KH Character Files: Short Stories - Master Xehanort, Master Eraqus, Vanitas
- Details
- Published on February 26, 2020 @ 06:03 pm
- Written by Sign
Continuing on with our translations of the Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files, here are the short stories for Master Xehanort, Eraqus and Vanitas!
As always, credit goes to goldpanner for the translations!
Master Xehanort Story: My Dear Old Friend
This world is just too small.
Nothing but the blue sea, the blue sky, and the white sand. I wanted to get away from that world.
I left my home to travel due to guidance from the future.
And, on my journey towards him, I brushed with darkness several times. If you can control it, the darkness is nothing to fear. That's what I thought.
I'd spent some time training. I had a friend.
His name was Eraqus. A special Keyblade wielder, whose veins flowed with the blood of the very first generation of Masters, from the age of fairy tales. It had been promised to him from birth that he would one day wield a Keyblade—a completely different world from mine. I didn't want to chase after him. I wanted to be someone who could walk shoulder to shoulder with him.
We had all sorts of conversations over the game board.
Sometimes we spoke of our training itself, sometimes we talked about what we ought to strive toward.
“Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"
I moved a piece and captured one belonging to Eraqus.
“Huh? Of course I have.”
Eraqus moved a piece then, and captured one of mine.
“Long ago, Keyblade wielders waged a war over the ownership of light.”
I moved another piece. That was how this game worked—you moved the pieces, again and again.
“Yeah, the Master's favorite story.”
“I wonder what they planned on doing with Kingdom Hearts after making it appear,” I said to Eraqus. It was a question I had been mulling over.
“Who knows? I don't get why anyone would initiate a war,” he said. It is certainly difficult to understand. But wars begin because something starts them, they begin for a reason.
I had another question for him. “So…you know the ‘Lost Masters’?”“Who?” Eraqus asked, as though he had never heard the words—or as though he was pretending as much.
“They're the ones who started the Keyblade War.”
“Never heard of 'em. Where'd you heard about that?” he replied, and then stared at the board. He seemed to be considering something.
“Or…" I continued, "they're the ones for whom the war started.” Yes, the Keyblade War was started for the sake of the Lost Masters. Suspicion rose in my heart, and I voiced it. “You can drop the facade.”
“Facade?”
“‘On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire.’ A prospective Keyblade Master should know this.”
“If you say so,” Eraqus shrugged.
“The Gazing Eye sees the fate of the World. The future——it's already been written.”
I looked at a Keyblade hanging on the wall. It was a special Keyblade: the oldest one, which had been passed down by Keyblade Masters for generations.
After that, I set out on a journey traveling the worlds alone, in order to prepare myself for the Mark of Mastery examination. I learned many things on that trip.
Decades later——we found ourselves on different paths.
“Wait, Xehanort,” he said, stopping me. We had both aged so much already.
“There is a reason the precepts bar us from such knowledge. Why do you seek the X-blade? Would you blanket all the worlds in darkness, reduce them to nothing!?”
We were already Keyblade Masters, and he was the protector of that land. Protecting it was the burden of Keyblade Masters: maintaining the balance between light and darkness and ensuring that this neutral ground would not be abused, by using methods that our predecessors had devised. As such it was he, not I, who was the Keyblade Master most suited to protect that land.
“But darkness did cover the world once, in legend," I tell Eraqus as he follows me. "We know so little about the Keyblade War——only that it was just the beginning. Amidst that crisis a precious light was found. It is a curious tale——and one worth exploring. They say ruin brings about creation. So what, then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of? I must have these answers.” I turn to Eraqus. “The X-blade needs to be forged, and with it, the door to the Keyblade War unlocked!”
That was the answer I had reached at the end of a long journey.
“Fool... You would risk an apocalypse out of sheer curiosity? I will never allow it, Xehanort. Not while I live!”
He was probably right. But there is more than one right answer out there in the world. The concept of there being only one right answer is merely a deception.
“But once again you have it all wrong, Eraqus," I continued. "Darkness is a beginning, you see, not an end. At birth, every one of us emerges from darkness into a world of light, do we not?”
“Poetic excuses!”
The light only shines because there is darkness, and darkness can only exist because there is light. I turned my back on Eraqus and began to walk away.
“If words won't dissuade you, only one thing will.”
Eraqus summoned his Keyblade, and charged at me. I turned and fired a shot at him. It ravaged his face. To be taken down so easily—I wasn't sure I could call him my friend any longer.
He shook, clutching his face. “That power... Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?”
“Not your concern."
I turned my back on Eraqus, and left that land behind me.
I stand on the sands of my home. When the sun goes down on this island, all you can hear is the roar of the waves. I set out from this world once upon a time. Now I am back again, carrying a boy. Why did I choose this place, I wonder? It's because I want to let this boy—who didn't choose for his heart to be tainted by darkness, whose heart is now broken—at least sleep in peace. Perhaps then a shred of fondness for my home still remains in my heart.But, the boy I thought would never wake again when I returned to this island—Ventus—raises a Keyblade to the sky. Contrary to my assumption, his heart is not broken after all.
There is now no darkness in his heart. That darkness now belongs to another boy. If so, then this means I have within my grasp a boy with a heart of pure light and a boy with a heart of pure darkness. It is exactly as someone had taught me.The light in Ventus is still sleeping. In order to awaken it, it would be best to place him near a very strong source of light. My former friend is a perfect fit.
I shall pay him a visit.
Everything I have done is for the sake of the χ-blade. And, for the sake of seeing with my own eyes what lies beyond the Keyblade War.
Master Eraqus Story: Perpetual Check
“Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"
We used to have all kinds of conversations over the game board. The game had many different pieces. It was connected to our training.
We were still young, and together we devoted ourselves to our studies. But, before I knew it, we had somehow stepped onto different paths.
Despite this, over the long months and years we crossed each other many times, our weak relationship never quite fading. He was my friend, you see. Or, at least I thought so.
How many years ago was it now, that you fired that black miasma from your Keyblade and scarred my face?
“That power... Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?"
“Not your concern," you said, as you turned your back and left. Your drive to learn more about the world led you to fall to darkness—it made you seek the χ-blade, and Kingdom Hearts.
You’d said darkness is a beginning, and that the world itself was born from it. But even if that were true, we cannot allow the world to return there.
I wonder if the measures I put in place to stop you worked, Xehanort.
I was always by your side.
Vanitas Story: Vanish into The Blue
Empty creature from Ventus riven...
to you, the name Vanitas shall be given.Who am I to you? What do you think I am? You can only exist as light because I am our darkness. Right? I am both you and not you at the same time. I bet you never even imagined you had darkness inside you, huh? But darkness is in everything. Look, it's there right by your feet, isn't it? Your shadow. The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it casts. And that shadow will pull the rug right out from under your feet.
As soon as I was split from you, I stood alone in the badlands. These badlands, lying so close to the Keyblade Graveyard, are marked with the faint traces of battle.
I’ve known ever since the moment we were split why I came to exist. I am a dark fragment of a heart—a vessel for negative emotions.
In the tearing winds of the badlands, I clenched my fist and closed my eyes against a painful emotion. As I did, a black shadow began to rise from behind me. I looked up at it, and red eyes shone from the shadow as it formed into a monster.
I reached out to the monster, and it wound around me like a playful kitten. The monster—the Unversed—was new to existence, just like me. I swung my Keyblade down on it. The Unversed vanished without even a cry.
The Unversed—the name means "one not versed in life." Does it really? I don't care whether it means anything at all. The monsters are both me and not me at the same time. Hey, just like the two of us, right? I don't care which is the real body.
I wonder how many negative emotions there are in the world. If you think there's only rage and hatred, you're wrong. There's sadness, loneliness, anxiety, envy—they all, however, only serve to feed hatred.
Feel the hate. Feel the rage. Of course I should hate my existence. You've hated yourself too, haven't you? I hated you, Ventus. I tried to merge with you, and for a moment I faded away.
Did I really hate you? Or was that hatred really directed at myself? It doesn't matter anymore.
Now I'm back in this world, despite having faded away once before. Someone is using me again. Looks like Xehanort wasn't satisfied just bringing me into existence. I hate Xehanort, I hate Ventus, I hate all of you, I hate the entire world, and I want to fade away again.
I didn't ask for this. To be sifted apart, nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just light, not just darkness. We decide what we are, and that's exactly what I did.
I came from emptiness, and I will return to emptiness.
What is emptiness? It's neither darkness nor light—it's something in an even deeper abyss… Goodnight, Ventus.
COMMENTS
God I hate ksnemaki’s vanitas.
Agreed.
Her penchant for melodrama is exhausting.
Vanitas's story also brought us our first run-in with KH3's localization. I hope there isn't more like that in the other stories.
This is my reaction to everything [ATTACH type="full"]12308[/ATTACH]
Yeesh, who hurt you, Character File Vanitas?
Yeesh, who hurt you, Character File Vanitas?
Everything, the world, himself, Ventus. He was only a receptacle of what was not needed.
The only thing that remained for him was the shadow of the light that Ventus was bathed in.
One day he would be returned to nothingness. Peace. He held no aspirations beyond that.
But as long as the pain of existence remained, he would strike back at the Light.
Oh yeah, Good job Goldpanner.
Vanitas gettin' that teenage edge on, I see.
I quite like these. They're not quite what I expected from these characters, but still a nice insight.
I wonder if Eraqus actually did do more to try and stop Xehanort from mucking about or if he just thinks he did.
Edgy Sora has evolved into "IT'S NOT A PHASE, MOM!" Sora.
Her penchant for melodrama is exhausting.
You mean her self insert Xion and the whole soap opera with RAX did not hint it enough? (which she had influence over)
Oh, but wait. Fans think this is "compelling" and "deep", so.
Anyone taking bets on whether Dark Roads will actually explain why Eraqus and Xehanort were friends?
Anyone taking bets on whether Dark Roads will actually explain why Eraqus and Xehanort were friends?
Xehanort: "You are right."
Both: "Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."
Thank you again for the translations!
Just based on this alone, Eraqus and Xehanort have a rather odd relationship. They come off as more acquaintances than a deeper friendship. I mean, it's just a little snippet and maybe Dark Road will expand on things more. Or atleast that's what I'm really hoping. I do wonder what kind of measures Eraqus put in place to stop Xehanort. My memory is a bit hazy but I only recall he scolded Xehanort but nothing beyond that.
Nothing really to say about Vanitas. Still just as one-dimensional and unsympathetic as ever.
