Alja

It's simple, a) KH released on the GBA, DS and 3DS, thus Nintendo deserves KH3 like 10 times more than Microsoft. b) I've grown up with Nintendo consoles as well as their games so it's natural for me to like it and I am sure other people share that sentiment and c) I personally still have to buy a PS4 and I will do it SOLELY for 2.8 and 3. If they would release the entirety of KH for the Switch, I wouldn't hesitate to get that console instead because of Nintendo exclusive titles. I know it's unlikely, especially since I want to play KH3 when it releases, but still. And just because you don't see the merit in a console doesn't mean that other people have been brainwashed. People have different tastes.

I would be thrilled to have all of KH on the Switch. KH was always half on Nintendo Consoles anyway, I dare say it was a mistake to bring the last title of a 9 part game series to a new console that had nothing to do with it before. Are there honestly people who still believed that although there is still hardly any infomation out, D23 being only scheduled in February AND there being no release date two months before said quarter?

Of course, it makes sense for his design to resemble Terra because all norts resemble each other (apart from MX who is just way older) and Young Xehanort follows this pattern. In-universe it's probably completely accidental and they just happen to wear similar hairstyles.

I did chronological order once, because I got BBS for the first time and I was dying to play it, so I went for it I will probably make one chronological run once I get 2.8, too, but from the on, I might switch back to release order. The narrative is just better that way, but I think chronological every once in a while is nice.

Apparently, the German private video... was the TGS trailer for 2.8 with the release date. A friend of mine found a news article that links said deleted video (you can check it out here, it's in German though). Why this video and the Spanish one have been made private is beyond my imagination though. I wouldn't expect anything from Gamescom ^^ Nomura said news would take a break and after this info dump, I personally need a break, too.

I think it was just what the Japanese Union Cross mission came with. An error they immediately fixed. Figures that we get to see "Japanese characters - TEXT" for the Axel event for probably 24 hours, but free brooms get fixed IMMEDIATELY. Jfc.

Looks like it. 0.2 used Aqua's character model, too, and I'm just as sad about it. I loved the illustrations and I would've loved for them to return, it's a small, simple thing but it made the games even more special.

And she stalked the player to invite them to dinner??

She gets to try on the glass slipper. That IS adorable!! I can't wait to see the actual translations, I saw some tentative ones by now and if they're true, it's HIGHLY interesting stuff...

I joined this year during the anniversary and I gotta say, it did help me a lot. The free Sora&Roxas medals destroyed everything early on and they helped me whenever I ran out of gauges. With the celebratory jewels and the first couple of story quests and other quests, I had enough jewels to mercy-pull Illustrated KHII Kairi and this pretty much set me up for the game. It does take a lot of time and definitely spending jewels wisely (still struggling with it as I've totally missed the chance to get Illustrated Aqua after I blew my jewels on 0.2 Aqua ) and only/mostly on guaranteed banners. It hurts and it is annoying, but it's the only way to handle f2p. I did waste a few jewels and pulls along the way because I really need to get some guilted medals (that is definitely a pain in f2p if you want to have tier 3 and up without wasting your pulls - thankfully, the angry adventurer helped there, too), but I thankfully had enough to mercy pull 0.2 Kairi as well (and damn, is she a game changer). The most important rule is really to keep those jewels close and if you can only spend them on guaranteed medals. I've learned this the very hard way.

Seeing how Europe only got two concert locations and both in Middle/Western Europe... nope, not pretty much everywhere D: I really do hope we'll get another chance to visit a KH concert in the future and this time in Germany, too. Also, I'm sorry, but I'm still pretty much put out that the Orchestra CD is not available in SE's European online store. Not Hashimoto's fault, obviously, but you'd think stuff like that should work on a global scale. I do understand that events might not be as easily recreated in all the other countries, but it shouldn't be that hard to make merchandise available globally. At that point, SE just forgets a huge chunk of their fanbase and "Well it's SENA/SE UK's task" is somewhat of a cop out for that (again, I know he didn't specifically talk about that in this interview, but I'm salty). Oh if SENA just listened to their fans...

With Big Hero 6 being the last game they decided to pick up for KH3 (and that was back in 2015 I think), it's nearly impossible Moana will be picked up for KH3. It's a shame, it really fits KH3 and I love the similarities between Kairi and Moana you pointed out.

