Elfdemon_

The machine isn't running anymore. They just created a massive amount of Heartless when it was running back in the day. And Emblem Heartless can multiply by devouring people's hearts, the same way Pureblood Heartless can, which would also help explain why there's so many. It's because of how little darkness he has in his heart. If he became a Heartless in current-day, I'm sure his Heartless would be much stronger since how much he succumbed to darkness in Dream Drop Distance thanks to the Seekers of Darkness pulling him further and further into sleep.

No one says that as far as I'm aware. Maybe you're thinking of this: Marluxia speaking to Roxas in 358/2 Days: "The rest of us can defeat Heartless, but we have no way of collecting the hearts they release. Eventually, the hearts will return right back into Heartless." Not true. Pureblood Heartless are the natural Heartless. They are what you turn into when you succumb to the darkness and they are what you can create from the darkness in your heart. They are the darkness from the heart turned sentient (except not really since they can't feel things and only act on instinct lol). When you destroy a Pureblood Heartless, the heart within them isn't visibly/physically released, but it is definitely freed. The freed heart will eventually end up turning back into a Heartless. When a Pureblood Heartless is destroyed by a Keyblade, then it's freed for good. It goes into a sort of limbo state and waits for the corresponding Nobody to be destroyed so that it can combine back with the body and recomplete the original person. If the person has no corresponding Nobody, then all you have to do to recomplete them is destroy their Heartless (with a Keyblade) since their body is already waiting in the limbo state. Emblem Heartless were created by a machine constructed by Apprentice Xehanort. It uses real hearts and replicates how a heart succumbs to darkness. The process is obviously different though since it is done by science and a machine. When they are destroyed, the corrupted heart that's freed will end up turning back into a Heartless, just like the Pureblood Heartless. Except the hearts are visibly freed. When Emblem Heartless are destroyed by a Keyblade, the heart is freed for good and goes into the aforementioned limbo state and waits for the Nobody counterpart to be destroyed, just like the Pureblood Heartless. If there is no Nobody counterpart, then all you need to do to recomplete the original person is to destroy the Heartless with a Keyblade. Them being destroyed by a Keyblade also allows Organization XIII to be able to collect the hearts before they get a chance to recomplete. Oh, and another way to become a Heartless is being devoured by one. If your heart is devoured by a Pureblood Heartless, then you will become a Pureblood Heartless and if your heart is devoured by an Emblem Heartless, then you will become an Emblem Heartless. Sources:

As far as we know, no, they do not evolve. Shadows, Mega Shadows, Gigas Shadows, and Neoshadows are all different Heartless. They just look very similar, sort of like how Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodys, and Emerald Blues all look very similar. Emblem Heartless aren't inanimate objects. Apprentice Xehanort used hearts to make them with his machine. Both Pureblood and Emblem Heartless have hearts deep within them somewhere. And destroying both of them with a Keyblade causes the heart to be liberated.

They both might be Seekers of Darkness, it hasn't been confirmed that Braig isn't one. But, if he isn't a Seeker of Darkness, then it has something to do with the "I got my hands full with my own plans" thing he said. If he isn't a Seeker of Darkness, that'd be pretty interesting. That would mean that Xehanort has one extra vessel that we have to destroy. It's also possible that the Braig we see in the Destiny Re:coded cutscene and the Xigbar we see in Dream Drop Distance are the same person. It's possible that Young Xehanort turned him back into a Nobody again for some reason. Maybe because they know that if we destroy him, he'd just eventually be recompleted again, so it's not that big of a deal if we destroy him? But yeah, my money is on Xigbar being back from time travel/them both being alive at the same time. That would explain the whole "I got my hands full with my own plans" thing.

After the second Riku goes away, Riku says "That was my... my dark side. I gave in to the darkness once. And ever since, it's chased me around in one form or another. The Seeker of Darkness who stole my body... a puppet replica of the shadows in my heart... and now, I'm facing me." He lists the forms of his darkness that have chased him around in one form or another. He lists Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and RIku Replica. Then he says that now, he's facing himself. The way this is worded implies that the second Riku we saw is not Riku Replica. You get the Chain of Memories glossary specifically right when Riku says "a puppet replica of the shadows in my heart." So, that's not really proof of anything. In his sentence, he mentioned Riku Replica, who appeared in Chain of Memories, so you get the Chain of Memories glossary then. Like you said, another option that the second Riku could be is a projection of the dreaming world. But, that doesn't make any sense because Riku was never wearing a black coat when he was at Monstro in KH1. And the Monstro we're inside of in DDD takes place before KH1. And also like you said, another option could be that the second Riku we see is a time travelling Riku from when he was a villain in KH1. But, Nomura said that "Young Xehanort functioned as a “portal”, summoning Xemnas and Ansem each time they appeared. That’s why Young Xehanort was there whenever they appeared." Young Xehanort was no where to be seen with the second Riku. This contradiction would also apply to the theory of the second Riku being a Riku Replica from the past. So yeah, there are contradictions to every theory about this essentially. Nomura's got some explaining to do.

