Oh! That latter part of the trailer was unexpected.

So many feeling right now...

Kairi seems so SO interesting right now. I hope this doesn't mean the Kairi storyline will be cut scenes in the rhythm game...

Wait, so....rhythm game or Kairi plot game? Super mixed messages for me lol

Was expecting nothing, actually kind of excited.

A legit KH rhythm game is so weird and bonkers to me but also... the Kairi stuff and... yeah, I want.

I‘m guessing Kairi‘s game will be short enough to warrant another game bundled with it (the rhythm game). Some kind of thing like 2.8 in which 0.2 was fairly short

I'm guessing the Kairi stuff is the prologue to the actual DDD Volume 2. That game will start were Melody of Memory ends

Super interested in the last section of that trailer. I dislike rhythm games so I’m hoping the Kairi section is teaser for a separate DDD2 game. Can’t wait for a translation to get more context though.

I am very worried by what I saw in the end. I can't believe they're once again making a game that is completely different to the rest essential to the story.

I mean, it even looks like we will find who MoM is in this game. IN THE RHYTHM GAME!

Like come on, sometimes it's fine to just make a spinoff.

Theathrym KH with a typical Nomura-twist I suppose?

Well, it seems to address the Fall of Radiant Garden nine years prior to KH I. Hopefully Nomura won't axe the FF cameos yet again...

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

IT'S APPRENTICE XEHANORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm dying! He's back! AHHHHHHHHHH

---

Okay, I'm recomposed, JHAHJAHJAHJAHJAHJAHJAHJAHJHJAJHAHJHJAHJ

Unless, of course, Kairi's game is gonna be its own separate thing and they still haven't decided a name for it

Does it mean something that pixar appears on the trademark?

Looks cute! I love how they’ve mixed the rhythm with “combat.” It really does seem like the KH take on Theatrhythm. I love it.

I wonder what that Kairi stuff at the end was? Maybe the setup for the game is Kairi going through Sora’s memories.

Things in the rhythm game:

- Possibly online playability (Sora vs. Sora)
- Possibly Co-op (Sora and Riku)

I'm positive Kairi's grandmother will appear in flashback. If she is actually Ava now would be a good time to confirm it

Also this should go without saying at this point but, ahem

ASK. HAYDEN.

If she says no, she says no. But there's really no excuse for not contacting her.

A rhythm KH game, looks nice and all...
See the ending of the trailer

NOMURAAAAAAAA
I jsut hope this game doesn't come at the pricing of 60 USD.

My body is not ready...
Also Melody of Memory, Master of Masters... MoM.

Nomura you sly dog.

Also who was that man on the dark cloak. I doubt it's MoM so I'm guessing he is Darkness

Anyone noticed this? KH 3, Dark Road and Melody of Memory next to 2 blank spots.

The Kairi Scene is also on the official MoM web page. Hope we get translations to that soon!

I crave a Nomura's interview so much right now...

Even the rhythm section looked fun to me! I am excited for this game, even though we might not even play as Kairi

Is the kairi game it's own thing? this is confusing

Lol and people thought it wouldn't be a rhythm game. The kairi stuff is probably gonna be an unlockable movie or mode for some KH3 songs.

I guess the new scenes are unlocked throughout or after the game. Perhaps they lead into a more traditional title, then maybe KH4 after that?

Game looks fun, especially with multiplayer features.

Holy..... I have to be honest, this is the first time ever where I don't know what to think. On the one hand, I am hyped as hell for the last part of the trailer. At the same time, I never cared much for rhythm games, so I don't know how I feel. Still looks cool though. This might be the first music rhythm game I try lol.

Be real crappy though if we get a Kairi game without playable Kairi.

In the case the Kairi part is playable, can the Switch support the level of graphics and details of KH3 and remind? It seems to be done with the Sam engine and assets

In case the Kairi part is not playable... She was really fun in remind, why they keep neglecting her.

Introducing Melody Sora. A brand new Sora able to go through memories via the right melody of music.

Anyway the trailer certainly has me hyped. Kairi spotlight at last. Quite a change from her 2019 run. And I really love that they brought back apprentice Xehanort and Ansem, Even, and Ienzo are still around. Glad the extended KH universe cast isn't just being dropped.

It's for the PS4 so I can play it. I guess I better learn how to play a rhythm game lol.

I...I don't get it.

Why put Kairi's story in the same game as a Lala Happy Fun Time KH1 Sora Rhythm Game?

Why do a rhythm game at all??

Don't they know the big divide regarding any gameplay that isn't even remotely KH2-style?

Is it actually a fake-out and the rhythm part doesn't exist or is just an extra mode?

Eh???

Well, time to go brush up and better what little rhythm game skills I have. *i can play Dancing Stage I guess*

Game looks pretty fun and Kairi’s stuff is no doubt going to be interesting.

All I saw is Nintendo Switch.

Well there's the Switch KH title. A music rhythm game which is a genre I can't play for shit. Thanks Square, that's entirely what I was asking for. -_-

Guys, this is literally the first time KH has confused me and I am S C A R E D.

