Will Sora Be Alone?

[Deleted member]

Curious how people feel about this. On the one hand, a numbered title tends to have a few things guaranteed about it, mainly being Sora as the main protagonist and that Donald and Goofy will be his primary party members. There's currently nothing confirming KHIV to be different in this regard. But on the other hand, if any title were to shake up the formula it being the one that both: 1) starts a brand new arc where the previous rules can be changed (look new logo! new menu sounds, likely no gummi ship, etc) and 2) the story kind of hinges on Sora not having his connections to his friends anymore, makes a lot of sense and maybe Donald and Goofy, while they'll have a story in IV, won't be able to be with Sora yet.

So, where do y'all think it's going to end up? Is this going to be the first main title where Sora genuinely has different party members, or is there going to be a contrivance made to have Donald and Goofy there with him for most of the game, even if it might be more of a 'projection/in-spirit' kind of sense?

I know "Hades kills them at the start of the game" is a popular thought.

Horror thought: Sora's party members in KHIV are just gigas and that's what "scrap and build" is.

 

[Launchpad]

My thought has been that the prologue should be lengthy, and the first two worlds could survive without Donald and Goofy... But if the majority of the game is spent without them, you not only risk betraying long term fans like myself that pretty much buy the games for Sora, Donald and Goofy as a trio, but you could stand to backslide into some rough BBS/DDD era scene direction and dialogue.

Ever since KH2, dialogue in this series has become VERY exposition based. Characters don't often make decisions without talking about them first, and the basic plot beats are verbally touched upon with regularity. KH2 and KH3 achieve this by having SDG puzzle out what to do next together. One asks a question, one answers it, the third tells a joke, bing bang boom. In BBS and DDD, there are tons of scenes where the protagonist is standing alone, speaking aloud to themselves about what just happened and what to do next. Personally, I can't stand scenes like this and I don't trust Nomura not to fall into this trap like he has countless times before.

'projection/in-spirit' kind of sense?

I've thought it possible that Sora might be meeting up with Donald and Goofy as a spirit, like he can appear to them due to their strong bond and run thru a world to find some plot macguffin, but then gets warped back to Quadratum for more story there. He's using his power to appear in Reality, but he's unable to freely world hop. Contrivance is definitely the operative word.

In any case, I hope they can at least hold their horses a little bit on getting SDG back together. Earn that tearjerker reunion scene.

 

[1millionsquats]

I'm inclined to believe Donald and Goofy won't be Sora's party this time around. What leaves me wondering is what approach they'll take to this. I can see one of two things happening if that's the case:

1. Sora will befriend one or more characters in Quadratum or throughout the story, like Strelitzia or Yozora, and they will be his companions.
2. Sora will travel alone, but each world will have its own ensemble of characters who will join Sora temporarily.

If Sora travels on his own, I think they may give him some sort of gadget like a gummiphone to contact Strelitzia back in Quadratum, as the reveal trailer seems to imply she'll act as a sort of Operator to him in the homebase. At least that's my impression. Not really looking forward to scrap/build though. I'm tired of every game having a crafting system.

 

[olu]

Solid question.

Sora’s connection to his friends has always been a big part of the KH series, but with Quadratum being so different from the worlds we’ve seen before, it feels like this could be the game where Sora has to face challenges without his usual backup for the majority of it. Still, it’s tough to picture a main KH game without some sort of companions on his side. Even if they’re not physically with him, they might show up in some other way—maybe as projections, or some kind of spirit guides like you suggested. The series loves to find creative ways to keep the core team together in some way, shape or form. Or hey, maybe this'll be an opportunity for Sora to find strength within himself, rather than relying on his friends to be his source of power.

The idea of Sora’s party members being Gigas is definitely interesting, especially with the whole "scrap and build" thing. It makes sense that the game might introduce new allies that fit the vibe of Quadratum, especially if the game is going for a more customizable or evolving gameplay style.

