Sid's tower. At the tower, Sora passes the exam, while Riku fails. Riku then grows angry and jealous of Sora always being the hero. Riku then attacks Sora, Mickey, and Yen Sid, and leaves in a Corridor of Darkness. This is when Yen Sid realizes that Riku is dead, and he died while in his dream. Xehanort now posseses Riku. This was Xehanort's plan all along, so he can gain a keyblade.

 

i loved everything u said... until u got to Riku being a jealous dead man LOL

 

but yea i was thinking something similar with the dream idea, however i thought of time travel for some reason. they go back in time to regain their strength & i maybe try to "fix" some things.

[J. Severe 1,137]

Here goes. Beware of spoilers. However, if you're on this thread, you probably know all this already.

 

The game starts with a high-quality computer-generated FMV, just like Birth by Sleep, KH1, and KH2, which rounds up all the events that have occurred in the series so far, ending with Sora and Riku falling under water as always in the openings, and ending up in the Awakening. Then they, in their KH1 clothes, go through a tutorial, which has them fighting Heartless and Nobodies until they go through a door which takes them to Traverse Town, where Sora fights Twilight Thorn, Riku fights some other enemy, etc.

 

After doing so, the sequence is shown to be a dream, and Sora & Riku wake up to Kairi, in the present, with their KH2 outfits, who issues them to do some errands around the island. When this is done, the gang hangs out by that tree Sora and Riku are shown to be by at in the post-credits scene of KH2. Kairi shows up after going somewhere for a moment, with the letter from King Mickey. Upon reading it, the group debates what to do, deciding that they are going to think about it tomorrow. The next day, the scene from "Blank Points" is shown, with Sora saying that his mind's made up. He and Riku prepare to go, with Kairi giving Sora her good luck charm once more.

 

Mickey's Gummi Ship shows up, with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. When questioned, Mickey says that Sora & Riku must come with him to Yen Sid's tower for some important news. Wanting to support her friends, Kairi comes along also, and the six blast through space (when the player gets to play controlling the Gummi Ship), ending up back at Twilight Town. Once at Yen Sid's tower, he explains to them the danger of Xehanort's return, and instructs that Sora and Riku under the Mark of Mastery immediately. With Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy watching on the sidelines, Sora & Riku go forth to take the exam and become Keyblade Masters...

 

... and that's all I have for now! Perhaps if I have some ideas later I'll post them, but for now, J. Severe is signing off!

[FaceofSoraHeartofVentus 49]

...am i the only one getting an inception vibe from this game so far...?

RoxasNo.XIII

[Oishii 3,987]

All I know is that, even though everyone expects Sora to pass, I would rather Riku passes while Sora fails. It would be more interesting that way. And everyone say that Yen Sid puts them to sleep for the exam. For me, I think something bad would happen and Sora and Riku would disappear. They would find themselves in a realm that exists from dreams and would have to fight enemies created by nightmares (which would explain the new symbol on the main page). Something on the lines of that would be way better than an enchanted sleep.

[hatok 6,413]

...am i the only one getting an inception vibe from this game so far...?

RoxasNo.XIII

 

No

I actually wouldn't be surprised if they decided to make this game because of Inception (Square is not exactly above ripping off other media, see Star Wars)

[Tom 437]

My thoughts. I didn't really feel like reposting everything.

[Rob 5,571]

I think KH3D will be about Sora and Riku's exam, then they'll end up saving Aqua at the end, but then the "shocking" part comes in, which I have no idea.

[Mowrt620 14]

I don't want to sound evil, but as far the shocking ending goes, I'd like to see Riku... wait for it... die! I love him, but I think him dying would add a lot to the series. I'unno.

[Rob 5,571]

I don't want to sound evil, but as far the shocking ending goes, I'd like to see Riku... wait for it... die! I love him, but I think him dying would add a lot to the series. I'unno.

 

No one dies in KH, said by Nomura.

[hatok 6,413]

 

I don't want to sound evil, but as far the shocking ending goes, I'd like to see Riku... wait for it... die! I love him, but I think him dying would add a lot to the series. I'unno.

 

No one dies in KH, said by Nomura.

 

People can disappear forever though.

[Rob 5,571]

 

 

I don't want to sound evil, but as far the shocking ending goes, I'd like to see Riku... wait for it... die! I love him, but I think him dying would add a lot to the series. I'unno.

 

No one dies in KH, said by Nomura.

 

People can disappear forever though.

 

Exactly, they disappear until brought back(if the requirements are met), they don't die. I'm glad someone knows the difference.

[hatok 6,413]

But they can disappear and NOT come back.

That's essentially KH death.

[Rob 5,571]

But they can disappear and NOT come back.

That's essentially KH death.

 

Yes, I know, since I said if the requirements are met. It's not death in Nomura's eyes, since they just stay disappeared. lol

[replika13 455]

i think they are in yen sids tower at the begining.

they are put to sleep and sended to realm of dreams or something like that.

they separate and goes to their own journeys.

in time they found out that ansem and xemnas are regaining the memories of terranort/apprentice xehanort.

they would see some flashbangs of bbs and days (cause game is connected to them).

aqua could also saved in this game from the realm of darkness.

but about shocking ending i have no theorie...yet...

[VANiTAS INCARNATE 1]

It seems that there is a significant meaning to the title, and "Dream Drop Distance," seems to be as thought provoking as it is gimmicky (i.e. the use of 3 "D's" for a 3DS game.) And as he has stated before, Nomura's ideas often tend to stem from movies, most notably Star Wars. Now I have already posted a thread similar to this theory, but it seems that this game is taking a page out of last years phenomenon, "Inception" (also my favorite movie of all time =3) with the use of "dreams".

Let's cut to the chase, in 3D, there will be a huge focus on the Mark of Mastery, and because the only footage of Sora and Riku so far appear to be in their KH1 forms, then it probably takes place in a dream state. Another mystery that needs to scraped at is the mysterious data ATW locked in his heart. Perhaps a side-effect of the dream-state could slowly, and secretly unlock this data, which would explain the presence of Xemnas and Ansem SoD being more of a metaphorical appearance than an actual threat. As for the worlds the only 3 we have actually seen (discluding Yen Sid's tower) are Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, and Paris from Hunchback, meaning they could be memories of Sora and Riku's travels during the previous KH games where they uncover secrets and unnoticed oddities from the predecessors. At this point some of you are thinking, "Hey, I never played through Hunchback in KH" for those who are having those thoughts, we know Sora never traveled there...But what about Riku?

And above all else, what is the shocking ending? Well I'd rather not take random guesses cuz Nomura said it would be shocking for a reason. So here are the rough possible outcomes. 1. Xehanort conquers Kingdom Hearts and all the worlds fall to darkness, starting the Keyblade Wars anew. 2. Xehanort's presence corrupts Riku, he fails the Mark of Mastery, and shifts to a villain, paving a villainous way for KHIII. 3. The mysterious figure is revealed and proves to be a greater threat than Xehanort has, is, and ever will be.

 

Thats just my 2 cents whadyall think?