I'm honestly not expecting the Kairi stuff to last over 22 minutes. It's to hold people over as well as get the search for Sora out of the way and nothing more.

KH first trailers normally make no sense. I mean I didn't understand DDD's first stuff.

Eh, I am in my tenth year here and in my 15th as a KH fan this is nothing out of the ordinary. Still the same effects since 2005 when completely new stuff is revealed.

Now I'm off to dinner. Later...;P

I noticed something in the gummi ship section. Some of the worlds have a scene/movie icon next to them. Maybe these are the Kairi cutscenes and the main gameplay is literally the rhythm game?

I still think the Kairi stuff is just a prologue for the next game.

Speaking of which since Kairi and Riku are shown in the Final World maybe they will speak with Not Stella

EXCUSE ME! I love this already.

One Hope. That they aren't going to go full nostalgia on us, and KH1 characters aren't the only versions of the characters we'll get in this. Also my wish for this game not to be a plot mandatory rhythm game went unanswered. At least it currently looks better than I imagined with the gameplay being still combat focused somewhat.

Story wise, Kairi is getting her backstory expanded, and whether the Black Hood is MoM or Younganort or even Apprentanort I do like that Kairi seems to be fed up with who ever this is. At least that's what my limited Japanese skills tell me. ALSO RICKY IS IN THE FINAL WORLD. Why is no one talking about that?

All I know is, if none of those next phase slots involve an actual playable Kairi...oooh please don't make me angry again KH, like you did at the end of vanilla KH3.

Now that I'm collecting my thoughts, maybe the rhythm game are alternate worldlines of Sora's adventures?

So I'm seeing translations of the official website, and it says there will be 4 different "play styles." Now whether that means they're all rhythm based, or the rhythm aspect is just 1 of 4, I don't know.

I haven’t understood anything. What is this rhythm game in last gen graphics and the last minute with Kairi in current gen graphics? Are these two different games or is it the same game? But why would they use the old assets I don’t understand it

Tbh, I won’t mind if this game is just the rhythm stuff with Kairi scenes mixed in IF the game that follows gives her a full scenario. It would give them a chance to develop Kairi’s personality and her personal stakes in the plot before giving her a full playable scenario. But if this is a one and done deal for her, I’ll be annoyed. I am excited for the Kairi/Riku scenes though!

I see Apprentice Xehanort in Unreal Engine 4 and immediately I like this game, whatever it is.

Huh. That voice sounds like Ansem. Oh, hey, it's Apprentice Xehanort! So I guess he threw Kairi into one of those pods before throwing her into space.

I wonder if the leak forced them to upload the big trailer today.

Anyway, yup, it's a Theatrhythm, Nomura style~ But are the Kairi scenes really part of it, or is it teasing another game? It feels weird having that with this happy happy Sora fun time music game. Oh, boy, the Master of Masters... Are they really gonna show what he looks like in this game? Having it happen here with Kairi tells me he will look like Sora. lol

I see the community is divided again. I've never played a rhythm game, never found the appeal for them.

I love KH. It's my favorite. I'm excited for phase 2 and the future of the series, but I'm not excited they are (seemingly?) putting important lore and story, especially for Kairi--who is in dire need of more development--into a rhythm game.

Kairi was fun to play as in KH3RM, even thought it was brief. She deserves her own action RPG-style game where she is the main protagonist and we play as her.

Despite my feelings, I'm still looking forward to the story. Phase 2 is going to be really amazing saga and I can't wait.

I don't get if the last cutscenes and the rhythm game are all one game or two games bundled together...

So they cut 3/ReMIND's actual story and so far have put the introduction into a $30 DLC, an unknown cost mobile-tier rhythm game...what next?

I'm dead serious. This series needs to get some competent writers and proper planning. I can't enjoy KH story with how ridiculously fragmented it is.

This trailer raised so many questions than answers. On one hand, Melody of Memory is the Theatrhythm style KH game for PS4, XBOX One and Nintendo Switch coming 2020, but on the other, the last scene(s) with Kairi, Apprentice Xehanort, the Fall of Radiant Garden and the Master of Masters makes me wonder if they are part Melody of Memory or just a teaser/Secret Ending for the new Kingdom Hearts game coming very soon, similar to how the Secret Ending to Re: Coded (the one with Mickey and Yen Sid) served as the prologue to Dream Drop Distance.

What if it is a compilation like 2.8 where the Kairi part is a 0.2 DLC type game?

Are Rhythm games fun? That's the only thing keeping me from being super excited. KH's gameplay experiments are hit or miss. I couldn't tolerate their COM card system and had to watch it all rather then play. I hope that isn't the case here.

Finally I can watch Xehanort doing this to Kairi in Unreal engine.

I'm so torn between wanting to gush over how the trailer literally shows things that I've been wanting for ages (and have been duly and thoroughly told that such things are useless and unnecessary) and being mad at how Kairi seems to be having the limelight in a...... Rhythm game. That uses PS2 assets. And is probably gonna be £50. And is seemingly unrelated to her scenes.