Can I say that I actually don't want to see more FF characters in KH? I mean I guess cameos are fine, but other than that, we already have so many FF characters running around, some with unresolved backstories, some backstories that haven't even been touched upon. I'd rather see those resolved, find out what happened to Zack, see some resolution between Cloud and Sephiroth, maybe finally get an actual KH backstory for the Radiant Garden gang. ...but if I had to, I'd go with the FFXV boys. There was so much cross promotion already, just get them into the boat also tumblr made me love them I haven't even played the game... yet. I'll probably get it once I have a PS4 and all KH titles for it x'D

Having a release date is a huge commitment. I don't know how long games usually announce the release date beforehand, but hypothetically, if KH3 releases in March 2018, it would be 8 months in advance. That is a really long time and that's pretty much the best case scenario. A summer release would add up to one year and a fall/winter release to over a year. At the same time, with 2.8 and FFXV out of the way, SE knew they had to deliver something, especially with FFVII also still being far away. So they settled on the year and I would personally assume it's not necessarily because they're scared not to meet their schedule, but most likely because it's just too early to go into full promotion mode. And everyone going on about how KH3 will be delayed anyway... Jesus Christ, all this talk makes me hope KH3 will get delayed just to piss them off. Can't do anything right apparently, now they get an amazing release year and it's still not enough for them.

It is interesting to a point, but I don't think it is really likely. The first question that pops into my mind is what is Ven's motivation to live that long? For Xehanort, we know he wants to live long enough to basically see shit come down and what happens after that. But what kind of reason would Ven have? Also, you already said Ven's heart is inside of Sora. I know it is sleeping, but wouldn't his heart try to take control over Sora in some way, if he's using him as his vessel, too? Yes, Ven doesn't have his memories in BBS, but this only applies for him post his split from Vanitas. It is unknown (and less likely) that he had some kind of memory loss during the time he was with Xehanort. We already have an explanation for Roxas and Ven looking alike, though. Also, Roxas is just a Nobody, if Ven would use a vessel, it would be Sora and he's already inside of him. Now if we compare the situation to Terranort, Roxas would not look like a Ven-look alike. Xemnas looks much more like Terra than Apprentice Xehanort, probably due to Terra being his original body (apprentice Xehanort changes his hair so he resembles young Xehanort more). If we take this over to Sora and Sora's Nobody Roxas, Roxas should look like Sora (face and hairstyle) while having some of Ven's features (probably eyes and hair color). Roxas is basically a replica of Ven though and that even though Sora still looks like himself after having Ven in his heart for over 10 years. In that case, wouldn't the MoM be much more likely to have some kind of vessel in our current time instead of Ven? The MoM would at least have a motivation, to see what happens after the Keyblade War, just like Xehanort does. The thing is, what would a kid, somebody who calls himself a loner and is somewhat desperate for friends, both in KHUX and in BBS, find in making himself immortal? Especially seeing as he nearly begs Aqua and Terra to take his life because he's so terrified of the idea of the X-Blade. As somebody who goes after a new vessel again and again to stay alive for some unknown reason, he would continue to do so. It doesn't make sense that he's willing to die just so that the X-Blade isn't forged but keeps having new vessels for hundreds of years before that.

I had enough pulls for Kairi, I definitely don't have any pulls left for this... (but I'll be glad if I manage to get enough jewels for Marie's avatar board. Shouldn't have pulled the skills to thrill, but alas, I'm still learning)

I'm actually pretty sure once more worlds are being announced and once the release date comes closer (or gets announced), we might get more KH3 themed medals. It's a great promo and right now, they're probably still holding back since KH3 Sora just got distributed. Maybe we'll get something new every month or every few months or so.

I think it's gonna be a little sooner (like September to Novemberish), but I'll go all out saying it's December 22nd, exactly 13 years after KH2

I think that is the main problem with Birth by Sleep. They wanted three protagonists and they wanted them to visit the same worlds so they could interact. The idea is great but yes, this ended up being very repetitive. It helped that some maps were only accessible to single characters, but having the same areas over and over again... it takes away from the replay factor a lot, I gotta admit that, because once you played through BBS once, you already played through it 3 times. I don't know about the Mirage Arena though, maybe it was a good addition in the PSP (I only played the PS3 version), but in general, it's nothing that I find overly enticing to begin with I do think though that the PSP as the platform was ultimately one of the hugest factors that didn't allow the game to meet all of its potential. I guess it's probably the same with the other handheld games, although the story of CoM is really amazing and executed well, if it weren't for the horrible card system... But that's an entirely different story

That's true. During a fight against Terra (where Terra is already emotionally and physically stimulated so to say), Xehanort commands Vanitas to "take what Ventus owes [him] and take Aqua's life". This puts him under even higher stress in the situation, allowing Terra to tap even deeper into his darkness which was exactly what Xehanort wanted. Had Vanitas killed Aqua beforehand, Terra would still be angry and maybe even feed his anger over a longer time, but he might have been able to control his own darkness better, being able to withstand Xehanort's attempts to get into his heart. So I think it's likely that Xehanort told Vanitas to let Aqua live until he says otherwise (or he really did have a mind connection to him as well). Aqua doubting Terra and thus Terra pushing himself away from her and Eraqus served Xehanort's plans, too, after all.