I defo think Sora starts off alone but I wouldn’t be surprised if his friends show up in some form. Whether it’s old friends or new ones, Sora’s bonds will probably be a big part of his journey, like always.

 

[Squood!]

We know Riku's already making his way to Quadratum through the PoW, so it's possible Sora will bump into him which some people apparently want to either be on the level of "Sora crying when seeing him in KH2" or "Riku being emotionally busted cuz Sora APPARENTLY doesn't remember him or his s a c r i f i c e. Aside from that it's clear Strelitzia is prolly gonna be tagging along with Sora cuz "Hey another Keyblade wielder jus like meeee", as well as the posibility that Yozora could even be an ally after whatever shit he's dealin' with is sorted.

But at the same time, Sora COULD be alone for a large portion of the game if Nomura wishes it that way, to solidify Sora having to rely on his own strength entirely. Because I believe that even after KH3 and ReMind helped with his view on this, he still hasn't truly come to the point where he can "finish" the phrase as Ven did. Perhaps being seperated across the boundaries of reality will have him come to this realization completely, that while his connections to others give him immeasurable strength, he himself is plenty strong as they are. Strong enough to "make up the difference", and that he can be their power just as they're his.

I love D&G, I really do even with some of my outbursts on how we were sorta robbed of an SRK trio fight in KH3 or an SRKDG group party, but I do believe that Sora could use some time apart from them for one game, or at least a large portion of one[not counting ReCoM's excuse].

 

[Deleted member]

I think the risk with any scenario where D/G meetup with S partway through the game is that it throws off D and G's gameplay/leveling/etc progression by not having them there from the start of the Disney worlds. So to me it kind of seems like it has to be a "either they're there at the start of the world travelling or they aren't his primary party members in this game". Maybe they'd do it like the KG and partway through D and G just join as static members that you're not really expected to change/engage with, but would that be a satisfying New Arc/Gen upgrade of SDG gameplay then? Hm :/

Personally, I can't stand scenes like this and I don't trust Nomura not to fall into this trap like he has countless times before.

Not to say the game won't have scenes like this, but this is one of the first titles in a good while to have a new main scenario writer who isn't Nomura so perhaps things would play out differently.

 

[1millionsquats]

In any case, I hope they can at least hold their horses a little bit on getting SDG back together. Earn that tearjerker reunion scene.

They should be separated for at least this entire game if you asked me. Not only would their reunion be more powerful and something to look forward to on the next title but if the plot of KH4 revolves around Sora trying to figure out how to get back, and this consequence for misusing his power is supposed to be this serious, it would greatly benefit from the tension instead of instantly undoing it.

 

[Liodin]

For me, Sora meeting or coming into contact with any allies before the halfway point of the game, would be a huge bummer. But I would prefer it not to happen until the end.

Sora, Strelitzia and Young Xehanort would be my dream party.

 

[Launchpad]

I think the risk with any scenario where D/G meetup with S partway through the game is that it throws off D and G's gameplay/leveling/etc progression by not having them there from the start of the Disney worlds.

I don't wanna derail by going on too much about gameplay (awful habit of mine) but I think it'd actually be very cool to introduce Donald and Goofy after like, a quarter of the story is through. Ever since seeing how fun it is to control Torgal in FFXVI, I feel like it'd be cool to have Donald and Goofy respond to specific commands (giving Goofy launcher attacks that you can prompt him to do, having Donald use magic that bring enemies back down in the same way), and having the system unlock around the same time that team attacks unlocked in KH2.

Having D&G come in around level 15-20 isn't so bad considering they never typically bring anything all that new in their abilities page. KH3 sort of dispelled with Goofy having any kind of progression at all, giving him Goofy Discus (useless), Goofy Rocket (useless), and Goofy Tornado (always equipped) right out the gate.