Fucking dammit. You had a chance to build up this series again from scratch, and instead of investing in a new look, and a concise way to tell your story, you go for this horrible frankenstein approach.

I'm being taken fi eediat and I'll still get it because I'm being teased with one of the few things about this series I'll still care about. Definitely not buying this first hand though that's for sure.

Sigh.

Looking at the trailer I'm disappointed Dilan and Aeleus didn't appear. Radiant Garden won't be the same without those two silently emoting their deep feelings after all they did.

Think we'll get a novel of Melody of Memories at some point?

This is a weird scene in particular. Is it depicting BBS? KH3?

Since this is coming out this year, maybe this is the game that was coming out "surprisingly soon"...

No duh it's coming out surprisingly soon. Most of it's literally using old assets.

Not that we didn't know already, but man is Xehanort one messed up guy. I guess we're about to find out how he abducted Kairi while he was an apprentice.

The rhythm sections seem like extra content to me. At the same time, this is Nomura we're talking about. He would find a way to integrate a cereal box ad into the Kingdom Hearts story. Gonna be a short game. Can't see it any other way. Kinda shameful for a Kairi game.

Makes a lot of sense too. They were going through Kairi's memories, so it seems they finally unlocked her memories.

It's a rhythm game with cutscenes, not really a tough concept. The game is the game they showed. There isn't some secret other game hidden in a full rhythm game with 140 tracks and 4 modes.

How will they tie unlocking Kairi's memories to finding Sora though? That seems like a separate case all together. Unless Sora is magically tied to Kairi's lost memories how is this going to help her search for him?

I don't get why anyone is surprised that they're pairing the Kairi game with a spinoff. Like, this is the same man that turned relevant a PC browser game, turned its mobile port into something a bit different a repurposed its plot as another season.

And like Sign said, Kairi as we know her cannot carry a standalone KH game. Not as you think you know her, but as the writers know her.

This is honestly no surprise. And if you're being a Betty Downer, good, that's okay. But I'm here excited to finally get some more of the most abandoned iteration of Xehanort: Apprentice 'not

---

*sigh*

I'm very annoyed with Kingdom Hearts right now.

It's a bit depressing how KH's 2nd phase is basically dominated by two mobile games and a rhythm game.

Personally I consider Days-KH3 to be Phase 2 & we're actually in Phase 3 now but whatever.

What's the guesstimate on a Nomura interview explaining this game? About a week?

What songs are we hoping make the cut?

You guys are doing it wrong:
KINGDOM HEARTS Phase 1:
* KH1
* CoM

KH Phase 1.5:
* KH2
* coded

KH Phase 0.5:
* BBS
* Days

KH Phase 1.7:
* DDD
* A Fragmentary Passage

KH Phase 1.9:
* KH3

Eh, what the heck. Let's throw Ansem, Seeker of Darkness into the list of possibilities for black coat here.

So is the game dedicated to kairi or is both Sora and Riku involved? Either way I’m confused I don’t know how to play these kind of games also are they on the phone?

The black coat is Kairi's grandfather, that's right her grandfather. All the limelight has been on her grandmother nobody ever asked for her grandfather. Kairi's angry because he owes her some overdue birthday presents. And he better deliver.

The black coat is Vergil.

His motivation has grown so strong he's gained the ability to enter completely different franchises.

Inside the black coat is another black coat. & then another black coat.....

nomura really is tossing out crumbs of kairi content like go fetch and i said Yes sir Thank you sir Right away sir

I think this is the Kairi's Dream Land game I was hoping for, which will be such a bummer if she's not even playable in her own game :(! I think they're reusing the KH1/2 assets so that it'll run on the Switch and that the new cutscenes with the Unity engine won't actually be playable.

I think they'll frame it like Re:coded or something, like when Kairi goes to sleep looking for Sora, she's untangling his memories/tracing of his heart across the universe/whatever and that takes the form of a rhythm game throughout the KH1 worlds apparently. And with every few worlds you complete, Kairi unlocks a memory from her own past.

LOVING the implication that they're gonna explore Kairi's past in Radiant Garden and her connection to Ansem TW and the apprentices. That's always been such a rich vein to tap that they never took advantage of and I'm delighted they're finally going for it. I've never seen a JRPG featuring plot-based amnesia that just refuses to unlock that character's past like with Kairi in KH LMAO.

Life changing field trip with Riku <3!!!!!! I'll be so so delighted if they make amends for KH3 pretending like Kairi and Riku aren't also lifelong friends.

also that level with SDG zipping around roxas' most traumatic memories collecting points to the beat had me like screaming laughing

how I think MoM game will work is that when you complete stages that have "play video" button we will get some cutscene and that's it.

I would be a lot more content if I didn't have to assume 1 Kairi-centric game was all we're ever gonna get. But I can't not assume this.

And I can't respect writers who don't respect the characters they're writing, especially the main ones. So I will continue to kvetch about perceived wrongs with what limited voice I have, and hopeful that others do the same.

Counting ReMind, there would be at least 3 new releases this year of playable KH content. Has it ever happened before?

