Dave

It reminded me of that field you see at the end of Kingdom Hearts, when Goofy, Donald, and Sora are walking down that single road. I don't know if that's the answer, but that's what it struck me as.

They want the World Heavyweight Championship. My personal guess is that something is hindering Xehanort's attempts to put himself back together, and that Sora has something that he needs to get the job done, but I've really got nothing resembling proof to back this up.

I'll confess I'm not completely sold on the Dream Eater design, mainly because I'm a grumpy old man who hates "cute." That said, having watched some more of the gameplay footage, I think they're integrated well enough to not be a distraction, and will act as something like Forms or Summons: there if you need them, but not totally necessary. As for the collectable aspect, I think it's a harmless enough addition, and gives you something else to play around with if the mood arises.

It would be almost surreal to hear James Earl Jones tell people not to give in to the Darkness...

The Great Mouse Detective, especially on the 3DS. First, the chase scene through the sky would fit perfectly into the depth-of-field thing that the 3DS does so well. Second, fighting on the clock tower would provide platforming magic, with enough jumping and constant action to make even Mario have second thoughts.

It really depends on the game, and if hitting the 100% mark is fun to do, or if it's a chore, as well as what the payoff is. The only games I can immediately think of that I've taken the time to get 100% on were Donkey Kong 64, Pikmin 2, Super Mario 64, and Banjo Kazooie, the reason being that the process of getting the 100% is integrated into the game play naturally, and can still be fun to do. Things like completing every side quest in a Final Fantasy, or maxxing out forms and summons in KH, I don't find as interesting, because you have to go out of your way to complete them, and it feels like busy work rather than game play.

I don't think self-preservation would be enough motivation for Sora to join Xehanort. We've seen Sora give of himself to save others multiple times, the most notable being turning himself into a Heartless just to save Kairi. If anything, if giving up his heart would bring back Roxas, Ven, and Xion, chances are that Sora would run himself through again. Also, given that Sora appears to be slumped in the chair and apparently unconcious, I don't think he's willingly with Team Xehanort at all.

He does the same thing that Ganondorf does while waiting for Link to get to the end: copious amounts of Solitaire. In seriousness, he had a couple things on his plate: getting the Organization up and runng (judging by the KH2 Final Mix cutscenes, there was at least a little bit of a scramble to get the members), as well as being occupied with finding the Chamber of Awakening in Castle Oblivion. Another question might be whether both Xemnas and Ansem had any idea that the other was trying to find Kingdom Hearts, or if they had the same intent to use it once it was theirs.

1. At the end of coded, Yen Sid asks if a single one of them (meaning Sora, Riku, and Mickey) would be enough if what they faced was not a single one of him (meaning Xehanort). I think the sentiment is that if you have a whole lot of final bosses, you're going to need a whole lot of heroes to face them. Also in this ending, Mickey shows interest in bailing out Aqua, Ven, and Terra, so there's probably just the general sense of a rescue mission as well. 2. It's just Lea realizing that he's been put back together. 3. Well, we see an unconcious Sora slumped in a chair, and a bunch of Xehanorts running around that were probably not accounted for before sending in Sora and Riku. Things presumably go wrong, and naturally, in such a situtation, you send in Mickey Mouse. 4. After Xehanort de-hearted his original body in BBS, with his heart moving over to Terra, I guess his original existence had to go somewhere. 5. I'm guessing that's a plot point that will be revealed in the game proper, with not nearly enough hints to make any kind of reasonable guess prior. 6. It's either an illusion created for purpose of confusion, or a new Organization.I don't believe it's the old one, or even a recreation of it, mainly because Axel is no longer there, and also when the arrows fall to signal their arrival, it's presumed that Braig is shooting them from a distance, and thus is not one of the cloaked figures who appears afterwards. 7. Correct. 8. Someone who desperately needs to change his contact lenses. 9. I doubt it. The man seems to have a plan for nearly everything, and I'm sure this is just part of one.

What I would be more concerned about is if they decided to have a contest to see who could use the word "Darkness" the most in under one minute.