You mean her self insert Xion and the whole soap opera with RAX did not hint it enough? (which she had influence over)
Oh, but wait. Fans think this is "compelling" and "deep", so.
I like this post, people have been far too positive towards Days recently and it was making me uncomfortable. That's not the KH fanbase I grew up with!
On another note, I enjoy the melodrama a lot, but I also love soap operas so I suppose you would say there's no accounting for taste on my behalf
Just based on this alone, Eraqus and Xehanort have a rather odd relationship. They come off as more acquaintances than a deeper friendship. I mean, it's just a little snippet and maybe Dark Road will expand on things more. Or atleast that's what I'm really hoping. I do wonder what kind of measures Eraqus put in place to stop Xehanort. My memory is a bit hazy but I only recall he scolded Xehanort but nothing beyond that.
Well, a lot these are taking place seemingly after the end of KH3 (or somewhere along the way) so I could see why they don't seem as close. Xehanort was jealous of Eraqus (he won't say it, but you can see bits of it there) and his Character File Short Story connects with the KH3 Secret Reports I believe, so when so many years have passed... And the last few meetings have been volatile in nature, it makes sense. Who they are as people are fundamentally opposites from each other.
Plus Xehanort in his part clearly shows he didn't care, even though he knew Eraqus had a point. People think Eraqus forgave Xehanort easily in KH3, but they forget that he also seemed to forgive him pretty easily in BBS when you consider that Xehanort scarred his face up however many years prior. Not only did he seemed to forgive him, he even let the guy preside over the Mark of Mastery Exam for TAV. And had he not have been there, Terra probably would've ended up a Master. Or at least, his road wouldn't have led him to where it is now.
Not to blame Eraqus, because I understand wanting to help out a troubled friend who's basically a brother to you. And it's not like he'd know Xehanort hadn't changed, plus to his credit, he DID have his suspicions. But the bond between those two caused a lot of issues for everyone later on.
I like this post, people have been far too positive towards Days recently and it was making me uncomfortable. That's not the KH fanbase I grew up with!
I've noticed this, and I think it's because of the ReMIXes making Days a movie. So when most people picked up the games for the first time, that's why people have such a love for Days now, when back in the day it was BBS. People used to criticize Days a lot, but maybe it's more of a reflection of how many people can relate to the characters these days. It feels like people cried way more for Xion and Roxas than they ever did for Aqua and Ven.
Thank you again for the translations!
Just based on this alone, Eraqus and Xehanort have a rather odd relationship. They come off as more acquaintances than a deeper friendship. I mean, it's just a little snippet and maybe Dark Road will expand on things more. Or atleast that's what I'm really hoping. I do wonder what kind of measures Eraqus put in place to stop Xehanort. My memory is a bit hazy but I only recall he scolded Xehanort but nothing beyond that.
Nothing really to say about Vanitas. Still just as one-dimensional and unsympathetic as ever.
To piggyback off of SuperSaiyanSora, it is more that time and distance weakened their friendship, then Xehanort being corrupted and changed by the darkness and his single-minded obsession with the Keyblade War definitely altered his mental state.
Xehanort was also jealous of Eraqus. Xehanort had to forge his own path while Eraqus’ was set before him from birth. Everything was given to him whereas Xehanort had to work hard for it all.
Eraqus was the one who safeguarded Terra’s heart while Terra and Xehanort played tug-o-war in Terra’s body. He also was the one who inform Aqua on how to transform Land of Departure.
This is just a theory now, but I think the chess game is implying he might have had a hand in Ephemer’s appearance in the Keyblade Graveyard and this is something we’ll learn about in UX/DR once we find out what Brain has been putting into place as the “virus” Luxu speaks of in Secret Report 11.
I’m (kinda) sure more will be revealed at some point. Nomura clearly wants us to believe Eraqus had a bigger hand in the Light winning with the chess game imo. The new chess game with the dark Foretellers pieces likely is another aspect of it all.
Of course Xehanort is jealous of Eraqus. Eraqus aged pretty well unlike Xehanort's gargoyle old self, lol.
Good translations. The Vanitas one feels like it came right out of the BBS novel which I read earlier this year so I'm use to this. Still more depth to him then the cliche personality he's got in the games, but he's oozing with edge. The only thing that would make Vanitas complete is a Keyblade transformation into a black shotgun and a Keyblade glider shaped and ridden like a black motorcycle. He's already got a black jacket now with his new Organization coat lol.
I like this post, people have been far too positive towards Days recently and it was making me uncomfortable. That's not the KH fanbase I grew up with!
On another note, I enjoy the melodrama a lot, but I also love soap operas so I suppose you would say there's no accounting for taste on my behalf
So your upset people like a game that you like? No offense but that seems kinda petty. I mean bbs is my least favorite game in the series but, I respect that people like it,
You mean her self insert Xion and the whole soap opera with RAX did not hint it enough? (which she had influence over)
Oh, but wait. Fans think this is "compelling" and "deep", so.
I just want to say, I love that ten years have passed and you and I are still on the same page lol.
ANGER AND HATE... ARE SUPREME
They always tend to overdramatize Vanitas a little too much... in the game, he feels a lot more... proactive. He knows what he wants for the most part and acts on it, sometimes to the detriment of Xehanort (when he tried to kill Ventus that one time). Maybe you can gleam a little longing for something else in his final moments of BbS and KH3, but he's... pretty assured in his actions either way. He never comes across as asking for help, regretful, or particularly in pain.
He feels less like an angsty teenager like these passages describe and more like a guy who is literally out of his mind. Not like "Ahaha, I'm coo coo for cocoa puffs!" but "I have one goal in mind, I hate everyone involved but you know what, I'm going to enjoy the conflict anyway cause seeing you hurt is kinda fun. I don't care if I don't make sense, this is what I want."
As for the whole... Eraqus and Xehanort bits... yawn. Clearly no one must've given her much to go on here. Imo, I think Eraqus and Xehanort were normal buddies among a group of friends. Whatever disaster happened to Scala Ad Caelum must've made the two really close, but not in a "We're best friends who tell each other everything" kind of way, but a "We're the last two survivors. Only we understand this particular pain and it ties us together" kind of way.
I've always despised how forgiving Eraqus is toward Xehanort despite all he's done (and continued to do), but if trauma is causing Eraqus to overlook how terrible Xehanort has become, maybe it makes a little more sense I guess???
So your upset people like a game that you like? No offense but that seems kinda petty. I mean bbs is my least favorite game in the series but, I respect that people like it,
Huh? I dunno how you could take what I said in a 100% serious manner, I'm fairly certain that I was joking, but maybe someone knows better ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But if I have to reply seriously, no, of course I'm not upset that people like Days now! I was 10 when it came out and it was a trip going on forums to see what fans would say about it. If you think KH3 gets a hard time you wouldn't survive as a fan of Days and especially Xion back in those days XD
In fact, the 10 year old in me is thriving and constantly surprised by how much love it does get. I'm still not used to that.
I was just making an offhand remark on how much the fandom's attitudes towards it have changed, and I do agree with [USER=71052]@SuperSaiyanSora[/USER] in that the Remixes probably had a lot to do with it. They probably also had a lot to do with BBS's fall from grace too.
Free Vanitas.
I just want to say, I love that ten years have passed and you and I are still on the same page lol.
ANGER AND HATE... ARE SUPREME
Lol. Years hasn't changed my opinion on that game or the character. In fact, it has made it worse I think. They are consistently dramatic with every appearance like they're the only ones that ever suffered in this series. Like please.
Good to see you still here^^. It's wild that some users I remember are around.
Vanitas's story also brought us our first run-in with KH3's localization. I hope there isn't more like that in the other stories.
Sorry, may I ask what you meant exactly?
They always tend to overdramatize Vanitas a little too much... in the game, he feels a lot more... proactive. He knows what he wants for the most part and acts on it, sometimes to the detriment of Xehanort (when he tried to kill Ventus that one time). Maybe you can gleam a little longing for something else in his final moments of BbS and KH3, but he's... pretty assured in his actions either way. He never comes across as asking for help, regretful, or particularly in pain.
He feels less like an angsty teenager like these passages describe and more like a guy who is literally out of his mind. Not like "Ahaha, I'm coo coo for cocoa puffs!" but "I have one goal in mind, I hate everyone involved but you know what, I'm going to enjoy the conflict anyway cause seeing you hurt is kinda fun. I don't care if I don't make sense, this is what I want."
As for the whole... Eraqus and Xehanort bits... yawn. Clearly no one must've given her much to go on here. Imo, I think Eraqus and Xehanort were normal buddies among a group of friends. Whatever disaster happened to Scala Ad Caelum must've made the two really close, but not in a "We're best friends who tell each other everything" kind of way, but a "We're the last two survivors. Only we understand this particular pain and it ties us together" kind of way.
I've always despised how forgiving Eraqus is toward Xehanort despite all he's done (and continued to do), but if trauma is causing Eraqus to overlook how terrible Xehanort has become, maybe it makes a little more sense I guess???
I agree. And frankly, the idea of Vanitas as a character "constantly in pain" like this short story and the manga try to depict, while slightly more intriguing, doesn't make as much sense when you really stop to think about it.
According to these renditions of Vanitas, you'd think that just as he's incapable of feeling any positive emotions, Ventus must be incapable of feeling any negativity. But we know that's not the case. We see Ventus go through several bouts of negative emotions like depression, sadness, doubt, etc., despite ostensibly being the pure half of his former self. What I take from BBS is not that Ventus and Vanitas are distinguished by what they can feel, but by how they behave. I've always seen Vanitas as an entity more defined by his actions than his feelings, and the idea of him being constantly in some sort of suffering just doesn't mesh with his attitude. The manga tries to draw him like a tortured soul, but really, he's more like that psycho kid that likes to set cats on fire with lighter fluid. It's not that Vanitas can't feel joy, it's just that his experience of joy is so twisted that it can only come from doing heinous things to other people. We see throughout BBS that the Unversed are DRAWN to negative emotions, not embodiments of them necessarily. If they were purely embodiments of negative emotions, you'd see a lot more of them lazing about in depressive slumps or trembling in fear or embodying other emotions besides aggression, which is the only thing we really see from them.
So, I think the manga writers and this short story writer fundamentally misunderstand Vanitas' character, and the nature of the Unversed in general.
Remember guys, the novels nor the short stories are the holy bible and are character depictions of their respective authors, including their relationships. It's third tier canon at best.
