I feel like it definitely would help a lot. Ansem SoS and Xemnas were up to that point the greatest villains they had ever faced, reducing them to lackeys to this old guy the gang has only heard stories about and ultimately has a very weak motivation wasn't a great call.
Master Xehanort is a very weak villain (not as in power- but his entire persona); he's literally "I'm evil and darkness rules" the entire time up until the final battle in KH3 where he's like "I'm actually good though, I want to rid the world of darkness".
In BBS, every time you see him all you can think about is "how are these characters so stupid, can't they see this guy is 1000% evil?" And you'd be right.
And when he shows up in DDD he talks about a great prophecy that he already knows everything about.
Stories that haphazardly introduce time travel to explain a prophecy are ultimately very predictable; they will go through the exact events described in the prophecy until eventually they find some sort of loophole and win anyway. (I think they wrote themselves into a corner with that 13vs7 premise in DDD, but I digress.)
Let's talk about both of them, Ansem Seeker of Darkness first.
The scientist guy obsessed with darkness, that drowned worlds in darkness and took over Riku's body to find Kingdom Hearts, to gain the ultimate power of darkness... was utterly proven wrong when Sora beat him and the door bathed him in pure light.
The guy whose darkness haunted Riku during Chain of Memories- trying to take him over once more- ultimately failed again. He was bested because Riku chose a road that neither of light nor darkness.
His scientific nature wouldn't just let that all go. he was wrong about KH being darkness and he was wrong about darkness being the ultimate power. He could be intrigued by Riuku's strength, the path he chose, the power he achieved to conquer the darkness in his heart.
I believe there is definitely something you can do with that- especially when Master Xehanort was "darkness this, darkness that", when Ansem knew that was wrong from his own experiences.
Xemnas is a different type of villain altogether; I believe the correct term for him is villainous virtuous.
Xemnas's plan was to complete a man-made Kingdom Hearts so the organization could become whole again (This was before Nobodies grew hearts or a person could be reborn if both Nobody and Heartless were destroyed).
He and the organization would do this by similarly to Ansem SoD, mess with the other worlds and bathe them in darkness, so their keyblade wielder could slay the heartless needed to complete it.
I'm not completely sure if he was serious about that goal- or used it to manipulate the other members. Either would be interesting, but I personally lean towards the first, that makes a more interesting villain in my opinion.
If Nobodies can grow hearts now, after that revelation in DDD; then Xemnas could be /feeling/ regret for his oranization's members.
If Master Xehanort brought them back to serve as his heart's vessles, that could make him change his mind. His organization's goal was to make themselves whole again, give them their hearts back. And instead their heart gets replaced with Xehanort's. That seems like a good reason for treason!
I know it all gets muddy with other details introduced in later games, Xigbar's/Braig's behind the scenes involvement, the recompleting the original perrson, etc. But what I know is that they were not utilized to their full potential in KH3, and it was disappointing to me at least.
I'm interested in reading what you all think too, is my analysis any good? Do you have other suggestions on how to handle Ansem SoD and Xemnas?
WakelessDream reacted to a post in a topic:
Do you think it would help Xemnas and Ansem as villains if they were planning to betray Xehanort?
I feel like it definitely would help a lot. Ansem SoS and Xemnas were up to that point the greatest villains they had ever faced, reducing them to lackeys to this old guy the gang has only heard stories about and ultimately has a very weak motivation wasn't a great call. Master Xehanort is a very weak villain (not as in power- but his entire persona); he's literally "I'm evil and darkness rules" the entire time up until the final battle in KH3 where he's like "I'm actually good though, I want to rid the world of darkness". In BBS, every time you see him all you can think about is "how are these characters so stupid, can't they see this guy is 1000% evil?" And you'd be right. And when he shows up in DDD he talks about a great prophecy that he already knows everything about. Stories that haphazardly introduce time travel to explain a prophecy are ultimately very predictable; they will go through the exact events described in the prophecy until eventually they find some sort of loophole and win anyway. (I think they wrote themselves into a corner with that 13vs7 premise in DDD, but I digress.) Let's talk about both of them, Ansem Seeker of Darkness first. The scientist guy obsessed with darkness, that drowned worlds in darkness and took over Riku's body to find Kingdom Hearts, to gain the ultimate power of darkness... was utterly proven wrong when Sora beat him and the door bathed him in pure light. The guy whose darkness haunted Riku during Chain of Memories- trying to take him over once more- ultimately failed again. He was bested because Riku chose a road that neither of light nor darkness. His scientific nature wouldn't just let that all go. he was wrong about KH being darkness and he was wrong about darkness being the ultimate power. He could be intrigued by Riuku's strength, the path he chose, the power he achieved to conquer the darkness in his heart. I believe there is definitely something you can do with that- especially when Master Xehanort was "darkness this, darkness that", when Ansem knew that was wrong from his own experiences. Xemnas is a different type of villain altogether; I believe the correct term for him is villainous virtuous. Xemnas's plan was to complete a man-made Kingdom Hearts so the organization could become whole again (This was before Nobodies grew hearts or a person could be reborn if both Nobody and Heartless were destroyed). He and the organization would do this by similarly to Ansem SoD, mess with the other worlds and bathe them in darkness, so their keyblade wielder could slay the heartless needed to complete it. I'm not completely sure if he was serious about that goal- or used it to manipulate the other members. Either would be interesting, but I personally lean towards the first, that makes a more interesting villain in my opinion. If Nobodies can grow hearts now, after that revelation in DDD; then Xemnas could be /feeling/ regret for his oranization's members. If Master Xehanort brought them back to serve as his heart's vessles, that could make him change his mind. His organization's goal was to make themselves whole again, give them their hearts back. And instead their heart gets replaced with Xehanort's. That seems like a good reason for treason! I know it all gets muddy with other details introduced in later games, Xigbar's/Braig's behind the scenes involvement, the recompleting the original perrson, etc. But what I know is that they were not utilized to their full potential in KH3, and it was disappointing to me at least. I'm interested in reading what you all think too, is my analysis any good? Do you have other suggestions on how to handle Ansem SoD and Xemnas?