I gotta name the Queen. Aqua!

Wintry. Frozen is coming and we all know it and I am actually really excited because I want to see Sora finally wear some appropriate winter gear and not freeze his arms and legs in the Land of Dragons/Christmas Town. I mean it depends on when news come out, I also think they'll save a winter world for a winter announcement.

The idea in itself is very interesting, however it doesn't really add up with your proposed explanation. Even and Ventus seem to meet in Radiant Garden for the first time - and that is 4 years after Xehanort brought Ventus to the Land of Departure. If our current Ventus is a replica, it must've been created 4+ years before the story of BBS kicks in, 4+ years before we see Ventus and Even meet and 4+ years before Even ever gets to meet the future Apprentice Xehanort. In that case, it would've made more sense for Even to catch on to Xehanort (and Braig). He would have recognized AX's research and thus recognized him as Xehanort. Also, Even is a very dedicated researcher. He seems like the person who continues researching something once the thought materializes, ethics momentarily forgotten. I doubt that he would be able to hide his research 4+ years from Ansem and then on top of it, hide the new research done with AX for another additional year before Radiant Dawn falls to the Darkness. Ventus not aging is a very curious thing, but on the other hand, he's a special case, too. He's not a Nobody because his heart didn't succumb to Darkness, so we can't compare him to the Nobodies that ages. He's most comparable to Kairi who lost her heart and lived on as a sleeping empty shell. She's only been in that state for maybe half a year or so, so we can't say for certain whether she aged during that time or no. Maybe the body is unable to age when the heart is gone (but still intact)?

Of course it is, it doesn't stop a big part of Soriku shippers going to try and deny all obvious hints and instances every turn they can while over-exaggerating every single Sora-Riku interaction themselves, though. I already made a list like a week ago or so of hints towards Sokai in KH2: Sora takes out Kairi’s good luck charm and looks at it wistfully (at least two times since it changes pants pockets between Twilight Town and the epilogue) Sora imagines himself dancing with Kairi when he sees Jack and Sally dance (plus super cute in-love-and-flustered chuckle) Donald and Goofy tease him when Sora watches Will and Elizabeth, that he’s thinking about her and blushing (and since he later imagines himself dancing with Kairi, it's obvious he's thinking about her and NOT about Riku) Donald comments on how Kairi would find Lion cub Sora adorable (of course she would, he was freaking cute) Olette comments on how romantic Kairi’s story is Sora literally BEGS Saix to lead him to Kairi they finally hug in an intimate way (Sora leans in, closes his eyes; even Donald and Goofy are happy/embarrassed to watch this touching moment) they promise to always stay together for Roxas and Naminé Kairi’s letter - Riku immediately hands it to Sora, knowing it's for him and it helps Sora open the Door to Light Sora looking fondly at Kairi’s addition to the cave drawing That's what I could think of of the top of my head, Roxas talking about Kairi as the girl he likes has already been mentioned here. And yeah, that doesn't count what happened in KH1 (although understandably toned down a lot and still more in a friendship way than a romantic way) and especially in CoM. I know that it's been toned down in the later games, but really, there wasn't a place for those feelings in Coded and Dream Drop Distance anyway. Coded was about Data Sora from KH1 and Dream Drop Distance had Sora and Riku knowing that Kairi was safe back on Destiny Islands. They could've shown him missing her, but seriously, he was there on a mission and he knew it wouldn't take that long. Also, in Blank Points, he basically asked for her permission. He made up his mind, but he was really hesitant about telling her, afraid of her reaction. He wouldn't be if he hadn't been afraid to hurt her feelings. So yeah, there's tons of stuff hinting at a Sokai ending (or at least initially planned Sokai ending). Oh and let's not forget the 2.8 ending montage of the Disney Couples that so conveniently ended with a 30s-1min Sokai montage. They're still hinting at them.

Yeah I've been wondering if they maybe plan a return of the events once they're done with Luxord (I think it was? According to the wiki at least). I wouldn't really waste M&Bs on it though, especially since I don't believe we'll really get more and I already have a medal planned for them. Also, looking at them, only Vexen B seems really tempting since the +1 SM defense for 4 turns can build up nicely (although I see many people use Xigbar B I think, but well, I missed him, so whatever ). Proud mode quests are a good argument, though! I just wish I was strong enough for them haha :'D Same with random event objectives I guess, can't hurt to keep them stored in case I need additional 5* medals that I haven't evolved yet. Ah dang, it hurts to spend those jewels to have more space for medals, I hope it'll be 50% off some day soon again Thank you for your suggestions!