Edit: If MoM is not delayed, which I wouldn't be surprised

With this game appearing on Switch (which I hope is testing the waters for 1.5+2.5 by squeezing out those PS2 textures one last time), Sora's potential for Smash is stronger than ever (even if this game doesn't necessarily correlate with Smash).

theatrhythm kingdom hearts lets gooooo

Throwing it out there but earlier it was said Kairi wasn't experimented on, but that's not necessarily true. Read Xehanort's experiment lists he was planning. One of them is him going to test and see if you can create darkness in a pure heart of light. Unless Xehanort had some OTHER pure heart of light at his disposal I think it's pretty safe to say he probably used Kairi in that experiment.

Anyway what a confusing mish mash...why would Kairi even have those Sora memories inside her? Like you want to stretch KH1, CoM, and Days I can see it...but KH2 and BBS really?

"Testing the waters" for ports of old ass games sounds so ridiculous. The FF ports from over a year ago should be all the testing Square needs. Or the KH games of past Nintendo handhelds. The sad part is this has been standard 3rd party on Nintendo operating procedure for a very long time.

Right now my expectations is the Kairi story & music gameplay will eventually intersect. At minimum, it'll just be for the final boss of the game. We see with the Xemnas clip how boss fights work in MoM & it's a safe guess that there must be some sort of big finale to close out the game. This could very be in the form of Kairi fighting Black Coat in the music-boss style.

*trailer starts*

Ok this looks like some wierd side game that I maybe don't need to get into.

*actual new plot reveals happen and are implied to be apart of the game*

sigh, ok Nomura you got 60 of my dollars once again.

Well I guess we are officially in the next saga. Didnt think it would start just a few months after Re:MIND but whatever.

I never like KH2!Atlantica more than KH1's, but it was fun and always made sense to me given Disney's Broadway-style background. And then we got more of it in BBS with Disney Town, hints of it in the summons / D-links / Dreameaters.

Of course, it made sense to utilize a series of gorgeous soundtracks like Final Fantasy did with Theatrhythm (which I still occasionally play on my 3DS). And I appreciate the nod to it with those sprites in the opening of the trailer.

As far as fluff goes, I'm fully behind something like this coming to console. It's pressing all the right nostalgia buttons with the graphics too. Ugh, looks precious.

I think those boxes in the second row of the phase 2 lineup are all Black Boxes.

It wouldn't surprise me if the hooded black coat character at the end of trailer turned out to be ansem, seeker of darkness or terra-xehanort and if the game probably be same as kh ddd. But its just a guess at the moment.

I'm very excited to pay 60 for a 2020 game that uses PS2 models.

I theorise that Kairi is accessing data/memories/dreams of Sora's adventures and uses that information to track Sora.

It's really a relief not investing in KH any longer and just overseeing how things go within distance. In this case, I don't know whether to chuckle or not.

I think this is it - the "Kairi" game. I doubt there's going to be much more than that, especially if there are two other slots waiting. It looks like we might get mini-side games like this exploring each group that was mentioned in the Limit Cut. That, or maybe it's not just a Kairi centric game, and those groups are going to be covered here. Didn't the description say it'll have "3 new stories"?

It's just pretty "eh". It looks like the game will have three episodes. That's speculation on my end though. Good to see that big hole of Kairi's past being put to rest however, that was such a weird thing to implant in KHI and not do anything with for years. It makes it feel like they're cleaning up the Xehanort saga.

Also. RIKAI.

Nomura remembered these guys were supposed to know each other, funny that.

Have fun with this one guys, lol.

Eh, I'll just do what I did last game. Look at some trailers, keep away from discussion, because it gets... ... ... And start looking at the discussion again once I've formed my own opinions. Also for those talking about the assets, I'll pay for the reuse, as long as the game it is used in is good. For me that isn't a major problem, after all there are still 60 dollar ports for one years old game I'd rather be mad about.

I don't want to let everyone's hopes down about the Black Coat, but in Re:coded they hyped up the Black Coat in that for trailers as well, and that just turned out to be Data Riku. Anything is possible here.

The Kairi bit seems like more DLC as oppose to its own game, but we shall see!

Yeah but this figure is really big and the coat is the same design as the MoM's...and come on no way Nomura is passing up revealing MoM's face in "KH:MoM".

This actually I think further cements this is building up to the Verum Rex stuff, in the secret ending we saw Riku, Sora, and the MoM all there. It's probably that Kairi and Riku meet MoM in MoM and then he goes with them or directs them to Verum Rex which is how he gets there/involved with what is going on.

IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING

This is unironically more exciting for me than Kingdom Hearts III's announcement.
I have wanted this game for YEARS.

Wow seems like this game is already hated and it just have been announced. And I felt I was being negative for wanting more Kairi.

I don't mind the reuse of the ps2 assets because it means it can be multiplatform, it can be launched quickly and that we can go back to iconic worlds and scenes of the games. It is not like this game was promised, so I'll take it as at the very least it seems fun.

In a couple of years, let's see for how many people this game becomes their favorite.

You'd think they would've used the Unreal models for the melody game.

