Why I feel we need to play as Young Xehanort during the into in KH3 rather than Eraqus

[Seyin95 175]

I was reminiscing about last year's E3 trailer and was thinking about interesting topics to talk about ( I did consider a post about the different geographical areas of the game- yet I don't think many would care about a post about mountains; rivers and fields etc) and decided to argue my case on why we should play as Young Xehanort in the introduction; from a plot perspective and necessity.

 

Starting with the most important and obvious reason: 1) we actually don't know a lot about his backstory- we know he got off the Islands ( somehow), we know he becomes a keyblade wielder ( somehow), we know he is trained by a master who loves the story about the lost masters ( cough foretellers) ( also someone). Yet whilst we know about Old Man Xehanort and his current ambitions. We do not know: how Xehanort became a keyblade wielders; how he later obtains the keyblade we are accustomed to him wearing; how and why he became obsessed with the keyblade war ( by this I mean was it his master's charisma/Xehanort being power hungry/Altruistic intentions etc); what worlds he attended to in his youth; the list actually goes on. Whilst we could learn this from playing as Eraqus; I'd argue playing as Xehanort will allow us to explore the character on a much needed personal level. If we fully understand the character then we can either have more intentions to defeat him or feel for him when he is defeated.

 

2) playing as the ' good guy's' is getting dull- yes; I know we will take control of Sora who is undoubtedly a hero; but I mean for a change; albeit a small one . It would be fun to play as a bad guy for once; who knows we might even be able to dab into darker areas from a gameplay perspective too?

 

3) gives us a valid reason to return to Dive To The Heart- I'd be willing to wager this section of the game returns; I mean it enables us to choose between the Sword/Shield/Staff ( always the shield) which determines the abilities we gain through levelling up; however Sora; Roxas and Ven have been there and yes I'm aware there are multiple other characters who could go there; enabling the player to essentially choose Young Xehanort's path is way too tempting. Not only does it allow us a legit reason to return: but also helps us connect to Xehanort too. If we choose his path; then technically we have set the course for what will eventually play in the KH games thus far; which I feel would be a neat touch.

 

4) playing as young Eraqus wouldn't answer all the questions- this links to my first point; yes it would be cool to play as Eraqus; however we'd still be none the wiser to a lot of answers; which wouldn't help the plot. Therefore I'd have nothing against having cutscenes exclusive to Eraqus; but I feel as mentioned above; playing as Young Xehanort would be excellent to providing needed answers.

 

5) the chess scene is the start of the game- I'm anticipating the response that people will want either exclusive Sora Intro/ Kairi in training etc. However we know for a fact this is the start: so it wouldn't make sense to show this then have someone else such as Kairi playable in the intro. I fully support the concept for having the Intro during this timeline rather than currently as I feel we'll gain more out of it story wise. Also how random would it be to have inevitable sentences which only Nomura fully understands; a funky song followed by the chess scene then bam here's Kairi to play as. I know I for one would be seriously puzzled.

 

So; that's a few reasons. For me the perfect Intro would be the inevitable sentences which make no sense; a funky song followed by the chess scene; then allowing us to fully explore the secrets and backstory of our main antagonist; perhaps even swaying a few people to his side?, neatly setting the scene for the game; before switching back to the Mysterious Tower and cue the game as Sora.

[Moochieh32 676]

I can see them doing it due to both his Japanese and English voice actors passing away during the production of KH3.

[Elrandir 783]

To tell the truth playing as young Eraqus would be nice, I still want to play with a character from the other side. Sure, Eraqus is nice, but Xehanort is one of the most important characters in the whole series.

 

It is my personal opinion that Eraqus was a little obssessed with the whole "Light good, Darkness bad" topic, while Xehanort was, like, investigate both and choose later. We need to known how he came to know about the outside, how did he obtained his current keyblade and what he did after he left Land of Departure.

 

We need more Xehanort!

(Not more versions, but more of his backstory)

 

Also we need that chess board!

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

We probably will be shown his backstory in the beginning. As for playing, I don't think that will happen.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

It's an interesting idea, but I feel that it would still make for a wholer experience if you could play both as Young Xehanort AND Young Eraqus. We're kind of interested in Eraqus' past too, how exactly he gained his fear of the Darkness and how his and Xehanort's brotherly relationship formed and faded over time. I mean, yeah you could probably get by with some cutscenes, but I feel that like Birth by Sleep the story you're looking for can be told in multiple perspectives, not just Xehanort's. For this reason, I feel that this story could best be told IN PARTS scattered inbetween events of the main story in KH3, like flashback sequences that are playable. Yes, it would make sense to start with this perspective at the beginning of the game, but from a narrative perspective I feel it would be stronger if it wasn't told all at once in the beginning, just a bit at a time, more parts only being revealed as they are relevant to the main present era story (maybe even as an optional campaign to explore on your own free time, like the Mementos only playable). It would start at the very beginning but then we wouldn't see the rest of what happens until this point in the game, then at that point, and then this point, and etc.