For instance, Nomura and Kanemaki are obviously not in tune with their perception of Vanitas. And it's Nomura's take that we should hold over hers.
Sorry, may I ask what you meant exactly?
There's two lines in the text that are pulled from the script.
The first is this sentence at the start: "You can only exist as light because I am our darkness." In the English version, what Vanitas says at this moment is "And I do stand by your side. I'm the shadow that you cast." There's no way to really work that in since it conflicts with the context of the story so a translation was the better way to go.
The second is the third-to-last from the end, the bit about having the right to choose, which is a direct rip of what Ven says to Vanitas in the Keyblade Graveyard. The other line may just be a coincidence but this one was clearly intentional, so thankfully it was easy to incorporate.
It's easy when they just revisit scenes and quote dialogue directly, but when it's used like this, sometimes the official English dialogue may have clunky results since the story isn't written with that in mind.
Remember guys, the novels nor the short stories are the holy bible and are character depictions of their respective authors, including their relationships. It's third tier canon at best.
For instance, Nomura and Kanemaki are obviously not in tune with their perception of Vanitas. And it's Nomura's take that we should hold over hers.
I’ve been saying for years about how the novel’s weren’t canon considering how often they contradict the games do kh3 and remind having an openly evil vanitas Made feel validated.
I barely know anything about the novels. I bought the BbS one, but haven't read it.
I did find her reading on Vanitas to be interesting. Not necessarily the "woe is me" drivel, but that there's more going on with him that just "I do what Xehanort tells me to do no questions asked."
The idea that it's more like a forced partnership where Vanitas did have a choice or he's been utterly brainwashed/convinced to believe his only purpose is to torment Ventus/create the X-blade was an interesting reading. A boy that's totally lost his marbles due to his circumstances.
It fit in with the idea Kingdom Hearts goes back and forth on if darkness is inherently evil or if it's the user that decides. So it was interesting to hear a being created of darkness wasn't a total maniacal villain from the very get go. Definitely wasn't based on what the games have stated (and I think the novels confirmed, you know, the whole beating up on Ven who couldn't react to much of anything)
A being of darkness ripped out of one of our main good boys that's totally lost his marbles and if Xehanort were out of the picture, would probably be a minor-villain doing his own thing and still cause trouble but not out to destroy the world? Interesting.
Emo teenager "boo hoo my life sucks I need saving even though I've hurt every single person that might've helped me out cause I hate them because they're happy and I'm not!"? Meh. That's not the interesting part for me.
Remember guys, the novels nor the short stories are the holy bible and are character depictions of their respective authors, including their relationships. It's third tier canon at best.
For instance, Nomura and Kanemaki are obviously not in tune with their perception of Vanitas. And it's Nomura's take that we should hold over hers.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Is there anything here that runs contrary to "Nomura's Vanitas"? Why draw distinctions when they work together and it makes no difference anyway?
On a related note, emptiness is being used as a repeated theme in a couple of these short stories now which is interesting because it's never really brought up in the games. I know that Vanitas says he chooses "Darkness" in the games but I'd be interested if the Japanese version implied the same thing - because the unversed are not creatures of darkness.
It would make sense to me if Vanitas is a being capable of light and darkness as is any other human, but his heart is prone to darkness in the same way Vens is prone to Light. But in his mind perhaps Vanitas does reject both darkness and light and desires to exist in emptiness, hence the lines here.
Why dose you Ll hating on kenamco Vanitas when it does so much more than "i am not ventus i am EVIL VENTUS i kill u now"? Game vanitas has absolutely no story and no depth, just like all of nomura's le wild ideas that he throws into the games without any buildup, wheras tomoco Vanitas has agency, introspection and even retrospection. This is good for the world that we got more insight, and I pray that HJO will voice these thoughts to give them gravitas and (English) legitimacy.
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
Why dose you Ll hating on kenamco Vanitas when it does so much more than "i am not ventus i am EVIL VENTUS i kill u now"? Game vanitas has absolutely no story and no depth, just like all of nomura's le wild ideas that he throws into the games without any buildup, wheras tomoco Vanitas has agency, introspection and even retrospection. This is good for the world that we got more insight, and I pray that HJO will voice these thoughts to give them gravitas and (English) legitimacy.
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
Because it’s badly written melodrama(and this coming from a 358/2 days/xion fan) and it feels like trying to artificially create depth when there really is none.
Because it’s badly written melodrama(and this coming from a 358/2 days/xion fan) and it feels like trying to artificially create depth when there really is none.
Badly written melodrama as opposed to literally characterless (evil because the plot demands it), which would you rather have?
I personally disagree that it is badly written melodrama as well but i want to hear your ₩¥《 more.
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
Are you talking about Sign and I...
Oboy...
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
First, you don't need to know Japanese to realize that there are issues translating any language. Second, you're posting on a KH forum so I don't know what high ground you think you have here but you don't. And as someone who has studied the language the issues with nuanced translation becomes very obvious very quickly.
Talk about "ramblings of a tumblrite" idk what your post is even supposed to be other than ignorant
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
My understanding of Japanese is still pretty amateur but it ain't hard to figure out the Kingdom Hearts localizations are less-than-faithful on several occasions.
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
We literally have modern technology for non-speakers to make the comparisons without the need to understand Japanese.
Whoo boy, are you the type of person who is on Twitter getting mad at the soriku crowd when they translate the original JPN text and point out how the ENG localization doesn't convey the original intent? You sound like that type of person.
Why dose you Ll hating on kenamco Vanitas when it does so much more than "i am not ventus i am EVIL VENTUS i kill u now"? Game vanitas has absolutely no story and no depth, just like all of nomura's le wild ideas that he throws into the games without any buildup, wheras tomoco Vanitas has agency, introspection and even retrospection. This is good for the world that we got more insight, and I pray that HJO will voice these thoughts to give them gravitas and (English) legitimacy.
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
So, number 1: Artificially rewriting a character to feel more "pained" does not automatically make that character more deep. In fact, it's just as one-dimensional a trope as the super-evil villain is. But at least the super-evil villain trope can be more enjoyable—very few people find the angsty "woe is me and hatred is my lifeblood"-type character as anything but irritating. In other words, though both are one-dimensional, cartoonishly shallow villainy is more palatable than teenage doom-and-gloomy angst. It's a misguided attempt at drawing conflict that only makes the character seem wimpy and ineffectual.
Number 2: Getting more insight into these characters is "good for the world"? Listen pal, I love Kingdom Hearts as much as the next person, but reel it in a little.
Number 3: People have the tools to decipher Japanese and English text and compare them. And even without those, there are plenty of people in the fandom who are actually bilingual and can speak Japanese and English, and the information we have on the disparities in the translations comes from them, but you can go look it up for yourself, too. Btw, these people are not nerds. They're passionate, and they're well educated enough to be able to cross language barriers. Have some respect.
god i hate these.
thank you for translating them-- very well done. i'm sorry the content on offer is such trite shit.
nah it's rambling from the SUB IS SUPERIOR crowd 9 times out of 10. obviously. French is not 1:1 with English, just like English isn't 1:1 to Japanese, just like Japanese isn't 1:1 to Korean. not calling out the staff or people like soc725, just the randoms who are "calling out" the ENG localization as though they read JPN [fluently]. but lets not blow that out of proportion, the point is that both these character files and kanemaki's writing are fantastic and do a great job conveying (more) character to these characters. KH never gets time to do slice of life or care for its characters, and to see these writings come out is a boon for the series and what KHDR (and KHUX) should (have) do(ne)
nah it's rambling from the SUB IS SUPERIOR crowd 9 times out of 10. obviously. French is not 1:1 with English, just like English isn't 1:1 to Japanese, just like Japanese isn't 1:1 to Korean. not calling out the staff or people like soc725, just the randoms who are "calling out" the ENG localization as though they read JPN [fluently].
Literally no one here was doing that so your posts were completely uncalled for. You want to complain about this topic, go to the appropriate channels for it instead of coming in and antagonizing people. This behavior will not be tolerated.
| but lets not blow that out of proportion, the point is that both these character files and kanemaki's writing are fantastic and do a great job conveying (more) character to these characters. KH never gets time to do slice of life or care for its characters, and to see these writings come out is a boon for the series and what KHDR (and KHUX) should (have) do(ne) |
Fantastic? I'll agree to disagree.
???
I was just making an offhand remark on how much the fandom's attitudes towards it have changed, and I do agree with @SuperSaiyanSora in that the Remixes probably had a lot to do with it. They probably also had a lot to do with BBS's fall from grace too.
Yeah, and like I was saying earlier, it's so weird that BBS isn't as praised as it used to be. There was a time when people called it the best KH game in the series. Even more than KH2FM+, people actually liked the Command Decks and Vanitas Sentiment boss. I don't even think "floaty combat" was a complaint until way later.
I see people wanting a 358/2 Days remake, and I'm like, what? Bruh. Most people back then thought the game was mid, and only liked it because of the Organization being fleshed out and really the ending. A lot of the game was monotonous with barely any story in the missions (mostly just go to a world, kill the heartless and go back to base), and the story parts don't even really kick in until WAY later. Now, I like the story (I even liked the game too, as a matter of fact) but 358/2 benefited from the movie SO MUCH. And if it ended up getting a full remake... I don't think it'd be appreciated as much as it currently is, in all honesty.
Union X basically follows the same formula, and look how people reacted to Dark Road. Only difference is, if UX gets a remake, they can afford to cut the filler because a lot of it is inconsequential enough to exclude. You can't really with 358/2, because that's the entire point of the game. If you cut out too much, you may as well make the movie, and that's what they went with lol.
And for you dub vs sub nerds, 90% of you can't read hiragana let alone kanji, stop pretending like the difference in JPN script compared to ENG script is something you can recognize and not just the ramblings of a tumblrite.
Thing is though, we do actually have staff on here that can read and understand Japanese at a very high level. Most of the translations we'd receive if not done by the official localization team would be done by one of the translators (shout out to all of you!), and they haven't disappointed us yet. So they'd be able to let us know if there were any differences between the JP and ENG scripts.
Now, whether those changes personally means anything or not would really depend on the individual's interpretation. I'm sure the localization team at Square Enix takes this into account and translates certain lines accordingly, but there's probably so many factors into why some lines may change when translated into English. Far as I can tell though, the basic meaning is the same, so no harm no foul at the end of the day.
While I agree that Kanemaki does flesh out most characters a bit more and makes them more relatable in the novels when you compare it to the games and Nomura's own lack of proper characterization it's certainly not top tier writing deserving of the "fantastic" moniker all around.