You know, I was pretty certain this was gonna be a rhythm game when the logo was leaked yesterday..but to see it be a reality just makes me feel resigned to the madness. Nomura's insanity knows no bounds, and I will gladly open my wallet as the insane fan that I am. Let's go Nomura, hit me with your worst shot, I am ready.

Right, cos Quantity over Quality right? Man, I'm tired of this all xD

People before: "Why did they use this new art style for KH3, it looked better before" and "god I hate the Theatrhythm chibis, the normal style is better"

People now: "Why didn't they use the KH3 style ugh" and "BRING BACK THE CHIBIS"

The KH fanbase will never truly be happy, we are all doom to walk in the darkness as was predicted. All is right with the world.

Setting aside whether or not this will do justice for Kairi or not for a moment, a game like this is pretty good considering we just got Re:Mind a few months ago and we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. It’d be different if this was the next game and it wasn’t coming out until late 2021/2022, but this is just around the corner and it’s the 3rd KH project releasing in less than a year. I hope people can just enjoy it for what it is while we wait for the next major installment.

As far as the graphics go, I’m glad they’re sticking with the OG art style as a callback to the games the music comes from. I’d rather that than them devote the time and resources to recreating all those assets just for this instead of working on the next standard KH game.

When I read people talking about a rhythm game I hated the idea but when I finally watched the trailer with sound I am actually looking forward to playing it. If it isn't too hard I think it could be quite fun and relaxing. Also it offers a glimmer of hope that I can finally get my partner to play a Kingdom Hearts game lol.

There will always be games that have nostalgic art direction, whether it's sprites, low-polygon models, etc. I can appreciate that. That being said, these look rather polished. I'm not sure what assets they utilized. Re:coded's cinematics? Which I still haven't seen.

This is just one of those moments where I'm allowing myself to enjoy a KH rhythm game for what it is, and not some contrived, canonical Kairi epic.

Oh good god, Nomura once again proves why he's the world's number one troll with the last part of the trailer. WHEN WILL SOMEONE PUT AN END TO HIS MADNESS!!!!! .....and by that, I mean he should keep up the trolling xD

I am happy to see it on switch. Looks like the compilation is just a matter of time now. But where on earth is PC?

definitely getting the switch version. I'm stupidly excited for this ?‍♂️

This part is satisfying

quick Kairi Returns: Kingdom Hearts 3.1 trailer translation, some stuff is probs wrong but L O L

As for the hooded figure, I think Apprentice Xehanort makes the most sense with Kairi’s dialogue in the scene. It could be satisfying to see her duel him since he was the version of Xehanort that impacted her the most. (Assuming that she is talking to that hooded figure and it isn’t misleading editing.)

This is one I'll proly skip (because I'm TERRIBLE at rhythm games) but it does look interesting and hopefully I can check the cs's out on youtube ^^.

I loved the Avengers/Marvel style intro. I guess the KH universe has been assembled lol.

Honestly I screamed when they announced the soundtrack. That is what I've been looking forward to the most.

I feel like Melody of Memory will be a Kairi playable (in KH3 graphics) game and the melody parts are mini-games. They did say that it had 4 modes. I'm just hoping that Kairi's solo focused game isn't some rhythm game... where you are mostly Sora.

I'll just play it at the lowest difficulty so i can get the story bits tbh. i might even enjoy the gameplay, never tried playing this type of games, so pretty excited to try it out.

The Phase 2 idea just boggles me for some reason. Post KH2 really feels more the second phase of this franchise. I’d consider this like 3rd or 4th phase.

English Translation:

While it may be anti-climatic, I think the coated figure might be apprentice Xehanort. Given that his abduction of Kairi seems key to this story and put everyone on a collision course to be targeted years later on Destiny Islands by his heartless, I can't think of anyone else she would hate more.

She says the figure is either a memory or a phantom, so she seems pretty sure it's no one still alive. While some might think it would be too obvious, they did something similar with Vexen in the "Final Battle" trailer for KH3.

Perhaps Xehanort tampered with Kairi's memory to make her forget everything from her life on Radiant Garden as part of a final plan: maybe he didn't want her to ever realize her true power, which memory can have an effect over. The stars she sees in the final world may be representative of her friends and family from Radiant Garden, all gone because of what Xehanort did.

She might have more reason than anyone to hate this particular form of Xehanort, even more so than Ansem the Wise.

So

Well, I'm happy about the rhythm game and very disappointed about Kairi having a solo game. Ugh. I was hoping them forcing playable Kairi on us would be in a game with multiple scenarios to give me some incentive to play it. I don't want to waste money on a game following the worst "character" in this series.

Seeing the Kairi scenes in Radiant Garden and Final World, it feels like it could be the opening and ending respectively. Maybe the flashbacks will come mid game. As Riku is in there, that should be happening after Limit Cut and possibly means the prologue to the next entry.

I think the PS2 era assets were used primarily because of the time for development, and partly because if they used scenes from early games (like the Days scene in the trailer, the zebra Xemnas fight, presumably Sora's sacrifice in KH1) but used KH3 Sora it would clash bad. It was a choice between having KH3 Sora with PS2 scenes in the background, sync the two up like they ended up doing, or remaking all those old scenes in Unreal, possibly taking way more time than they should on a rhythm game.