In the universe of Kingdom Hearts, anything can grow a heart. That was one of the main points of Dream Drop Distance. Nobodies, Replicas, puppets, data, and yes, even toys, can grow hearts.

A new Kingdom Hearts-themed bedding set has been recently made available to purchase at Hot Topic as an online exclusive. The set includes a Stained Glass full/queen comforter, a set of two Stained Glass pillowcases, and a King Mickey decorative pillow. You can view the prices and purchase each item below: Kingdom Hearts Stained Glass full/queen comforter - $89.90 USD (Currently on sale for $71.92 USD.) Kingdom Hearts Stained Glass pillowcase set - $15.90 USD (Currently on sale for $12.72 USD.) Kingdom Hearts King Mickey decorative pillow - $26.90 USD (Currently on sale for $21.52 USD.) You can check out the product descriptions of each of the items below: Thanks to @churroz on Twitter for the tip! What do you think of this Kingdom Hearts bedding set? What's your favorite item in the set? Are you planning on picking it up? Let us know down in the comments! Click here to view the article

We saw him sitting on the chair in the Chamber of Waking at the end of Dream Drop Distance. He hasn't aged at all. Ven is around 15 years old, and judging by how he looked at the end of DDD, he'll still be around 15 years old in KH3. I think the most likely explanation for this is that you most likely need a heart to age. This would also explain why many of the Organization XIII members aged as Nobodies, since typically, Nobodies do not age. The explanation would be that they grew hearts, so they aged.

Which Ansem? Ansem, Seeker of Darkness? He's a lot shorter than Xemnas judging by the Kingdom Hearts III Orchestra Trailer. Their character models are still being worked on though, so who knows. Or did you mean Ansem the Wise? Because judging by the cutscene in BBS where he found Terra-Xehanort, he seems to be around the same height as Dilan.

Lexaeus. He's approximately 7'9". (Source.)

Today (October 14th, 2017), is the start of the joint campaign between Square Enix Café Osaka, Square Enix Café Tokyo, and ARTNIA to celebrate the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary. ARTNIA will be holding it from October 14th, 2017 to December 14th, 2017, and both Square Enix Café Osaka and Square Enix Café Tokyo will be holding it from October 14th, 2017 to November 10th, 2017. Tickets were made available to purchase starting October 6th, 2017. This collective campaign is following the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary Commemorative Campaign Preview Night at Square Enix Café Osaka, which was held yesterday (October 13th, 2017) to celebrate both the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary and the Square Enix Café Osaka's grand opening, which takes place today. You can find out more about that previous campaign here. You can view images of the campaign event below, thanks to Twitter users @ArikaMiz, @asamisora, @dog664, @m_ff7c, @pi_su05, @rikunami13, @sora_kai_1130, @sonzasinaimono, @vaniroad, and @xKiri8_. UPDATE 1: On YouTube, ikubon has of the campaign at ARTNIA. You can check out the video below: Are you planning on going to Square Enix Café Osaka, Square Enix Café Tokyo, or ARTNIA for this Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary collective campaign? Did you go to the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary Commemorative Campaign Preview Night at Square Enix Café Osaka on October 13th, 2017? Let us know down in the comments below! UPDATE [Nov. 8, 2017]: Two new items for the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary collective campaign have been added to the food menu for ARTNIA. Starting November 11th, 2017, the Kindred Spirit Trio Set and The King's Parfait will be available to order at exclusively at ARTNIA for the joint campaign. The Kindred Spirit Trio Set consists of a Mini Pizza, Mini Pasta, and a Gelatin Snack, and will be 1,080 yen ($9.52 USD). The King's Parfait will also be 1,080 yen ($9.52 USD). You can check out an image of these two new food items below: UPDATE [Nov. 10, 2017]: The Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary joint campaign has concluded today at Square Enix Café Osaka and Square Enix Café Tokyo! Did you get to go to either of those two cafés during the campaign period? Are you planning on going to ARTNIA for its still ongoing campaign period? Let us know down in the comments below! Click here to view the article