Story-wise, I think SDG's separation probably won't be as respected as I'd like it to be-- despite ReMind and MoM showing what everyone's been up to since Sora's disappearance, we haven't gotten any insight on how Donald and Goofy feel about what Sora did, how much they miss him, nothing. Part of this is likely because Yuu Shimaka passed away in 2019, so Nomura might have hesitated to include any scenes of Goofy until the next saga. But I do think it's entirely possible that Donald and Goofy will die by way of Hades and meet up with Sora quick, without it being too much of an emotional catharsis. I wish we could have spent some time with D&G over the year as they searched for Sora, so we could feel like their reunion was something we were really waiting for.

And that has me conflicted. Hades just killing Donald and Goofy is so fucking funny, but if it's that easy, I don't know... I guess it IS that easy, since Riku and Fairy Godmother figured out where to go and how to get there over the course of a conversation... But if a Hades gag is what gets Donald and Goofy back on our screens and gives us the SDG dynamic that I wait for in each main entry... I can live with it. It's questionable execution for sure, but I'll take it even at the expense of the payoff over going through most of the game feeling like something important is missing.

I know that 'something important is missing' is exactly how we SHOULD feel in this story at this point, but... on a selfish level, I want these characters together while the voice actors are all still working, and coming off of KH3's super charming depiction of the trio, it's a big selling point for me.

 

[olu]

Assuming he’ll never be alone after the tutorial, I imagine the party will consist of Sora, Riku and Strelitzia. Would be funny if Strelitzia got more player-time than Kairi ever had in the entirety of the Xehanort saga but a part of me’s thinking even she (Strelitzia) will get the shaft.

Kinda depends if we’re gonna be able to play as Sora in Quadratum during the year it took his friends to discover a solid lead for his disappearance.

 

[Deleted member]

Interesting, see I don't feel Riku is going to be able to reach Sora. I think we'd sooner see a Sora/Riku split scenario for KHIV than we'd see Riku being his primary party member.

Need em separated for a reunion to hit after all.

Kinda depends if we’re gonna be able to play as Sora in Quadratum during the year it took his friends to discover a solid lead for his disappearance.

Him being aged up for KHIV in the trailer would suggest we aren't at least.

 

[olu]

Interesting, see I don't feel Riku is going to be able to reach Sora. I think we'd sooner see a Sora/Riku split scenario for KHIV than we'd see Riku being his primary party member.

True. I was going off of KH3’s secret ending with both Sora and Riku being in Quadratum from the get-go but those things aren’t intended to be taken literally.

 

[Squood!]

Interesting, see I don't feel Riku is going to be able to reach Sora. I think we'd sooner see a Sora/Riku split scenario for KHIV than we'd see Riku being his primary party member.

Need em separated for a reunion to hit after all.


Him being aged up for KHIV in the trailer would suggest we aren't at least.

The reunion in KH2 worked because we had a FULL game where they never interacted with each other, Repliku aside, and then had to wait until near the end of KH2 to see them see each other truly again.


A Sora Riku reunion after a rhythm game where you can look up the scenes on YouTube wouldn't really hit as hard which is why certain areas of the fandom literally need to act like their headcanon that Sora forgot Riku is actually real because he didn't say his name in the Final World like twice just so their reunion could have weight....that and an SR reunion is focused on more in the fandom in general, shipping aside, while "Kairi in Quadratum" from what I've seen in the fandom is exclusively her not running into Sora at all. Hell one artist had her run into Vanitas instead meanwhile I look at like the 20th "Sora asks Riku who he is after a Starbucks shift" fanart.

Just like how SDG reuniting in KH4 wouldn't hit as hard unless it's at like the very end or smth, especially if they somehow get into Quadratum quickly just by getting comically killed by Hades while Riku needed the PoW and Sora had to break laws of reality. Of course, a quick reunion would be what D&G would want cuz CoM turned that "no crying, boat runs on happy faces" line into an actual promise they made rather than a setup for Sora doing a doofy face therefore they'd rather have a regular happy reunion by getting there quickly even after a year. Bonus points if time is diff between realities.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm confused. Are you agreeing with me that you don't think they'd have Riku partied with Sora and will keep them apart for the majority of the game, or are you arguing that you think such a reunion wouldn't have impact no matter what so they're actually just going to make Sora and Riku party members from the start (or a third thing??)