If you think about it though, this game will be pleasing large parts of the fanbase all at once. Let's make a checklist.

- Theatrhythm Kingdom Hearts - check.
- Kairi game giving her motivations besides just Sora (the scenes seem to imply that, while she is indeed trying to find Sora, she also feels guilty about being weak and that will be her new character arc) - check.
- More Apprentice Xehanort - check
- Not taking a decade to advance the plot - check

We all knew that they had several development teams set aside for Kingdom Hearts. That means Kingdom Hearts as a brand will be branching out to other game genres (like in this case, a rhythm game) and giving side games to fill in plot threads like side games used to, while the main team goes ahead and starts making KH4.

Oh, so this is the Kairi game. Haha, cool, cool. Promised and delivered.

Color me surprised that the first two titles immediately announced to follow KH3 are both batting cleanup for the Xehanort Saga. And here I was under the impression (after having it repeatedly drilled into me) that the game's sole objective was to bring closure to that narrative strain and the cliffhanger was acceptable because it ended the Xehanort story and moved the franchise on towards something new.

And yet somehow this strikes me as like the inverse of the post-KH2 Days/BBS/Coded announcement. Whereas that showcased the capacity for the franchise to expand itself conceptually, post-KH3 it's all been about taking advantage of the generosity of patience which exists/has been conditioned into the fandom. Surely folks will be just riveted at the opportunity to play through a segmented rehash of all of the previous games, again. Surely if they're given an IV drip of new canon that is really old canon but repackaged to look like new canon, it'll get eaten right up.

Yum stale franchise breadcrumbs. While we're at it, Days remake, please and thank you. I'll even accept it in rhythm game format if Xion is playable.

I love me some rhythm gaming - mixing it wth KH is only a great thing in my mind. And to think that Nomura is continuing his decades-long run as a total madman and squeezing plot relevant details into this is wonderful, at least to me. I can't imagine ever getting off Nomura's wild ride.

Is it disappointing that in "Kairi's game" we're likely not playing as her? Sure. But I have hope that she'll show up as playable on future ARPG titles now that she has in Re:Mind, and anyway, we're finally getting more Kairi focus regardless - definitely a net positive imo.

[SPOILER]That it's on the Switch is fanning the flames of my forever-hope that we'll get Sora in Smash.[/SPOILER]

Can't wait for kingdom karts with sora driving through realm of darkness being cannon

Also, I think this further confirms just how much Nomura loves Xehanort as a character. With Dark Road and now MoM, the series is still largely revolving around Xehanort even though he's finally gone. I'm all for that as long as it doesn't lead into some contrived way of bringing him back yet again.

Richard Epcar made a slight joke in an interview last year that he might be back because they keep doing prequel and spinoff games and he was right. I would imagine he would be back to voice apprentice Xehanort again.

Kingdom Hearts is just such a monkey paw franchise.

I get a rhythm game which I've always would have loved but it's tied to the plot in such a weird way.

I get a Kairi centric game.... But she's likely not even playable in it, or voiced by Hayden Panettiere which is kinda extremely sad.

I get KH3 and it's... Well, it's a game.

I get a Xehanort prologue game! And new characters who look so good! And it's on a mobile!!

It's the epitome of you can't have your cake and eat it. We never get to eat xD

You know what, I don't hate this. Just hand me a release date, Square Enix, and I'll pre-order on PS4.

Does anyone know how Melody of Memory will play? It will be so weird to see something constantly swap between PS2 and PS4 graphics in one title.

Will the rhythm games be mini-games and there's actual Kairi gameplay (non-rhythm) that they haven't shown yet? It will be SO disappointing that Kairi's game is a rhythm game and you barely even play as her (dare I say it's sexist). I'd have rather revisited the same worlds in KH3 with Kairi and get new cutscenes.

Its really sad that the Kairi game a lot of fans have been clamoring for STILL found a way to put her on the back burner by somehow making KH1 Sora playable for the 50th time. I really hope we can unlock other characters..

Thats good to know, considering KH1 Sora's combos while in movement makes him look like he's got butter attached to his feet. I would love to see what animations KH1 Kairi and KH2 Kairi could potentially have, that is if she is even playable in her own game, but knowing Square I'm not getting my hopes up.

Hmmmm.. so my logical deduction here is that Melody of Memory refers to Kairi’s memories and an attempt to resurface the ones she lost from her childhood in Radiant Garden. The flashbacks seem to be evidence towards this at least.