When it comes to Nomura himself I am by now convinced that he is totally into a plot-driven narrative and that is subject to multiple changes because of a) what is Nomura's current biggest interest and b) what serves his "must be surprising"-tick.
If in order to reach these two aims internal logic and already established character arcs have to be thrown out of the window they will be.
Back to initial topic though, I haven't even commented on these stories yet, so here goes.
All in all, they're certainly better than the Young Xehanort, Terra-Xehanort, Ansem SoD and Xemnas ones as they at least feature the characters the supposed story is about themselves.
Still, I find them to be less thrilling than the first three we had about TAV.
Xehanort's is first about the chess scene from the KH III Prologue/Reveal trailer which as such is essentially another recap.
After that, I set out on a journey traveling the worlds alone, in order to prepare myself for the Mark of Mastery examination. I learned many things on that trip.
This is arguably the part that could yield the most new information and yet it is only a small paragraph.
Seriously, if Xehanort didn't emphasize that he traveled the worlds alone I would even call it sneak advertising for that new mobile game KH: DR aka Kingdom Hearts: Darkness Rubbish.
Eraqus' story, despite being the shortest, is at least to me the most interesting one as there are at least some glimpses of new insight into Eraqus himself.
You’d said darkness is a beginning, and that the world itself was born from it. But even if that were true, we cannot allow the world to return there.
I wonder if the measures I put in place to stop you worked, Xehanort.
I was always by your side.
Interesting thing in the first paragraph is that Eraqus apparently went from "poetic excuses" to "if it were true" throughout time and while he still thinks how Xehanort does things is wrong he doesn't adamantly think that Xehanort is wrong about everything anymore.
Eraqus, my neglectful lightbulb Samurai, I'd like to know what exactly these "measures" you put in place were about for a start. Then we can talk about how much of them worked.
Was hiding out in Terra's heart to help him against Nortys possession part of these measures or an improvisation? Was trying to go stabby-stabby on Ven part of the toolkit?
Eh, I guess technically you were as you both were somehow piggybacking on Terra for eleven years.
When it comes to Vanitas though I am a bit baffled on what I am supposed to feel/learn from this.
That Vanitas is totally nihilistic and essentially just a ball of hate and aggression happening to have humanoid form who either wants to see everyone and everything suffer and if he's denied that just wants to disappear?
Only the last bit is new as the rest was already known from BBS and acted upon in KH 3 again.
Emptiness? Return to it? Neither darkness nor light? Is he now copying Xemnas' spiel from KH2?
"Emptiness" and "Nothingness" are very similar if not the same in principle, the whole "Nothingness is eternal"-stuff and babbling about an abyss was done by Xemnas first.
The whole
I am both you and not you at the same time.
thing is also something that has already been done multiple times, with Riku Replica, with Naminé, with Roxas and with Xion.
Yea, sorry, but nothing (pun not intended) revealed here does change my opinion on Vanitas as a character at all.
He's still the aggressive, bullying extra Edgelord™ who hates everyone and everything, now just sprinkled with some additional nihilism and adapting a theme already done with Xemnas.
When I combine this with how he behaves in BBS and KH 3 proper I also fail to see where this character shows any redeeming qualities or traits.
VANITAS: "I hate you Xehanort, I hate you Ventus, I hate the world around me and everything in general and to top it all off I probably also hate you too... yes, you, the reader who is holding this book and reading this story. Now put the book down or turn to another page before I lose more than just my marbles."
nah it's rambling from the SUB IS SUPERIOR crowd 9 times out of 10. obviously. French is not 1:1 with English, just like English isn't 1:1 to Japanese, just like Japanese isn't 1:1 to Korean. not calling out the staff or people like soc725, just the randoms who are "calling out" the ENG localization as though they read JPN [fluently]. but lets not blow that out of proportion,
Nobody here said or did this, though. And it’s not bad to compare scripts. When authorial intent is at jeopardy by a localization, it’s nice to be able to look at both the English and Japanese to see where the changes occurred.
| the point is that both these character files and kanemaki's writing are fantastic and do a great job conveying (more) character to these characters. |
Definitely agree to disagree on this. There is a distinct lack of character in most of these short stories, especially the ones where it is in Sora’s POV.
| KH never gets time to do slice of life or care for its characters, and to see these writings come out is a boon for the series and what KHDR (and KHUX) should (have) do(ne) |
As somebody who likes the novels, I do agree with this point that it is nice that the novels give us these small moments that really enhance the characters and make them into people.
These short stories, though? No. Much of that is not in these at all. They are literally just recycled lines or Sora’s summaries with a bit of what Kanemaki has injected into the novels. We got a few gems out of these but I think Kanemaki’s energy would have been better spent working on the KH3 novels rather than these short stories because she does better work when she has a longer word count.
When it comes to Nomura himself I am by now convinced that he is totally into a plot-driven narrative and that is subject to multiple changes because of a) what is Nomura's current biggest interest and b) what serves his "must be surprising"-tick.
If in order to reach these two aims internal logic and already established character arcs have to be thrown out of the window they will be.
| KH: DR aka Kingdom Hearts: Darkness Rubbish. |
Yeah, and like I was saying earlier, it's so weird that BBS isn't as praised as it used to be. There was a time when people called it the best KH game in the series. Even more than KH2FM+, people actually liked the Command Decks and Vanitas Sentiment boss. I don't even think "floaty combat" was a complaint until way later.
I see people wanting a 358/2 Days remake, and I'm like, what? Bruh. Most people back then thought the game was mid, and only liked it because of the Organization being fleshed out and really the ending. A lot of the game was monotonous with barely any story in the missions (mostly just go to a world, kill the heartless and go back to base), and the story parts don't even really kick in until WAY later. Now, I like the story (I even liked the game too, as a matter of fact) but 358/2 benefited from the movie SO MUCH. And if it ended up getting a full remake... I don't think it'd be appreciated as much as it currently is, in all honesty.
I feel like BBS became an easy target post-KH3 for KH2FM gameplay stans because it was Osaka Team's pride and joy. The first KH game they'd ever worked on, and the one they were universally praised for between the characters, story, gameplay, etc. So a lot of folks who were upset about KH3 sought to take out their anger and frustration on that instead. While there are perfectly fair criticisms against this game (I've seen many right here on this forum), I feel like we don't really hear much about it because this petty feud dominated the conversation.
Days on the other hand has been divisive from the start, and the original game, despite being praised for the story and main trio, was not remembered well for everything else (the gameplay sucked, the missions were tedious and the rest of the Organization were horribly underdeveloped). But the HD collection cut all that stuff out and focused entirely on its strengths in RAX's emotional journey, which worked entirely in its favor. I completely agree that a full HD remake of Days wouldn't be as well received as the cinematic scenes because of all this BS we'd have to sit through.
At least from my observations, BBS has been slowly regaining its popularity now that Osaka Team have proven themselves with Re Mind and more people have been able to pick up the collections.
I feel like BBS became an easy target post-KH3 for KH2FM gameplay stans because it was Osaka Team's pride and joy. The first KH game they'd ever worked on, and the one they were universally praised for between the characters, story, gameplay, etc. So a lot of folks who were upset about KH3 sought to take out their anger and frustration on that instead. While there are perfectly fair criticisms against this game (I've seen many right here on this forum), I feel like we don't really hear much about it because this petty feud dominated the conversation.
Days on the other hand has been divisive from the start, and the original game, despite being praised for the story and main trio, was not remembered well for everything else (the gameplay sucked, the missions were tedious and the rest of the Organization were horribly underdeveloped). But the HD collection cut all that stuff out and focused entirely on its strengths in RAX's emotional journey, which worked entirely in its favor. I completely agree that a full HD remake of Days wouldn't be as well received as the cinematic scenes because of all this BS we'd have to sit through.
At least from my observations, BBS has been slowly regaining its popularity now that Osaka Team have proven themselves with Re Mind and more people have been able to pick up the collections.
It always seemed to me like Days was highly ambitious for a DS game in terms of graphics and scope of it's story and in the end it's really just a huge cheesy mess.
BBS struck a good balance but it's easy to look back on things and find flaws. Or maybe it's more accurate to say it's easier to be vocal about flaws than it is about things the games got right. I think BBS has a lot of redeeming qualities, probably more than Days does, but I've never personally thought that the characters or their relationships were done well. TAV came off as cliche to me, even their names "terra" "aqua" and "ventus" came off as uninspired, and the reason for why they care about each other so much is never explored.
Someone else mentioned it in this thread or another I think but I'm really starting to believe KH needs the sort of downtime that Destiny Island/Traverse Town brought to Sora/Riku/Kairi in KH1 and Twilight Town brought to Roxas in KH2. They need the casual, lazy, peaceful days those worlds brought to individual characters and their relationships to contrast the moments where they struggle. When I think of TAV my first thought always goes to the secret movie where they're fighting Xehanort, absolutely beautiful and I can always tell how much they care about each other while they're fighting together, but as far as I can remember that's all the game ever really offers in terms of their relationships and it ends up feeling... static, plot driven, uninspired. I don't think my first thought of a group of friends should be of them fighting together against an ultimate villain; I want to think about the days that Sora, Riku, and Kairi spent on Destiny Island because it makes me care about Sora rescuing them. They didn't even need to spend much time elaborating on destiny island either, all they had to do was show us a few scenes of their day to day lives.
Days instead builds a relationship between roxas and xion from the ground up and offers them downtime in the form of cutscenes, but its unfortunate because cutscenes don't make the player feel like they're really involved. And the number of insignificant missions you're forced to do only serves as an impediment for you to get to the next cutscene. As a result, unsurprisingly, the game ends up feeling convoluted and melodramatic.
I feel like BBS became an easy target post-KH3 for KH2FM gameplay stans because it was Osaka Team's pride and joy. The first KH game they'd ever worked on, and the one they were universally praised for between the characters, story, gameplay, etc. So a lot of folks who were upset about KH3 sought to take out their anger and frustration on that instead. While there are perfectly fair criticisms against this game (I've seen many right here on this forum), I feel like we don't really hear much about it because this petty feud dominated the conversation.
I don't think this is quite true. Perhaps on KHInsider but on KH13 (haha yes I know) BBS started to really lose favour around 2015/16, but especially moreso in 2016. I do think a lot of that is down to the remixes A) exposing BBS's faults on a larger scale B) the remixes were generally kinda ass and coloured the experience for a lot of people. It's certainly not something that's out of the blue to me at any rate. It's definitely not something that's only recently been raked over the coals because of KH3, it's been getting shat on for a long time.
