358/2 Days Countdown: I

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Published on September 28, 2009 @ 06:35 pm

Written by Ordeith

Can you believe it? As of now, only a few hours stand between now and the North American release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days! And now, to bring our 358/2 Days Organization XIII countdown to a conclusion, we bring you Number I: Xemnas, the Superior of the In-Between.

What We Know So Far:

Before the events of the main Kingdom Hearts titles, Xemnas' somebody was Xehanort, the foremost apprentice of Ansem the Wise and leader of the team of six apprentices under him. When Ansem forbade them from continuing their research, and they were forced to continue in secret, the experiments they conducted on themselves backfired, thus resulting in the first six Nobodies; Xemnas was born.

Xemnas first appeared in the game under the name "Unknown," or "Enigmatic Cloaked Man," as an optional boss in the Japanese-exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix. In a chamber deep within the castle Hollow Bastion, the Superior appears to Sora, hooded, and tests his ability in a challenging boss battle, during which he relentlessly assaults the Keyblade wielder with a number of powerful attacks. At the end, however it all proved to be a simple test, and Xemnas, satisfied after combating Sora, disappears, remarking to him that he was a "mere shell." An early hint at what Nobodies are, perhaps?

The next time the party encounters Xemnas is in Kingdom Hearts II, in which he is the primary antagonist. During the cutscene sequences in the beginning of the game, during which the player controls Roxas inside DiZ's virtual Twilight Town, Xemnas (whose face isn't yet revealed) is shown conversing with Roxas on the black shores of what is presumed to be the realm of darkness. There, he holds a mostly one-sided conversation with the young Nobody, commenting vaguely about how he was "all that's left...or perhaps...all there ever was." Then, addressing Roxas more directly, he mentions that he had been to see "him," referring to his previous confrontation with Sora in Hollow Bastion. Then, perhaps wondering whether mention of Sora would spur Roxas' memory, he asks him, "Do you remember your true name?" No more of the conversation is shown, as the beach scene cuts and fades away.

The first official confrontation with Xemnas in the game occurs at Hollow Bastion, where the Organization summons a small party of Nobodies to attack Sora and Leon whilst they are enclosed inside the bailey of the castle. Once the Nobodies are dispatched and Sora emerges from inside, he taunts the spiky-haired youth, remarking that the Keyblade should have been in more experienced and capable hands. Laughing at Sora's expense, Xemnas and the six other remaining members of the Organization disappear into the Corridors of Darkness. Later, Xemnas makes a brief, yet significant, since his face is revealed at that point, appearance, also at Hollow Bastion. While Maleficent calls the Heartless to her aid in taking back her former stronghold, Xemnas appears atop a high outcropping in the Great Maw, smiling malignantly at the sight of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey in peril. Shortly after, he disappears into darkness, King Mickey following after him.

When Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey finally reach Organization XIII's stronghold in the World That Never Was, Xemnas is forced to appear once more, as Ansem the Wise attempts to encode the Kingdom Hearts he created there into data. Upon arrival, he finds Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and King Mickey, along with his former master Ansem the Wise, hunched pitifully over his self-destructing machine. As close to pleasure as he could come, Xemnas proceeded to scorn Ansem, calling him a fool, and a weakling for having a heart. He sets off on a spiteful monologue against him, pointing out every weakness flaw that Ansem possessed, pointedly saying how foolish he was for holding him back in his experimentation. Yet in the end, Ansem is the one who has the last laugh, even if he wasn't able to see it for himself. As the machine began to jolt and spark out of control, it suddenly erupted into a gigantic pillar of energy, blasting a gaping hole in Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts, sending hearts raining down into the dark city.

At that point, Xemnas had fled yet again, but the masters of the Keyblade hadn't finished with him yet. At the top of the floating castle, upon the Altar of Nought, the party confronts Xemnas one final time. In a last attempt to avoid conflict, he hopes to garner pity from the Keyblade wielders by lamenting the tragedy of nonexistence, and how he was never given any choice between living in light or in dark. The facade fails, however, and Xemnas quickly drops it. Then, flinging his hands to the sky, he teleports himself and Sora to a strange area resembling the space around Memory's Skyscraper, where he confronts Sora himself for the second time.

When Sora is released from the strange dark zone, he and the others find themselves looking upwards at the decimated Kingdom Hearts, and Xemnas. In a final plea, Xemnas beseeches the Heart of All Men, speaking to it, asking it to lend him its power so as to eliminate the Keyblade wielders and complete it. He implores it to grant him the powers of the heart; those of rage, envy, and hatred. As the Superior disappeared in a brilliant flash of light, the worlds granted the party a doorway to him, behind which Xemnas in his full strength awaited. Through the doorway, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku find themselves face-to-face with a gigantic dragon-like machine, inside which Xemnas lurked upon a throne of nothingness. They fight their way through the dragon-mech until they come to the head, where Xemnas, clad in kingly armor, calls all the powers of the deceased Organization to his aid. In the end, though, he is defeated, and the party is returned to the altar. As Xemnas apparently faded away, raving angrily about hatred and rage, Sora asks him why he lingered on such emotions, whether he remembered love or happiness. "Unfortunately," he said, "I don't..."