Based off this I get the feeling that the actual gameplay is going to be explained very similarly to coded or the limit cut episode where we are “playing” as Kairi who is playing as these characters in some datascape or memory chamber or what have you to recover these memories by attuning her heart or some mumbo jumbo like that.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out from a story aspect, and I must say I get why this is happening. Kairi has no reason to be traversing Disney worlds, and KH has to incorporate them some way so this is how that’s being tackled. I wish actual playable Kairi in a typical KH game was happening, but for all we know it still can in the near future. Also if they’re really going to show us MoM face then I am HYPED for this game! :D

Honestly I just feel lucky to be living in an era post KH3 where new releases do not need a decade to arrive :’)

Regarding how the story will appear, worlds are marked with cutscene symbols on the world map similar to quests in UX.[ATTACH type="full"]12719[/ATTACH]

My nightmares of playing an action rhythm version of "Swim this Way" are becoming reality.

I'll laugh if the rhythm game premise turns out to be an MGS2 style fakeout.

If not...whatever.

Also, anyone notice something familiar about how the gameplay looks? Feels like I've seen it on a website before, complete with Sora running on what I guess is a music sheet.

I’m not sure about the whole rhythm bit, I’m not exactly into those types of games haha! But the Kairi DLC (or new game) I’m wondering who is she referring to that stopped her from her fate, was it Terranort?

Am I the only one that thinks Kairi should have been a playable character for this game? This is the first game that will focus on her backstory, this is the first game where she might play a bigger role, this is the first game where she might be more than just a price for Sora, so why isn't she the star?

They probably have an explanation for this why Sora together with Donald and Goofy are once again the playable main trio, but I really think that this would have been the opportunity to give her a big push as a character. I can't believe that such a key character like her, that has an interesting concept and background, is so underused in the KH series.

On a side note, since Kairi is apparently talking about "Fate" in her spoken scene one thing that's bothering me for quite a while as a native German speaker is the whole Fate/Destiny issue.
What's the difference between the two? Do they mean essentially the same? Especially in fictional works those two tend to be very often used interchangeably and in German they are translated mainly into the same word. If so, why have two distinct words for the same thing?

That translation is exactly what I needed to hear. I said back during KH3 that Kairi being captured and fridged which then results in Sora vanishing to save her sucked but it didn't necessarily have to be bad. That it could in fact be exactly what Kairi needs because Kairi has always been without a true character arc. And after fighting to get strong then promising to protect Sora she utterly failed at that...it's hard to believe that wouldn't have affected her mentally. There was a potential for an extremely interesting arc for Kairi where she has to confront that failure and not just that failure in isolation, but everything that led up to that. The constant being left behind, deprived of experiences, stolen away and used repeatedly by Xehanort and his cronies. And I'm very glad to see that Nomura feels the same way and that is the direction her arc is heading. Where she has to confront both her failure and the man who ruined her destiny.

There are some interesting things from the other lines as well, a world without light or darkness what is that? Also "his final plan" probably refers to Xehanort but what is Xehanort's final plan? Is it possible Xehanort planned to use Kairi as a way to return incase he perished? Maybe not Xehanort specificial but a splinter of him not unlike how Ansem perished but set things up so a shadow of him persisted long after death through Riku. Bonus points if it's a shadow of sorts of specifically Apprentice Xehanort so he can get some screen time.

Not really sure how I feel about this game.

Like I'd have been happy with a rhythm game, that's not part of the canon story, even if it's not my thing I'd most likely eventually pick it up. But I feel like combining Kairi's story with this rhythm game makes me less excited than having a seperate rhythm game and Kairi focus game would have.

I loved playing as Kairi in Re:Mind and I was really hoping that the game Nomura teased at would let us get more of that. I'm also a bit annoyed by the fact that the Kairi story centric game will most likely not even let us play as Kairi, or at least not more than we got to play as Riku in Limit Cut's "Episode Riku".

I'm cool with them reusing assets. I'm curious about the gameplay. But I'm not thrilled about them putting the story line I was excited and waiting for in it and making it feel secondary.

That said the Kairi story segments in the Trailer were all hitting the right notes for me. Kairi and Riku doing stuff together, Kairi's character being expanded upon through interactions with other characters, her holding the guy behind her lot responsible & Kairi's backstory being explored and expanded upon, all these where the things of my dreams. If nothing else I might come away from this happy with the story, if not the entire game.

Part of me hopes that while the rhythm game is the main gameplay that the regular KH combat will be the mini game for this one, so we still get some cool fight with Kairi. I'd also really think it cool if you could swap out Sora for other playable MC characters.

Here are my thoughts regarding Kairi's story being in a rhythm game:
- This story likely isn't beefy enough to fill a 30+ hour RPG
- This would be another game based entirely around revisiting worlds from previous games, something the fanbase is surely sick of
- The workload for such a game is unreasonable given the aforementioned minor narrative
- If this story was combined with something else, it'd wind up just being B-plot and would result in even more whining from the fanbase because Kairi isn't getting the spotlight
I get the frustration, but I also do not see a way to deliver this story and have it be THE story of the game without angering fans in some other way.

The only thing that can bother me a bit is if this game doesn't have a Kairi own scenario, even if briefly, or a follow up with her.

People are taking it like this is some horrible direction for the KH franchise to go. It seems like a fun game and I picture having a lot of fun with the online mode. And it isn't like the rest of the series will go into that direction, we will get an action RPG eventually in 2021/22 as expected.