I don't think this is quite true. Perhaps on KHInsider but on KH13 (haha yes I know)
you're dead to me
[S]i'm kidding[/S]
I think this has a lot to do with each game's appeal towards different demographics. Just from my own observations, I found the younger audience (such as the folks at KH13) favors Days more whereas the older ones preferred BBS.
| BBS started to really lose favour around 2015/16, but especially moreso in 2016. I do think a lot of that is down to the remixes A) exposing BBS's faults on a larger scale B) the remixes were generally kinda ass and coloured the experience for a lot of people. It's certainly not something that's out of the blue to me at any rate. It's definitely not something that's only recently been raked over the coals because of KH3, it's been getting shat on for a long time. |
As I acknowledged in my own post there are perfectly valid criticisms against it, but this particular matter was something I had noticed over the course of the past year. It definitely wasn't an immediate drop in popularity since each new title leads us to rethink our opinions for older games, and BBS is certainly not perfect by any means, but there was very sudden spike in BBS trashing post-KH3 on social media and other message boards, and I definitely don't think it was a coincidence.
It always seemed to me like Days was highly ambitious for a DS game in terms of graphics and scope of it's story and in the end it's really just a huge cheesy mess.
BBS struck a good balance but it's easy to look back on things and find flaws. Or maybe it's more accurate to say it's easier to be vocal about flaws than it is about things the games got right. I think BBS has a lot of redeeming qualities, probably more than Days does, but I've never personally thought that the characters or their relationships were done well. TAV came off as cliche to me, even their names "terra" "aqua" and "ventus" came off as uninspired, and the reason for why they care about each other so much is never explored.
Someone else mentioned it in this thread or another I think but I'm really starting to believe KH needs the sort of downtime that Destiny Island/Traverse Town brought to Sora/Riku/Kairi in KH1 and Twilight Town brought to Roxas in KH2. They need the casual, lazy, peaceful days those worlds brought to individual characters and their relationships to contrast the moments where they struggle. When I think of TAV my first thought always goes to the secret movie where they're fighting Xehanort, absolutely beautiful and I can always tell how much they care about each other while they're fighting together, but as far as I can remember that's all the game ever really offers in terms of their relationships and it ends up feeling... static, plot driven, uninspired. I don't think my first thought of a group of friends should be of them fighting together against an ultimate villain; I want to think about the days that Sora, Riku, and Kairi spent on Destiny Island because it makes me care about Sora rescuing them. They didn't even need to spend much time elaborating on destiny island either, all they had to do was show us a few scenes of their day to day lives.
Days instead builds a relationship between roxas and xion from the ground up and offers them downtime in the form of cutscenes, but its unfortunate because cutscenes don't make the player feel like they're really involved. And the number of insignificant missions you're forced to do only serves as an impediment for you to get to the next cutscene. As a result, unsurprisingly, the game ends up feeling convoluted and melodramatic.
I agree a lot with this. While I don't find TAV cliche exactly, I felt they were too burrowed from everyone else in their first game. I cringe everytime I hear "Give me a break Aqua" and then you have Terra with Riku's taunts during training and my personal favorite in the flashback zombie Ventus sitting with a guy friend on his right and the girl to his left. This is why I loved the bits from the novel and those short stories. It felt like TAV finally had something of their own.
The thing with Days is Roxas has more interactions with nearly everyone while on missions but you'd have to play the missions. While I personally don't think all the missions are that bad, most of them are not fun and downright tedious. Particularly the ones where Roxas is by himself because now you won't have someone for him to bounce off of. This is one of the reasons I'm not too fond of the Days movie. Many of my favorite character interactions did not make it in the movie. Such as Lexaeus smacking Roxas, Roxas and Axel's banter with Tinker Bell in Neverland, Demyx tricking Roxas into doing extra work in Olympus, Luxord's luck talk to Roxas in Wonderland, Roxas and Xion meeting Genie and fighting Pete, Roxas answering any question wrong with anybody he's with, practically every cutscene in Beast Castle inlcuding "Roxas that's a stick" and Roxas being confused about Lumiere. A lot of personality was lost in the Days movie, because like you said you are playing the game and making the relationships yourself it's just Days did not have good gameplay structure by KH standards. I even think at times the KH portraits in Days give them more personality then half the cutscenes do in the movie. I remember Xion lost a lot of her attitude in the cutscene where Roxas called her out on how he thought she never worried over him. She got angry and made a annoyed noise in the original while in the movie they kept her rather quiet. Likewise Axel's reveal of knowing Xion was a puppet was far more intense in the original then how it's presented in the movie. But maybe that's just a translation thing.
These stories are so barebones that we shifted the topic to RAX and others games.
These stories are so barebones that we shifted the topic to RAX and others games.
Low key I had to scroll up to see what thread I was even in. Whoops
OMG Vanitas' character file gives me a whole new perspective on him. I'm loving it! I wish he said all that "I hate Xehanort, I hate everyone" stuff in the games somewhere! That would make me actually be way more interested in his character.
While I personally don't think all the missions are that bad, most of them are not fun and downright tedious. Particularly the ones where Roxas is by himself because now you won't have someone for him to bounce off of.
A lot of personality was lost in the Days movie, because like you said you are playing the game and making the relationships yourself it's just Days did not have good gameplay structure by KH standards. I even think at times the KH portraits in Days give them more personality then half the cutscenes do in the movie. I remember Xion lost a lot of her attitude in the cutscene where Roxas called her out on how he thought she never worried over him. She got angry and made a annoyed noise in the original while in the movie they kept her rather quiet. Likewise Axel's reveal of knowing Xion was a puppet was far more intense in the original then how it's presented in the movie. But maybe that's just a translation thing.
These are largely the reasons I give days a pass and why I think people maybe judge it too harshly because I really do think Days has a lot of redeemable qualities about it. The humor, dialogue and individual moments are some of the best that the series has to offer, but everything outside of those bits I'm tempted to call a failure.
Because honestly, conceptually, Days was in a really really reallyyy awkward place from the very beginning.
[spoiler]-The mission system taking place over 358 days is ridiculously tedious to begin with. Letting the player know that this game takes place over roughly a year and making 75%+ of that filler missions was a terrible idea. Imagine reading a 300 page book where 70% of the pages inside did not matter and were just page long descriptions of fish or machinery (hello 10,000 leagues under the sea [that book was actually great though]). Even with some great drama/cinematic/comedic moments all of that gets lost in the tediousness of the mission system. Sign is right that it's probably better off as a movie, but you're also right that there were a lot of moments in individual missions that were lost. To me, this just means that the manga is the best way to get into this story.
-The setting. Everyone is wearing black coats and all of the high impact cinematic moments take place in the orange hue of twilight town or the chrome of the World That Never Was. It's incredibly bland in my opinion. It's probably, personally, my biggest issue with the game which some people might find funny but it's just how I feel. I don't even know how to fix it. Maybe if RAX hung out at different worlds and took off their coats in favor of some different clothes once in a while I would have been okay with it, but something about the blandness of this game just annoys the hell out of me.
-The Nobodies' inability to "feel" things. This has been flawed from the very beginning as well and it's another thing that honestly pisses me off because it doesn't make any real sense. The organization tells its members that they can't feel emotion and then they proceed to have these awkward inner/outer dialogues about how they want to 'feel' but can't, or think they can 'feel' but actually don't. None of these series of dialogues on the subject comes even close to sounding believable to me. I mean I understand the concept of what they were going for but if they truly felt nothing when they first became nobodies they'd have no reason to trust Xemnas about their "feelings" and when they did develop feelings theres no reason I can think of why they would question whether or not they actually feel anything. And it's an interesting concept don't get me wrong, but it was done on the head for the plot, with no nuance to make it feel believable in any way.[/spoiler]
Anyway, I've written too much on the subject already so I'm gonna stop here but I wanted to point out the flaws so I could say that there's really no point in arguing over what the 'worst' games are. Like I said before, it's easy to point out flaws in things, I could systematically tear every KH game apart if I wanted to, but the 'redeeming qualities' are the ones that stick with people, and those qualities are naturally different for everyone.
OMG Vanitas' character file gives me a whole new perspective on him. I'm loving it! I wish he said all that "I hate Xehanort, I hate everyone" stuff in the games somewhere! That would make me actually be way more interested in his character.
On topic, I totally agree with you. I really hope this "emptiness" thing becomes canon because I would actually love his character if it did.
These are largely the reasons I give days a pass and why I think people maybe judge it too harshly because I really do think Days has a lot of redeemable qualities about it. The humor, dialogue and individual moments are some of the best that the series has to offer, but everything outside of those bits I'm tempted to call a failure.
Because honestly, conceptually, Days was in a really really reallyyy awkward place from the very beginning.
[spoiler]-The mission system taking place over 358 days is ridiculously tedious to begin with. Letting the player know that this game takes place over roughly a year and making 75%+ of that filler missions was a terrible idea. Imagine reading a 300 page book where 70% of the pages inside did not matter and were just page long descriptions of fish or machinery (hello 10,000 leagues under the sea [that book was actually great though]). Even with some great drama/cinematic/comedic moments all of that gets lost in the tediousness of the mission system. Sign is right that it's probably better off as a movie, but you're also right that there were a lot of moments in individual missions that were lost. To me, this just means that the manga is the best way to get into this story.
-The setting. Everyone is wearing black coats and all of the high impact cinematic moments take place in the orange hue of twilight town or the chrome of the World That Never Was. It's incredibly bland in my opinion. It's probably, personally, my biggest issue with the game which some people might find funny but it's just how I feel. I don't even know how to fix it. Maybe if RAX hung out at different worlds and took off their coats in favor of some different clothes once in a while I would have been okay with it, but something about the blandness of this game just annoys the hell out of me.
-The Nobodies' inability to "feel" things. This has been flawed from the very beginning as well and it's another thing that honestly pisses me off because it doesn't make any real sense. The organization tells its members that they can't feel emotion and then they proceed to have these awkward inner/outer dialogues about how they want to 'feel' but can't, or think they can 'feel' but actually don't. None of these series of dialogues on the subject comes even close to sounding believable to me. I mean I understand the concept of what they were going for but if they truly felt nothing when they first became nobodies they'd have no reason to trust Xemnas about their "feelings" and when they did develop feelings theres no reason I can think of why they would question whether or not they actually feel anything. And it's an interesting concept don't get me wrong, but it was done on the head for the plot, with no nuance to make it feel believable in any way.[/spoiler]
Anyway, I've written too much on the subject already so I'm gonna stop here but I wanted to point out the flaws so I could say that there's really no point in arguing over what the 'worst' games are. Like I said before, it's easy to point out flaws in things, I could systematically tear every KH game apart if I wanted to, but the 'redeeming qualities' are the ones that stick with people, and those qualities are naturally different for everyone.