Annotated thoughts as I watched the trailer: 00.10: Young Master Xehanort: “Aren’t there hearts confined within you, too?”Buddy, you have no idea. Surely Sora himself is Kingdom Hearts, because the heart of everyone is inside of him. 0:28: I suppose stopping Young Xehanort from leaving wasn’t a possibility. 0:51 I will never tire of these opening videos. The surrealism is always put together very well, not to mention the graphic quality. 1:35 Aw, Quasi has Dream Eater friends! That’s adorable 1:43: Victor: “But we don’t have any cake.” Someone, somewhere, thought that joke was clever. Victor is the smart one; Hugo is the one who makes the awful jokes. 1:52: Sora: “Wow, awesome!” And that’s why I love Sora. He’s as excited about things as we are. There’s nothing more irritating than a hero who’s too cool for what’s going on around him. 1:54: Still not a fan of the juxtapositioning of more real models to cartoon ones. It’s a little too jarring, not to mention the realistic models look stiff and emotionless in comparison. 2:16: I notice the Pete here has the classic peg leg, while the usual Pete in KH does not. Different versions of Pete? 2:37: Blue Fairy. Awesome. Who’s up to see the Blue Fairy fight Malificient? 2:43: Is it just me, or is Mickey’s dancing in perfect synch with the trailer music? 3:10: The entire Hunchback level is going to look amazing in 3D. 3:32: Classic Mickey slapstick. I’m glad this game seems to be emphasizing Mickey’s mischevious behaviour as well as his kickass keyblade skills. 4:09: Zipping along walls will, and all of the other moves here, will look fantastic in 3D. I’m glad they’re clearly playing with the capabilities of the system, rather than just using it as an afterthought. 4:15: Well, it’s just as well they didn’t get the raft going in KH1, because they clearly didn’t get very far. Also, good to see Ursula doing a lot more laser shooting and a lot less singing. 5:00 Not gonna lie, not incredibly interested in the whole Dream Eater multiplayer, but at least it looks like they put some effort into it regardless. Also, using them as summons seems to be effective. 6:06: And now a fun game of kick the cat! Clearly, young Xehanort is a jerk. 6:25: Aaw, the scene in Days where Axel says he will always bring them back is one of my favourites. Good reference. 6:40: So Axel was turned into a Nobody at the laboratory as well. It’ll be interesting to know exactly when he pops up back here in relation to everyone else, timeline wise. 7:23: Aaw, I was kind of hoping Frollo could be evil on his own, without dark powers. 7:50: Ansem and Young Xehanort hanging around at the same time. It doesn’t seem that Xehanort is entirely back in one piece yet, because all of his forms are still floating around. 8:18: You, kill my gold fish? As if! 8:50: Looks like Axel is getting a much bigger role to play, if he’s talking to Yen Sid. Also, with the next scene being Mickey apparently also included in the plot, might it be that something has gone wrong with the test, and they require reinforcements? 9:00: Xemnas Chokeslam! 9:06: Well, it looks like the Xehanort gang is all here. Interesting that it occurs in the World That Never Was. Could be that, given that it was more or less destroyed at the end of KH2, it too went to sleep, as it were, and that’s where all of Xehanort’s forms are mustering. 9:10: Braig’s arrows, noticeably. Yet, presumably, he’s not one of the hooded fellows who appear afterwards. Also, there’s only twelve of them, and one of them is Young Xehanort. I think it’s safe to say that these guys aren’t the Organization. 9:19: For gosh sakes, Namine and Xion are here, and Kairi still isn’t? One day, that girl is going to have to do something constructively useful. 9:20 Sora’s in one of the chairs, but he seems to be sleeping. Reminiscent of Ven at the end of BBS. Presumably, he’s not there out of his own free will.

I always thought he was asking Daisy to take care of the Queen, since it's Donald and Goofy's responsibility to do so.

Braig will most likely resume being Xehanort's number two guy, unless he has a swift and sudden personality overhaul, or if he sees some kind of advantage for himself, which I cannot imagine immediately. I can see Even throwing his lot in with Xehanort after being put back together, given that he seems semi-questionable in BBS; at least, he seems more interested in hearts and the Keyblade, and I reckon if Xehanort promised him to see the X-Blade in action, he would go for it. Ienzo, Dilin, and Aleus may be more ambiguous in their actions. Ienzo I would have supposed to be more inclined to still go with Xehanort, mainly because the Heartless manufacturing chambers were his idea, but then, he's also very opportunistic, and might hedge his bets if he thinks Sora and friends have the edge. Aleus seems more justice oriented than anything, and I'm not sure he would have a heel turn once Xehanort showed his true colors. Dilin is tricky, because his Nobody seems so different from his Somebody, and is hard to call what he really feels.

Beat Seifer unmercifully with a struggle bat before forcing him to buy a shirt that covers his navel.

Basic sort of question: which did you find to be the more compelling antagonists of Kingdom Hearts: Organization XIII or the Disney Villain Bloc of KH1? The Disney Villains have a definate edge in screen presence and personality as a whole, with each member bringing something to liven up the group: Hades' fast talking, Ursula's manipulativeness, Oogie's insane humor, Malificient's silky smooth evil, Captain Hook's comedic bungling, Jafar's aloof aristocratic behavior. While the Organization is a fun batch of people, I think there are a few too many "stoic and stone faced/ quietly plotting" members to really outshine the Disney cast, if it came down to who would provide better conversation. However, the Organization has the benefit of a more coherent story and aim: they have a definate plan in KHII, and said plan is constantly developed upon through the efforts of each member's appearance in the game. As such, their overall impression was more lasting and had greater significance. With KH1, the only one who seems to know the whole plan is Malificient, and the other villains are almost just cameos, their contributions to the grand plot not as developed in greater detail as they might have been. Discuss.