 

However, I still feel it would be fitting to have Kairi serve as some kind of gameplay basics intro as well. It could still happen after the Xehanort/Eraqus prologue thingy and it would take care of the starting off at level 1 requirement we're used to seeing by now. I know story wise the Xehanort stuff is more important, but god damn it we've watched Kairi sit by on the sidelines for too long (even when she DID do something she still got benched) and now we're teased with the possibility that she might be more heavily involved in the story in an active role, if not a playable one, so of course it would be perfect to at least start as her at some point. Yes it might mean it'll take a while before you actually play as Sora, but that has never been a problem for me when the scenario and perspective we get instead is still just as interesting and compelling on it's own, especially if it means that Sora already has a little more power by the time you play as him. Of course, this all hinges on whether or not they will be putting in multiple playable characters with this game, which I am a little nervous about since they haven't said anything lately.

 

I want to see it happen, but it might heavily depend on how much they want the focus to be on Sora, how long and huge they make the game in terms of gameplay breadth, story length, and replayability, and how complex they want to make the story with multiple playable characters. I'm really hoping for this to be the ideal game, but I realize that that compromises have to be made in order to finish a product, so I am really concerned that they might scrap the multiple playable characters concept in favor of beefing up the overall experience. I wouldn't mind too much if that happened....but I also really want to play as everyone (at least Sora, Riku, and Kairi) to some extent in this gameplay style. I really hope they've come up with a novel way to make multiple playable characters work in this game that keeps the narrative and gameplay strong, because it would be a dream come true. T3T"

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

Oh, it'd definitely be a blast to play as Young Xehanort!  Like, my God, I'd love to be able to actually control him!  Your idea is pretty badass, but I have to admit, I'd also like to see Eraqus's side of the spectrum as well, ya know?  We could have story elements from their pasts equally!

 

I really loved Hero Of Light's idea about having us see Xehanort and Eraqus's friendship form and fade throughout the game via flashbacks, I think that's a pretty swell idea!  And you know, maybe these flashbacks could trigger at certain points in the game, like certain locations in worlds that you go to!  One location that comes to mind is that library in Cable Town that was mentioned to us!  Remember, the one we never got to see, cuz it was exclusive content in the Premium Theater, if I'm not mistaken? Yeah, that library!  Just imagine, as we're scouring the books in the library, we come upon one that talks about the Keyblade War, or maybe something about light and darkness, and then a flashback with Young Xehanort and Eraqus in the library takes place!  That'd be pretty damn cool!  But yeah, it's a very tempting idea!

 

I want to know more of Xehanort and Eraqus!!! X_X

[Way2Dawn 80]

Im definitely all for this.  When I saw the Chess Scene Trailer I assumed that we would start the game playing as Eraqus, but what you said definitely makes Xehanort a much more desirable playable character.  I have always felt for Xehanort (I understand his intentions, his actions, not so much), it would be nice to be able to dive deeper into his mind and past to better understand his actions.  Its almost as if he should've been given his own spin off already (but we have enough of those). 

 

Lets do it!  Im ready for this!

[Guest]

I really want to play as Xehanort to truly understand why Eraqus and Xehanort's relationship started to fracture. Playing as Eraqus means that we immediately label Xehanort as a villain and nothing more, but doing it the other way round means that we can be more objective about Eraqus. Maybe Eraqus' light obsession was troubling?

Edited May 22, 2016 by Guest

[Way2Dawn 80]

I really want to play as Xehanort to truly understand why Eraqus and Xehanort's relationship started to fracture. Playing as Eraqus means that we immediately label Xehanort as a villain and nothing more, but doing it the other way round means that we can be more objective about Eraqus. Maybe Eraqus' light obsession was troubling?

Exactly what I was thinking.  Xehanort isn't completely off base with his intentions.  He wants to maintain a balance of both light and darkness.  In a world that is overflowing with light, you have to inject more darkness to maintain the balance.

[Guest]

Exactly what I was thinking.  Xehanort isn't completely off base with his intentions.  He wants to maintain a balance of both light and darkness.  In a world that is overflowing with light, you have to inject more darkness to maintain the balance.

 

Exactly, and considering the fact that the Fortellers are being selfish with gathering Lux (light) in Kingdom Hearts X, it'd be a clever twist of light being as equally evil. After all, Riku is a Guardian of Light yet masters the Darkness.

[Smithee 327]

Exactly what I was thinking.  Xehanort isn't completely off base with his intentions.  He wants to maintain a balance of both light and darkness.  In a world that is overflowing with light, you have to inject more darkness to maintain the balance.

 

Except it's called the Realm Of Light.

 

No one complains about too much Darkness in the Realm Of Darkness, you know.

 

IMO, it's just hypocrisy from a glorified male Maleficent.

 

Exactly, and considering the fact that the Fortellers are being selfish with gathering Lux (light) in Kingdom Hearts X, it'd be a clever twist of light being as equally evil. After all, Riku is a Guardian of Light yet masters the Darkness.

 

They're gathering Lux because they need it to protect the Realm Of Light, not because of basic greed.

[Guest]

They're gathering Lux because they need it to protect the Realm Of Light, not because of basic greed.

 

That's what the plot wants you to believe. Every key character in Kingdom Hearts X are morally ambiguous with their intentions.

[TheKeyofRose 282]

That's what the plot wants you to believe. Every key character in Kingdom Hearts X are morally ambiguous with their intentions.

^ This

 

Unchained X takes place very close to the time of the Keyblade War. The Foretellers aren't trusting of each other Keyblade Wielders are suspicious.

 

In the end the gathering of Lux is preparing all for this war. The war that brought only destruction and ruin...And worst of all Darkness covered the war.