On topic, I totally agree with you. I really hope this "emptiness" thing becomes canon because I would actually love his character if it did.
I'll agree that the manga is the best way to experience this one over the games. I'd even throw in the novel. I'll also agree that this off topic has gone on long enough.
Back to Vanitas, Eraqus, and Xehanort...um, did I already make my motorcycle/shotgun joke with Vanitas already? It's my go to thing when bringing him up lol.
Low key I had to scroll up to see what thread I was even in. Whoops
Uh, same.
I hope there will be one of these story thingies on Vexen. That may be might last chance to get the inside scope on the Replica Program. They'll probably just focus on his atonement but I hope there is some Replica Program thing because there is so much I wanna know. Like what are the bodies even made of? Marble from C.O.?
About BbS, I honestly truly think if the game had released on the PS2 like originally intended (or pushed to the PS3), we could've had more time to spend with each character separate and together.
When you look at the early trailers of BbS, there definitely seems to be more going on between at least Terra and Ven. For example, there's a scene of Ven and Terra chilling in Hallow Bastion and Terra thanks Ven for saving him. It seemed to be a callback to Xemnas holding Roxas's shoulder, like... it was important for some reason.
You've got Terra holding unconcious Ven ready to fight Xehanort (later, the scene is clearly reused for Terra vs Eraqus)
Aqua only makes an appearance via a shadow when Ven asks her to kill him, it seems like only she was there/Ven was specifically asking her to do it.
Hell, I created entire theories that Ven was Sora long lost forgotten big brother or something because they were just chilling in Destiny Island as Sora and Riku were playing in the distance unbothered.
BbS as released did have some flaws, but I honestly do still love the story and the gameplay. It's still my favorite game of the series I think. Kingdom Hearts does need more casual events, like why not have the three of them meet in Disney Town and rekindle their friendship (that's basically what happens except they're all separated when they resolve to make up. How silly is that)
Maybe the age thing is true. Older fans more likely prefer BbS and the younger ones Days? I mean, I do appreciate Days, but well, that has its own issues for me that I still forgave in the end.
Feeling a bit out to ask, but we're not getting more translations? Just want to confirm.
Feeling a bit out to ask, but we're not getting more translations? Just want to confirm.
goldpanner hasn't touched them since. We'll check in and see what's up.
About BbS, I honestly truly think if the game had released on the PS2 like originally intended (or pushed to the PS3), we could've had more time to spend with each character separate and together.
When you look at the early trailers of BbS, there definitely seems to be more going on between at least Terra and Ven. For example, there's a scene of Ven and Terra chilling in Hallow Bastion and Terra thanks Ven for saving him. It seemed to be a callback to Xemnas holding Roxas's shoulder, like... it was important for some reason.
You've got Terra holding unconcious Ven ready to fight Xehanort (later, the scene is clearly reused for Terra vs Eraqus)
Aqua only makes an appearance via a shadow when Ven asks her to kill him, it seems like only she was there/Ven was specifically asking her to do it.
Hell, I created entire theories that Ven was Sora long lost forgotten big brother or something because they were just chilling in Destiny Island as Sora and Riku were playing in the distance unbothered.
BbS as released did have some flaws, but I honestly do still love the story and the gameplay. It's still my favorite game of the series I think. Kingdom Hearts does need more casual events, like why not have the three of them meet in Disney Town and rekindle their friendship (that's basically what happens except they're all separated when they resolve to make up. How silly is that)
Maybe the age thing is true. Older fans more likely prefer BbS and the younger ones Days? I mean, I do appreciate Days, but well, that has its own issues for me that I still forgave in the end.
It not going to lie, I hated that, the story of bbs revolved around our three heroes Terra Aqua and ventus, but still mainly terra and ven (only cause of their connection to Xehanort and Sora) the 2008 trailers is an example of what I mean and how it focused on both of them, however both of their story was shifted and was changed cause aqua took most of the portion from their story’s, she was given the longer story, Now unfortunately Terra has the smallest worlds and had met the least characters (plus his dodge pales in comparison to his friends) while Aqua had more areas to visit in the worlds compared to terra and she met the most Disney characters, now I know her being new (compared to terra and ven) is what gave her to do more stuff in the game but still I’m not fan of how unfair it was, to begin with the story of bbs was created to explain the origin of apprentice xehanort but soo far they managed to take the spotlight from terra (a character we have been theorizing about since 2008) instead the spotlight was given to this random girl we never met before (which I’m ok with but...) but at least they should have made it fair and put more effort with terra like they did with aqua.
Feeling a bit out to ask, but we're not getting more translations? Just want to confirm.
I do want to note that with COVID-19, things are gonna be a bit...sporadic...
It not going to lie, I hated that, the story of bbs revolved around our three heroes Terra Aqua and ventus, but still mainly terra and ven (only cause of their connection to Xehanort and Sora) the 2008 trailers is an example of what I mean and how it focused on both of them, however both of their story was shifted and was changed cause aqua took most of the portion from their story’s, she was given the longer story, Now unfortunately Terra has the smallest worlds and had met the least characters (plus his dodge pales in comparison to his friends) while Aqua had more areas to visit in the worlds compared to terra and she met the most Disney characters, now I know her being new (compared to terra and ven) is what gave her to do more stuff in the game but still I’m not fan of how unfair it was, to begin with the story of bbs was created to explain the origin of apprentice xehanort but soo far they managed to take the spotlight from terra (a character we have been theorizing about since 2008) instead the spotlight was given to this random girl we never met before (which I’m ok with but...) but at least they should have made it fair and put more effort with terra like they did with aqua.
Hm, I'm almost positive that not only was Aqua created at the same time as the boys, but the story was always supposed to be split between the three and the only reason why we didn't see Aqua in the super early trailers is because her model wasn't done yet. Maybe.
You see, if I recall correctly, Ven's model was just an edit of Roxas and Terra's an edit of Apprentice Xehanort. There wasn't a character similar to Aqua to edit from, she was new.
Based on KH2's secret ending and and a weird long cutscenes dedicated to her armor in KH2FM, I really do think she always had her own role and place.
The problem with BbS, imo, is that it's a PSP game with little to no room for whatever story might've existed before.
I do want to note that with COVID-19, things are gonna be a bit...sporadic...
That's perfectly fine. Just wanted to see if it was stopped altogether.
Hm, I'm almost positive that not only was Aqua created at the same time as the boys, but the story was always supposed to be split between the three and the only reason why we didn't see Aqua in the super early trailers is because her model wasn't done yet. Maybe.
You see, if I recall correctly, Ven's model was just an edit of Roxas and Terra's an edit of Apprentice Xehanort. There wasn't a character similar to Aqua to edit from, she was new.
Based on KH2's secret ending and and a weird long cutscenes dedicated to her armor in KH2FM, I really do think she always had her own role and place.
The problem with BbS, imo, is that it's a PSP game with little to no room for whatever story might've existed before.
You got a point there I won’t deny that but if you look at the trailers of 2008 the story was quite different, the main focus seemed to be about
1. who is that Roxas look alike and what is his connection to Sora?
2. and why is Xehanort an old man when in kh2 he was young?
And why does this terra guy look like Xemnas and has lingering will keyblade? The story of bbs 2008 played differently from what we have now
In 2008 trailer
1. Ventus is not shrunken in castle of dreams and actually visited the castle and meet Cinderella
2. Terra talked to maleficent when the castle was shrouded in thorns this part I guess was part of terra’s story but was given to aqua now
“I could list other stuff more but those two are enough”
terra may have had an interesting story’s cause of how he interacts with the characters (even tho he has the least interactions with the Disney characters) but I still didn’t like how he got the short end of the stick
if I remember correctly, the old interview for bbs said the original purpose of bbs was to explore the origin of the man in the armor (lingering will) and apprentice xehanort (terra and xehanort). But soo far Terra lost his spot light when final mix came and it give aqua more spotlight then she already has, I’m aware that terra was caught by xehanort and same with Ventus that’s why aqua is the only one available to use, but still wish they gave him more stuff to do since the story of bbs was mostly about him, and honestly give him a better invincible dodging skill like his friends...
But then again I commented on the fact that aqua being new is why she gets to do more stuff, I guess they somewhat? Made it (somewhat...) equal for all three since (still terra needed better dodge skill) the story of birth by sleep and kingdom hearts is split for each of the characters
birth by sleep story focused the most on
1. Terra 40% (involvement in the story)
2. Xehanort 35% (involvement in the story)
3. Ventus 30% (involvement in the story)
4. Vanitas 25 (involvement in the story)
5. Aqua 20% (involvement in the story)
6. Eraqus 15% (involvement in the story)
7. Mickey 10% (involvement in the story)
Kingdom hearts xehanort saga focused mostly on (among bbs characters only and I guess Mickey ofc)
1. Xehanort 50% (involvement in the story)
2. Terra 45% (important to the saga)
3. Ventus 40% (important in the story)
4. Aqua 35% (involvement in the story)
5. Vanitas 30% (involvement in the story)
6. Eraqus 25% (involvement in the story)
kingdom hearts xehanort saga and foretellers saga
Ventus 50% (involvement in the story)
the rest is unknown among the bbs characters, since among his trio Ventus seems to be the most important figure in terms of plot when we connect both xehanort and foretellers saga.
but yea I guess they all had it equal since each had his time to shine. thier three journey’s in bbs, Terra, (most important fate in bbs that connect to kh1) ven, (involvement in Kh franchise from the start and connection to Sora and roxas plus exploring ven’s past) aqua, (journey in bbs Final ep, secret ep and bbs sequel 0.2 which was supposed to be a full game from what I heard but was cut down unfortunately)
point taken, I agree they had it equally but wish terra had bigger role and more story to play other then just being the guy who (sets everything in motion) gets possessed and be the villain who started the story of kingdom hearts xehanort saga.
Not related to the topic but wish future games will give us more bbs trio more then the other trios, I really enjoyed their dynamic Warrior, Thief, mage,
Just like there is rumors of Dream drop distance 2 in gonna wish there is birth by sleep 2, I just want to see more of them.