 

[1millionsquats]

Him being aged up for KHIV in the trailer would suggest we aren't at least.

Strelitzia says Sora was asleep since he first arrived in Quadratum, which was 7 days prior. I'll take it at face value and assume he immediately ends up there after Final World and the Yozora fight, it seems unlikely that it would take him a full year to reach the afterlife after getting banished.

I was going off of KH3’s secret ending with both Sora and Riku being in Quadratum from the get-go but those things aren’t intended to be taken literally.

It's possible to interpret the secret ending as the dreams Riku describes to be having in Melody of Memory rather than the actual events in the future.

 

[Deleted member]

Strelitzia says Sora was asleep since he first arrived in Quadratum, which was 7 days prior. I'll take it at face value and assume he immediately ends up there after Final World and the Yozora fight, it seems unlikely that it would take him a full year to reach the afterlife after getting banished.

I mean I agree, but contrivances are being made anyway to have Sora in KHIV be his aged-up version. So either something happened between those two moments, or they're making Sora just skip the year or something when he arrives. But regardless the Sora we're playing as is the older one, they made a note of it during the announcement.

It's possible to interpret the secret ending as the dreams Riku describes to be having in Melody of Memory rather than the actual events in the future.

Yeah I'd say this is what they intend for you to do. Limit Cut in a lil ways was kind of retconning the Secret Ending.

 

[Squood!]

I'm confused. Are you agreeing with me that you don't think they'd have Riku partied with Sora and will keep them apart for the majority of the game, or are you arguing that you think such a reunion wouldn't have impact no matter what so they're actually just going to make Sora and Riku party members from the start (or a third thing??)

I'm saying that a reunion between Sora and anyone would hit harder if it happened after a whole game from at least Sora's perspective where he doesn't encounter them at all, rather than after something like MelMem.

So forgive my prior wording I am agreeing with you but I'm also saying it prolly shouldn't be KH4 where this reunion happens.

In terms of the reunion side of things, KH4 should be the CoM and "KH5" should be the KH2.

If we do have to have em see each other in KH4 tho, have it be brief. Like they find each other only for something to quickly separate them before a true reunion can happen.

 

[Launchpad]

It's worth noting that the year between KH3 and KH4 was not like the year between KH1 and KH2-- the magic spell (cast by Yen Sid of course) that allowed Sora, Riku, and Kairi to change height and appearance was not cast in this year long gap, as Riku and Kairi look exactly the same.

Sora coming to in the Final World and fighting Yozora could literally be an entire year later, going by this logic. It might have taken him a year to wake up, and then seven days to wake up wearing different clothes. To me, he doesn't look tremendously different in KH4. He's got a different hairstyle, yeah, but baby face is in full effect. Nomura likely doesn't want Sora to look too mature, so the cast is probably not going to visibly age anymore.

 

[1millionsquats]

Well, for what it's worth the scene from the trailer is not likely to be the very first scene of the game, so we may get more context on how exactly Sora got there through the intro cinematic and the Dive to the Heart sequence (or something analogous to it), if there even is one.

It's exciting, isn't it? That this game seems to be shaping up to be different from what we've come to expect, so there's a non-zero chance some of these staples of the series might not even be there!

 

[Darkspawn]

I definitely want Sora to have party members to join him for the adventure. I don’t think they necessarily have to be D&G, but I do think a Disney character should be part of the crew. I concur with Launchpad that the series is just better when the player character has someone to exchange dialogue with.

My idea is to have D&G end up in Unreality, but separated in different worlds or locations. Sora finds them one at a time during the first quarter or so of the game. Similar to an FF or DQ where it takes a little time to get your full party.

I think this would give them an opportunity for some storytelling that shows some interactions with just Sora and Donald. Or just him and Goofy. We haven’t really had many 1:1 interactions between these characters throughout the series. I think it’d be a nice change of pace.