[IMG width="256px"]https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/029/610/cover10.jpg[/IMG]

I'm still bothered by the idea that Kairi really doesn't remember anything from her childhood at Radiant Garden, because the one scene from KH1 when it's brought up heavily implied she was lying. If they go the route that she's deliberately repressing those memories, that's fine and would give her that extra bit of agency by realizing she can't continue keeping down those horrible memories she chose to lock away and needs to face the trauma she experienced as a child head on. The decision to re-experience those memories, despite knowing what she's in for from the very start, over finding out later.

You know Kairi sure has it tough with these Xehanort's. Apprentice Xehanort took her and kicked her off to space. Terranort, a younger version of him, tried to murder her at the Keyblade Graveyard. Xemnas took Kairi and brought her to old man Xehanort. And the old coot himself actually did murder her in cold blood. Honestly Kairi has some major beef with this dude and it's kinda not even addressed. This game could be the remedy to that. The hooded figure has to be Apprentice Xehanort for Kairi's fight.

I wonder if it would be awkward for Kairi to interact directly with Terra? It could make for a interesting side story if they don't just ignore it like they did with Riku/Roxas in KH3.

I--one of the biggest Kairi fans in the world--is beyond happy about this "Kairi game", of course. Especially since we're finally dealing with Apprentice Xehanort kidnapping Kairi and throwing her out into space... as I've wanted to see that for eighteen years, and something I always thought could make a potential Kairi game great if they showed it. So I'm sooooooooooooooooooo glad it's finally here. Especially since I was going to throw hands, if we saw this kind of stuff with Subject X, but not Kairi still.

I kind of think making "Kairi's game" a rhythm game was a mistake, though. Because if Square was worried people wouldn't play a Kairi game... why not keep it with the usual gameplay and new Disney worlds that people already love, instead of risking something new? Though I'm sure they're (maybe faultily) counting on you being able to play as Sora in this, and a number of other characters, being able to "save it". But IDK. I think the rhythm game might throw people off, more than they think. Though I hope not.

And man, do I hope this game sells well... so that Square Enix might try to do even more with Kairi in the future... and give her a proper game. But this is a great start, and I'm happy. It's definitely more than we've ever gotten for her. And for the longest time, we doubted we'd even get this... or anything.

Curious do we know if only Sora and Riku are playable?

I honestly have no idea what to say about this, except for the fact nomura is terrible at pacing his stories...

So how is he going to handle a rhythm game, when the whole point of the game is to have good pacing?

Looking back at the trailer again, my fears of this being *the* Kairi game instead of DDD v2 are becoming more solid, if they find their way to Sora in this game then I'm afraid Kairi's role might be diminished going forward.

Why are we even assuming that Kairi will get a proper game? I'm just betting that Melody of Memory has a "A Fragmentary Passage" ish game with playable Kairi that will serve as a demo for DDD Vol2.

If anything maybe DDDv2 is a Destiny Trio game instead of a duo game, this is pure speculation, but it would be a good chance to give the main trio some sorely needed development. At least that's what I hope for.

One thing we can say for sure now is that devs are learning from their mistakes. No more platform exclusive games always jumping between consoles. Guess this game will be like KH3 was for XBOX. If it sells well, I can see at least "The Story So Far" landing on switch. Hope they keep doing this at least for PS/Xbox, which already have the entire series.

Speaking of cross gen, give some love to them pc gamers :v

I think it's because of his personality. He contrasts a lot with Sora and Ventus.

I wouldn't consider Roxas more mature than Ven or Sora. What he lacks in optimism and bubbliness, he makes up for in emotional angry outbursts. Of course those outbursts are justified considering his origin and backstory, but in my opinion he is just as emotional and volatile as his "brothers." He's just quieter and more introspective.

Like someone else mentioned there’s a difference between fanon and canon interpretations. For some reason Roxas became the broody emo counterpart to Ven’s cheerful persona when in reality Roxas expresses many positive emotions throughout Days and 2.
He gets excited about little things like he does in Wonderland and Neverland, and gets pouty and childish multiple times. Yet despite the range he expresses, people have Roxas locked to his KH2 intro and his suffering identity.

There's also his super edgy dual wielding boss and appearance that adds to it. But those angry teen thing is one of the things that turned me off to KH2 Roxas. I always liked him better when he was with his friends or like Absent said, in places like Neverland, Wonderland, and even Beast Castle and Agrabah. It's rarely brought up that his KH2 persona was a fake identity created by DiZ.

The Just a Pancake video for this game will be spectacular.

Anyone else feel like this "expl0ring kairi backstory" is supposed to be part of REMIND?

While KH on the Switch is something I've wanted for a long time, and I'm not really against them reusing PS2 graphics because I'm really used to the older engine. But if it's easier for the developers to stick to PS/Xbox then I would prefer they stick to a system they are comfortable with. (I still want DDDv2 on Switch though.)

At the risk of being a confusing mess due to a lack of understanding the controls, I hope the opening movie with a Face My Fears remix is playable.

That reminds me, weren't the devs a bit too excited to play with all them new Disney worlds while making the game?