Game Vanitas: I'll just disappear inside of you forever! Don't you have any love at all for your own brother?
Character File Vanitas: I hate all of you and I wanna go away forever.
It's like Two Face's coin.
Some characters have moved positions/locations, but that doesn't mean a different character took their place. Their role in the world just changed. Or, entire scenes/locations changed. It happens.
There are scenes of Ven and Terra chilling in Hallow Bastion. That location doesn't even exist as of BbS. That's because, if I recall, this game was apparently a post KH2 game in the very early stages. We can stretch it and say this scene is technically the one when Ven and Terra part ways in Radiant Garden. No screen time taken, just moved and the meaning completely changed.
Xehanort and Ventus have an encounter in Olympus Coliseum where Ven looks mesmerized by whatever Xehanort is holding. This scene technically happens near end game in the Keyblade Graveyard. No screen time taken, just a different spot and similar meaning.
With the Cinderella, clearly the whole story layout/split was going to be different. The scene we see in the earliest trailers with Ven doesn't happen for any of the characters. Terra meets Cinderella before the ball after her dress got ripped to shreds then leaves. Ven meets Cinderella before the ball and helps her make a dress and leaves. Aqua meets Cinderella after the ball in her house (and sees her running away before that). I don't think this is Aqua's fault, they just changed how the world was gonna playout. (Sadly, we didn't get to see cute sparkly Ven in awe of the castle)
The scene where Ven asks to be erased is in Destiny Island and from what we can see, only Ven and Aqua are there (Aqua via shadow, again, because I think she was unfinished and they probably didn't have a voice for her either). In BbS, this scene happens in the Keyblade Graveyard and now it's a trio moment.
Etc etc etc. I would be very interested in seeing how BbS was supposed to be, but I truly believe Aqua always had her place in the plot independent of Terra and Ven. As I mentioned, she had an entire scene dedicated to her old rusty armor in KH2 with Xemnas talking to it. Xigbar purposely tried to start up a rumor mill about said armor and room and who Xemnas could be speaking to and who is the "friend". All this mystery from KH2.... for Aqua. That automatically makes whatever role she had quite significant independent of Terra and Ven.
Do I think the team could've divided the worlds and screen time better? For sure for sure. Can't count how many essays I've written about this. My solution was to not require all the characters to visit all the same worlds. Instead, maybe each world gets visited by 2 characters. Whatever world a character isn't required to visit turns into a dungeon or something.
Let's take Cinderella for example. Maybe only Aqua and Ven visit that world, Terra can learn the "believe in your dreams" spiel somewhere else.
Maybe only Terra and Ven visit Olympus Coliseum. As fun as it was to see Aqua get asked out on a date and be confident in taking on 2 bosses solo, maybe she didn't really need to be there.
Maybe only Terra and Aqua visit Snow White's world. Ven getting all flustered about Dwarfs thinking he's a thief was uber cute, but it wasn't super necessary eh?
Might help with their timeline issues among other things. They could also spend way more time in worlds where all three are together, like Radiant Garden or even the very beginning of the game before the test.
As things are, it's not like Aqua was just added into the mix halfway through the game and so they took other character time and gave it to her. They just suck with time management.
“It is as exactly as someone who taught me” - Xehanort
Who’s the someone? MoM?
Eraqus: "Let's play some chess. We are best friends."
Xehanort: "You are right."
Both: "Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."
Okay, I believe you!
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Continuing on with our translations of the Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files, here are the short stories for Master Xehanort, Eraqus and Vanitas!
As always, credit goes to goldpanner for the translations!
Master Xehanort Story: My Dear Old Friend
This world is just too small.
Nothing but the blue sea, the blue sky, and the white sand. I wanted to get away from that world.
I left my home to travel due to guidance from the future.
And, on my journey towards him, I brushed with darkness several times. If you can control it, the darkness is nothing to fear. That's what I thought.
I'd spent some time training. I had a friend.
His name was Eraqus. A special Keyblade wielder, whose veins flowed with the blood of the very first generation of Masters, from the age of fairy tales. It had been promised to him from birth that he would one day wield a Keyblade—a completely different world from mine. I didn't want to chase after him. I wanted to be someone who could walk shoulder to shoulder with him.
We had all sorts of conversations over the game board.
Sometimes we spoke of our training itself, sometimes we talked about what we ought to strive toward.
“Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"
I moved a piece and captured one belonging to Eraqus.
“Huh? Of course I have.”
Eraqus moved a piece then, and captured one of mine.
“Long ago, Keyblade wielders waged a war over the ownership of light.”
I moved another piece. That was how this game worked—you moved the pieces, again and again.
“Yeah, the Master's favorite story.”
“I wonder what they planned on doing with Kingdom Hearts after making it appear,” I said to Eraqus. It was a question I had been mulling over.
“Who knows? I don't get why anyone would initiate a war,” he said. It is certainly difficult to understand. But wars begin because something starts them, they begin for a reason.
I had another question for him. “So…you know the ‘Lost Masters’?”
“Who?” Eraqus asked, as though he had never heard the words—or as though he was pretending as much.
“They're the ones who started the Keyblade War.”
“Never heard of 'em. Where'd you heard about that?” he replied, and then stared at the board. He seemed to be considering something.
“Or…" I continued, "they're the ones for whom the war started.” Yes, the Keyblade War was started for the sake of the Lost Masters. Suspicion rose in my heart, and I voiced it. “You can drop the facade.”
“Facade?”
“‘On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire.’ A prospective Keyblade Master should know this.”
“If you say so,” Eraqus shrugged.
“The Gazing Eye sees the fate of the World. The future——it's already been written.”
I looked at a Keyblade hanging on the wall. It was a special Keyblade: the oldest one, which had been passed down by Keyblade Masters for generations.
After that, I set out on a journey traveling the worlds alone, in order to prepare myself for the Mark of Mastery examination. I learned many things on that trip.
Decades later——we found ourselves on different paths.
“Wait, Xehanort,” he said, stopping me. We had both aged so much already.
“There is a reason the precepts bar us from such knowledge. Why do you seek the X-blade? Would you blanket all the worlds in darkness, reduce them to nothing!?”
We were already Keyblade Masters, and he was the protector of that land. Protecting it was the burden of Keyblade Masters: maintaining the balance between light and darkness and ensuring that this neutral ground would not be abused, by using methods that our predecessors had devised. As such it was he, not I, who was the Keyblade Master most suited to protect that land.
“But darkness did cover the world once, in legend," I tell Eraqus as he follows me. "We know so little about the Keyblade War——only that it was just the beginning. Amidst that crisis a precious light was found. It is a curious tale——and one worth exploring. They say ruin brings about creation. So what, then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of? I must have these answers.” I turn to Eraqus. “The X-blade needs to be forged, and with it, the door to the Keyblade War unlocked!”
That was the answer I had reached at the end of a long journey.
“Fool... You would risk an apocalypse out of sheer curiosity? I will never allow it, Xehanort. Not while I live!”
He was probably right. But there is more than one right answer out there in the world. The concept of there being only one right answer is merely a deception.
“But once again you have it all wrong, Eraqus," I continued. "Darkness is a beginning, you see, not an end. At birth, every one of us emerges from darkness into a world of light, do we not?”
“Poetic excuses!”
The light only shines because there is darkness, and darkness can only exist because there is light. I turned my back on Eraqus and began to walk away.
“If words won't dissuade you, only one thing will.”
Eraqus summoned his Keyblade, and charged at me. I turned and fired a shot at him. It ravaged his face. To be taken down so easily—I wasn't sure I could call him my friend any longer.
He shook, clutching his face. “That power... Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?”
“Not your concern."
I turned my back on Eraqus, and left that land behind me.
I stand on the sands of my home. When the sun goes down on this island, all you can hear is the roar of the waves. I set out from this world once upon a time. Now I am back again, carrying a boy. Why did I choose this place, I wonder? It's because I want to let this boy—who didn't choose for his heart to be tainted by darkness, whose heart is now broken—at least sleep in peace. Perhaps then a shred of fondness for my home still remains in my heart.
But, the boy I thought would never wake again when I returned to this island—Ventus—raises a Keyblade to the sky. Contrary to my assumption, his heart is not broken after all.
There is now no darkness in his heart. That darkness now belongs to another boy. If so, then this means I have within my grasp a boy with a heart of pure light and a boy with a heart of pure darkness. It is exactly as someone had taught me.
The light in Ventus is still sleeping. In order to awaken it, it would be best to place him near a very strong source of light. My former friend is a perfect fit.
I shall pay him a visit.
Everything I have done is for the sake of the χ-blade. And, for the sake of seeing with my own eyes what lies beyond the Keyblade War.
Master Eraqus Story: Perpetual Check
“Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"
We used to have all kinds of conversations over the game board. The game had many different pieces. It was connected to our training.
We were still young, and together we devoted ourselves to our studies. But, before I knew it, we had somehow stepped onto different paths.
Despite this, over the long months and years we crossed each other many times, our weak relationship never quite fading. He was my friend, you see. Or, at least I thought so.
How many years ago was it now, that you fired that black miasma from your Keyblade and scarred my face?
“That power... Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?"
“Not your concern," you said, as you turned your back and left. Your drive to learn more about the world led you to fall to darkness—it made you seek the χ-blade, and Kingdom Hearts.
You’d said darkness is a beginning, and that the world itself was born from it. But even if that were true, we cannot allow the world to return there.
I wonder if the measures I put in place to stop you worked, Xehanort.
I was always by your side.
Vanitas Story: Vanish into The Blue
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Empty creature from Ventus riven...
to you, the name Vanitas shall be given.
Who am I to you? What do you think I am? You can only exist as light because I am our darkness. Right? I am both you and not you at the same time. I bet you never even imagined you had darkness inside you, huh? But darkness is in everything. Look, it's there right by your feet, isn't it? Your shadow. The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it casts. And that shadow will pull the rug right out from under your feet.
As soon as I was split from you, I stood alone in the badlands. These badlands, lying so close to the Keyblade Graveyard, are marked with the faint traces of battle.
I’ve known ever since the moment we were split why I came to exist. I am a dark fragment of a heart—a vessel for negative emotions.
In the tearing winds of the badlands, I clenched my fist and closed my eyes against a painful emotion. As I did, a black shadow began to rise from behind me. I looked up at it, and red eyes shone from the shadow as it formed into a monster.
