Kingdom Hearts III: Closure (?)

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

I'm opening this piece with a quote by Solid Snake, but the main focus is Kingdom Hearts III. After what felt like ages, Square Enix finally released Kingdom Hearts III two months ago. Have I been playing Kingdom Hearts III for two months? Of course not. The game doesn't take that long to beat, nor more than 50 hours to 100%. I played KH III for slightly more than a week, finding all the collectibles, reaching level 100, earning high scores on all the stupid mini-games, and earning the platinum trophy. The game was enjoyable, and after I finished it, I gained a qualified sense of closure. However, as has always been the case with Kingdom Hearts, there remains conspicuous plot holes and unexplained story elements that, honestly, I no longer care about in regards to whether they are ever fully explained.

I have been incredibly patient with the Kingdom Hearts series. I've played every entry save for the mobile games, and I have carefully followed the overarching storyline since the first game released in 2002. Originally I wanted to first write a detailed summary and analysis of the plots and major characters of Kingdom Hearts games prior to III, but I quickly found the task too boring. There are already enough video summaries made by people who think they understand games' plots. I will still write analyses of Riku and Roxas in the future, though, since they are my favorite Kingdom Hearts characters.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Kingdom Hearts III's Plot

Most of the characters in the game have little to no idea what's going on. Kingdom Hearts III takes on the daunting task of trying to tie up all loose ends from the previous games (while bringing back characters from Birth By Sleep and 358/2 Days), all while adding more loose ends. For the most part, the plot is like a poorly designed quilt with too many layers, a grotesque amalgamation of aliases and Anime/RPG tropes. Figuring out the convoluted plot of Kingdom Hearts is worse than trying to understand a Cubist painting or Modernist poem. Of course, I was referring to the game's plot, not its aesthetics, which are beautiful. The inclusion of worlds such as Toy Story, Tangled, Monsters Inc., Frozen, and Big Hero 6 is welcome and perfectly suited to the tone and atmosphere of the Kingdom Hearts games. Too bad all the Final Fantasy characters were left out this time around. Why was that the case, I wonder?

The story's pacing feels sluggish, even though the campaign is fairly short compared to Kingdom Hearts I and II. The worlds are gorgeous, and the button-mashing gameplay the series is well-known for has been refined; it is still as fun, albeit repetitive, as ever. Yet, while I was playing through the game, I couldn't help but notice the lack of story progression. Only when the scenes switched over to Riku and Mickey was my interest piqued (but I've always really liked their story arcs since Chain of Memories), and I wished there was more Riku gameplay. The last stretch of the game is flooded with important plot events and fan-service moments, such as the rescue of Aqua, Ventus, and Terra, and the reunion of Roxas, Axel, and Xion. I have to admit, seeing Roxas come back and share that scene with Axel and Xion caused torrents to pour from my eyes, for I was heavily invested in their tragic story since 358/2 Days. It was nice to see everyone come back, even if the logic behind everything that happens is highly questionable.

Sora serendipitously gains the "power of awakening" at the most convenient time. Then he disappears and we are left to ponder his fate. To me, that's okay. I don't really care that much anymore. I appreciate Haley Joel Osment's impressive voice-work for Sora (and Vanitas) moreso than the static, banal character of Sora himself. I'm just happy that Roxas is back.

Kingdom Hearts' plot has always been gratuitously convoluted. The first game in itself had, in my opinion, perfect pacing and a plot that was simple (and clean) enough to follow without killing people's brain cells. The only reason I have been able to maintain a fairly coherent understanding of the overall story is because of how closely I paid attention to all the characters and events throughout each of the games. But this is also why I can confidently say that the story is not meant to make sense, unless one abandons logic and sanity, or simply accepts things as they are. Or, like the characters, we can just lose our memories and forget about everything.

I'm aware that most people may lack the mental patience or stamina to gain even a rudimentary comprehension of Kingdom Hearts' story. There is the main character Sora, whose Nobody is Roxas, who looks like Ventus because Ventus' heart took refuge in Soras', and then Xion who was a clone created using Sora's memories...

Then there is the antagonist Xehanort, who possessed Terra's body, then lost his memory, then stole the name Ansem from the original Ansem the wise, then became separated into the Nobody Xenmas and the heartless Ansem, who went back in time to bring the young Xehanort to the present to enter the dreams of Sora and Riku...

A convoluted story filled with alternate selves and identities, then with dreams and time travel added in for good measure... Why did the creators do that? Did Tetsuya Nomura have a weird fascination with Star Wars and Inception and wanted to make sure elements from those movies made it into the game's plot? Is he even capable of explaining Kingdom Hearts' story in a way that doesn't drive people crazy?

So, at the end of Kingdom Hearts III's plot, here are some things that we know or don't know:

- Xigbar is Luxu, and how many people know or care who Luxu is?
- There's an unnamed girl that Axel (Lea) and Saix (Isa) were friends with, who apparently is linked to the shady research carried out by Xehanort and Ansem's disciples.
- Sora faded away; what this really means is still unknown.
- The secret movie takes place in the world of the mini game Verum Rex, which appeared in the Toy Story world; this could be a trolling video or a link to the next game.

And I'm bored now. Other people can formulate silly theories about a plot that is clearly and inherently nonsensical. I'm just glad that Kingdom Hearts is finally over, and I can move on. Maybe.

I do wonder who that girl is, and whether the real plan of the Master of Masters (who appears in the secret movie) will ever be fully revealed. Maybe we'll wait and see, but I have other things to do.