Yet even then, it was not the end; Xemnas returned with even more strength, his dragon-mech restored and empowered. For two more battles, he throws more and more at Sora and Riku, even attempting to dissuade them with remarks such as, "Riku, are you sure you're not jealous of Sora?" After defeating Xemnas twice more, the three square off for a final confrontation in the realm of nothingness. There, Xemnas expends all of his resources in a final attempt to drag Sora and Riku into oblivion with him, but even then, he was still no match for the power of the Keyblade. He dissolves into complete nothingness there, the last of the Organization to die.

His Role in 358/2 Days:

Due to his position of authority over the Organization, we can definitely count on Xemnas playing a major role in the game. As to what that is, though, we can't say for sure; from what we've seen of the game through leaked videos, Xemnas doesn't play an active role in terms of the day-to-day basis of the Organization; he only seems to appear for special occasions. Who can really say what he's doing with his time elsewhere? Only time will tell!

Just as all the other members of the Organization are, Xemnas is an optional playable character for use in mission replays and multiplayer. Players are able to utilize all of the Superior's familiar abilities, including his lightsaber-esque Ethereal Blades for which he is famous. An interesting enough tidbit about his gameplay is that he is the only member of the Organization who doesn't walk or run; rather, he levitates about in combat. And frankly, who wouldn't want to fly around the battlefield with two red lightsabers?

What the Fans Think:

To many, Xemnas is easily the most interesting villain the series has seen yet, and is known throughout the fandom as the coldest and most manipulative, to boot. His flat, emotionless tone is considered by some to be a turn-off, yet is thought of by most to be fitting to his character, and at times chilling to listen to. There are also those who can't help but pity him, since he had neither emotions nor any memories of good ones, only hatred and rage.

There are a few, however, who can speak for the fanbase much better than myself; hear what forum members Memory Master and Leonard have to say about Xemnas:

Xemnas is the Nobody of the main villain of the entire series. That is one reason why he is so cool. Unlike some of the other nobodies like Demyx and Axel, Xemnas does not pretend to have emotions. His emotionaless attitude gives us a good a idea of what it is really like to be a nobody.

Being the leader of the Organization means he has alot of authority and power, I find that to be greatly appealing.

Unlike the other members of the Organization, Xemnas did'nt really seem all that interested in getting a heart. He seemed more interested in the power of the heart itself. This gave him the aura of a manipulator, like the other members were only pawns to him. To me I think this backs up his role as the main villain.

For all of Xemnas' power and evil doing there is still a sad side to this character. In Kingdom Hearts II he kept going on about anger and hate. Xemnas even told Sora he did'nt remember from when he was known as Xehanort any emotions but anger and hate. Because of this it made him more of a lone wolf in the Organization so to me he seemed to be a tortured soul which I find sad.

Finally Xemnas has alot of mystery surrounding him. His past before becoming an apprentice to Ansem the wise is shrouded in mystery. Hopefully more of his past will be revealed in the upcoming game Birth by Sleep, but I hope we get some hints in 358/2 Days.

All in all Xemnas is an interesting character. Though he may be cruel and sinister I can't help but feel some sadness for this character. I can't wait to play as Xemnas and I hope we get a better look inside the mind of this amazing character.

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I remember the first time I came across videos of the first Final Mix on the internet. It was just after I finished the normal version of the game, when I was just a little kid who was obsessed with a franchise. What always amazed me most about the game, was it's gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. There's nothing better than standing outside in the dark, staring into the night sky in a quiet secluded place, and listening to the "Dive into the Heart" music from the soundtrack.

And then came along Final Mix, with it's massive Deep Dive teaser and probably the most epic boss battle to date, with "The Enigmatic Cloaked Figure", Xemnas. It was the tip of the iceberg. Though he was shrouded in mystery back then, it was obvious to me that he was a significant villain to the franchise. Which is not only because he's one of the hardest bosses in in it, but because of the power and skill that were shown in his attacks and movements. Everybody knew, this man would be the crucial link between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. The speculation and theorizing ran wild. He was the incarnation of the mystery that gave Kingdom Hearts it's "special feel".

Then, when Kingdom Hearts II came out, all the secrets around him were lifted. His significance was once again proven, through his leadership of the massive Organization XIII, his clashes with Ansem the Wise and his huge multi-phase final battle. Sadly though, it seems it wouldn't be enough to overcome Sora and Riku's joined power in the end.

Needless to say, Xemnas was a great villain to me from the beginning to the end. Although he lost some of his appeal when he decided to take his hood off in Kingdom Hearts II's Hollow Bastion (unfortunately secrets are only enjoyable as long as they stay such), he proved himself as a powerful, intelligent and interesting enemy.

Conclusion:

All in all, Xemnas is undoubtedly one of the game's most crucial characters, and is one players and fans should watch for carefully throughout the game. With the North American release so close at hand, that shouldn't be too much longer!

And with the game on the verge of its North American release tomorrow (European release is Oct. 8), you can go ahead, share your hopes and fears, and discuss it on our forums!