I reached out to the monster, and it wound around me like a playful kitten. The monster—the Unversed—was new to existence, just like me. I swung my Keyblade down on it. The Unversed vanished without even a cry.
The Unversed—the name means "one not versed in life." Does it really? I don't care whether it means anything at all. The monsters are both me and not me at the same time. Hey, just like the two of us, right? I don't care which is the real body.
I wonder how many negative emotions there are in the world. If you think there's only rage and hatred, you're wrong. There's sadness, loneliness, anxiety, envy—they all, however, only serve to feed hatred.
Feel the hate. Feel the rage. Of course I should hate my existence. You've hated yourself too, haven't you? I hated you, Ventus. I tried to merge with you, and for a moment I faded away.
Did I really hate you? Or was that hatred really directed at myself? It doesn't matter anymore.
Now I'm back in this world, despite having faded away once before. Someone is using me again. Looks like Xehanort wasn't satisfied just bringing me into existence. I hate Xehanort, I hate Ventus, I hate all of you, I hate the entire world, and I want to fade away again.
I didn't ask for this. To be sifted apart, nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just light, not just darkness. We decide what we are, and that's exactly what I did.
I came from emptiness, and I will return to emptiness.
What is emptiness? It's neither darkness nor light—it's something in an even deeper abyss… Goodnight, Ventus.
Vanitas and Xemnas have just become best friends
Everything, the world, himself, Ventus. He was only a receptacle of what was not needed.
The only thing that remained for him was the shadow of the light that Ventus was bathed in.
One day he would be returned to nothingness. Peace. He held no aspirations beyond that.
But as long as the pain of existence remained, he would strike back at the Light.
Oh yeah, Good job Goldpanner.
It kind of makes sense. Vanitas is born from negative emotions. I'm thinking we will learn more about Vanitas though because it looks like he might be the darkness from UX.
[parsehtml]
Continuing on with our translations of the Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files, here are the short stories for Master Xehanort, Eraqus and Vanitas!
As always, credit goes to goldpanner for the translations!
Master Xehanort Story: My Dear Old Friend
This world is just too small.
Nothing but the blue sea, the blue sky, and the white sand. I wanted to get away from that world.
I left my home to travel due to guidance from the future.
And, on my journey towards him, I brushed with darkness several times. If you can control it, the darkness is nothing to fear. That's what I thought.
I'd spent some time training. I had a friend.
His name was Eraqus. A special Keyblade wielder, whose veins flowed with the blood of the very first generation of Masters, from the age of fairy tales. It had been promised to him from birth that he would one day wield a Keyblade—a completely different world from mine. I didn't want to chase after him. I wanted to be someone who could walk shoulder to shoulder with him.
We had all sorts of conversations over the game board.
Sometimes we spoke of our training itself, sometimes we talked about what we ought to strive toward.
“Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"
I moved a piece and captured one belonging to Eraqus.
“Huh? Of course I have.”
Eraqus moved a piece then, and captured one of mine.
“Long ago, Keyblade wielders waged a war over the ownership of light.”
I moved another piece. That was how this game worked—you moved the pieces, again and again.
“Yeah, the Master's favorite story.”
“I wonder what they planned on doing with Kingdom Hearts after making it appear,” I said to Eraqus. It was a question I had been mulling over.
“Who knows? I don't get why anyone would initiate a war,” he said. It is certainly difficult to understand. But wars begin because something starts them, they begin for a reason.
I had another question for him. “So…you know the ‘Lost Masters’?”
“Who?” Eraqus asked, as though he had never heard the words—or as though he was pretending as much.
“They're the ones who started the Keyblade War.”
“Never heard of 'em. Where'd you heard about that?” he replied, and then stared at the board. He seemed to be considering something.
“Or…" I continued, "they're the ones for whom the war started.” Yes, the Keyblade War was started for the sake of the Lost Masters. Suspicion rose in my heart, and I voiced it. “You can drop the facade.”
“Facade?”
“‘On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire.’ A prospective Keyblade Master should know this.”
“If you say so,” Eraqus shrugged.
“The Gazing Eye sees the fate of the World. The future——it's already been written.”
I looked at a Keyblade hanging on the wall. It was a special Keyblade: the oldest one, which had been passed down by Keyblade Masters for generations.
After that, I set out on a journey traveling the worlds alone, in order to prepare myself for the Mark of Mastery examination. I learned many things on that trip.
Decades later——we found ourselves on different paths.
“Wait, Xehanort,” he said, stopping me. We had both aged so much already.
“There is a reason the precepts bar us from such knowledge. Why do you seek the X-blade? Would you blanket all the worlds in darkness, reduce them to nothing!?”
We were already Keyblade Masters, and he was the protector of that land. Protecting it was the burden of Keyblade Masters: maintaining the balance between light and darkness and ensuring that this neutral ground would not be abused, by using methods that our predecessors had devised. As such it was he, not I, who was the Keyblade Master most suited to protect that land.
“But darkness did cover the world once, in legend," I tell Eraqus as he follows me. "We know so little about the Keyblade War——only that it was just the beginning. Amidst that crisis a precious light was found. It is a curious tale——and one worth exploring. They say ruin brings about creation. So what, then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of? I must have these answers.” I turn to Eraqus. “The X-blade needs to be forged, and with it, the door to the Keyblade War unlocked!”
That was the answer I had reached at the end of a long journey.
“Fool... You would risk an apocalypse out of sheer curiosity? I will never allow it, Xehanort. Not while I live!”
He was probably right. But there is more than one right answer out there in the world. The concept of there being only one right answer is merely a deception.
“But once again you have it all wrong, Eraqus," I continued. "Darkness is a beginning, you see, not an end. At birth, every one of us emerges from darkness into a world of light, do we not?”
“Poetic excuses!”
The light only shines because there is darkness, and darkness can only exist because there is light. I turned my back on Eraqus and began to walk away.
“If words won't dissuade you, only one thing will.”
Eraqus summoned his Keyblade, and charged at me. I turned and fired a shot at him. It ravaged his face. To be taken down so easily—I wasn't sure I could call him my friend any longer.
He shook, clutching his face. “That power... Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?”
“Not your concern."
I turned my back on Eraqus, and left that land behind me.
I stand on the sands of my home. When the sun goes down on this island, all you can hear is the roar of the waves. I set out from this world once upon a time. Now I am back again, carrying a boy. Why did I choose this place, I wonder? It's because I want to let this boy—who didn't choose for his heart to be tainted by darkness, whose heart is now broken—at least sleep in peace. Perhaps then a shred of fondness for my home still remains in my heart.
But, the boy I thought would never wake again when I returned to this island—Ventus—raises a Keyblade to the sky. Contrary to my assumption, his heart is not broken after all.
There is now no darkness in his heart. That darkness now belongs to another boy. If so, then this means I have within my grasp a boy with a heart of pure light and a boy with a heart of pure darkness. It is exactly as someone had taught me.
The light in Ventus is still sleeping. In order to awaken it, it would be best to place him near a very strong source of light. My former friend is a perfect fit.
I shall pay him a visit.
Everything I have done is for the sake of the χ-blade. And, for the sake of seeing with my own eyes what lies beyond the Keyblade War.
Master Eraqus Story: Perpetual Check
“Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"
We used to have all kinds of conversations over the game board. The game had many different pieces. It was connected to our training.
We were still young, and together we devoted ourselves to our studies. But, before I knew it, we had somehow stepped onto different paths.
Despite this, over the long months and years we crossed each other many times, our weak relationship never quite fading. He was my friend, you see. Or, at least I thought so.
How many years ago was it now, that you fired that black miasma from your Keyblade and scarred my face?
“That power... Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?"
“Not your concern," you said, as you turned your back and left. Your drive to learn more about the world led you to fall to darkness—it made you seek the χ-blade, and Kingdom Hearts.
You’d said darkness is a beginning, and that the world itself was born from it. But even if that were true, we cannot allow the world to return there.
I wonder if the measures I put in place to stop you worked, Xehanort.
I was always by your side.
Vanitas Story: Vanish into The Blue
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Empty creature from Ventus riven...
to you, the name Vanitas shall be given.
Who am I to you? What do you think I am? You can only exist as light because I am our darkness. Right? I am both you and not you at the same time. I bet you never even imagined you had darkness inside you, huh? But darkness is in everything. Look, it's there right by your feet, isn't it? Your shadow. The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it casts. And that shadow will pull the rug right out from under your feet.
As soon as I was split from you, I stood alone in the badlands. These badlands, lying so close to the Keyblade Graveyard, are marked with the faint traces of battle.
I’ve known ever since the moment we were split why I came to exist. I am a dark fragment of a heart—a vessel for negative emotions.
In the tearing winds of the badlands, I clenched my fist and closed my eyes against a painful emotion. As I did, a black shadow began to rise from behind me. I looked up at it, and red eyes shone from the shadow as it formed into a monster.
I reached out to the monster, and it wound around me like a playful kitten. The monster—the Unversed—was new to existence, just like me. I swung my Keyblade down on it. The Unversed vanished without even a cry.
The Unversed—the name means "one not versed in life." Does it really? I don't care whether it means anything at all. The monsters are both me and not me at the same time. Hey, just like the two of us, right? I don't care which is the real body.
I wonder how many negative emotions there are in the world. If you think there's only rage and hatred, you're wrong. There's sadness, loneliness, anxiety, envy—they all, however, only serve to feed hatred.
Feel the hate. Feel the rage. Of course I should hate my existence. You've hated yourself too, haven't you? I hated you, Ventus. I tried to merge with you, and for a moment I faded away.
Did I really hate you? Or was that hatred really directed at myself? It doesn't matter anymore.
Now I'm back in this world, despite having faded away once before. Someone is using me again. Looks like Xehanort wasn't satisfied just bringing me into existence. I hate Xehanort, I hate Ventus, I hate all of you, I hate the entire world, and I want to fade away again.
I didn't ask for this. To be sifted apart, nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just light, not just darkness. We decide what we are, and that's exactly what I did.
I came from emptiness, and I will return to emptiness.
What is emptiness? It's neither darkness nor light—it's something in an even deeper abyss… Goodnight, Ventus.
The thing about Eraqus playing a part, I don't think he did. Eraqus just had to prove that light, or those who defend the light would win the in the end. He didn't have to play a direct part or do the winning himself. And he got to see that because he was by Xehanort's side the whole time, inside Terra's heart.
rokudamia2
February 26, 2020 @ 06:37 pmOffline