Key Takeaways
- Kingdom Hearts 4 will reset the story, probably inflicting Sora to lose his reminiscences, making it extra digestible for newcomers.
- Regardless of the reset, earlier plotlines will doubtless proceed, evident in how Sora might have already forgotten key occasions.
- Vital moments involving Riku and Namine’s unfulfilled guarantees trace at potential reminiscence loss for Sora in Kingdom Hearts 4.
In a current interview with Younger Soar journal, Tetsuya Nomura revealed that Kingdom Hearts 4 will act as a narrative reset for the collection. My preliminary response to this was worry – Kingdom Hearts has an intensive plot, and, because it stands proper now, that plot has loads of unanswered questions. Will all of those free threads be left hanging, in favour of constructing the following recreation extra palatable to newcomers?
The 2022 reveal trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 reveals Strelitzia, a personality from the cell recreation Kingdom Hearts Union X, in Quadratum with Sora, so it’s clearly not going to be a very new story. There’s additionally Donald, Goofy, and Riku actively searching for Sora since he disappeared on the finish of the Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind DLC. However the brand new aesthetic, font, and gameplay mechanics all level to some type of new starting.
For these current plotlines to proceed regardless of a ‘reset’, the avenue that makes probably the most sense is for Sora to lose his reminiscences, so he can relearn the context of the earlier video games together with the participant when the fourth foremost entry comes round.
Sora isn’t any stranger to shedding his reminiscences. He spent all of Chain of Reminiscences forgetting Riku and Kairi, after which had his reminiscence of being in Fort Oblivion wiped after that. It’s attainable that one thing comparable may very well be at play in Kingdom Hearts 4, particularly with Quadratum being an odd ‘pretend actuality’ and Fort Oblivion being the same liminal area.
On high of that, Kingdom Hearts 3 and its DLC additionally allude to Sora already having misplaced some reminiscences. This boy certain does love a spot of amnesia.
Sora Could Have Already Forgotten Riku’s Sacrifice
Through the Keyblade Graveyard phase of Kingdom Hearts 3, Riku sacrifices himself by shielding Sora from the Demon Tide when everybody else has already been taken by the darkness. The second is given numerous focus; after the chaos and Sora’s determined scream, the whole lot quietens down.
Riku clenches his fist, tells Sora he believes in him (when you go by the unique Japanese line), and takes a deep breath earlier than elevating his Keyblade towards the Demon Tide and standing agency because the darkness swallows him too.
However a number of issues following this scene are odd, implying that Sora might have forgotten it occurred completely.
Sora Has No Response To Seeing Riku Once more
After Sora finds Kairi’s coronary heart and so they each return to the Keyblade Graveyard, he has no response to seeing Riku after what has simply occurred, when he’s usually fairly open about how he’s feeling, particularly about Riku.
Their reunion in KH2 is extraordinarily heartfelt, and when Riku returns after saving Sora’s coronary heart in Dream Drop Distance, Sora doesn’t conceal his pleasure at seeing him once more. This makes it all of the more unusual that Sora doesn’t acknowledge what’s occurred – certainly he’s grateful that Riku is even nonetheless alive?
Sora additionally tells Riku earlier in KH3, “Be protected. No reckless stunts.” Utilizing your self as a human defend is just about the definition of a reckless stunt… So why wouldn’t Sora acknowledge this if he remembers what occurred?
ReMind Cuts Out The Sacrifice Solely
KH3’s ReMind DLC sees Sora head again to the Keyblade Graveyard to get well Kairi’s coronary heart, with the cutscene from the primary recreation of everybody being taken by the Demon Tide being proven once more. Nevertheless, relatively than exhibiting Riku’s sacrifice, it as a substitute lingers on a black display screen for a number of moments.
It might have merely been minimize for time, however why present the remainder of the cutscene up till this precise second? Why have the black display screen linger for only a second too lengthy for it to be an everyday transition, if to not indicate that this can be a clean spot in Sora’s reminiscence?
When Sora regains consciousness on his Station of Awakening, his eyes are glazed over, as if he was zoned out. As we’re seeing all of this from Sora’s perspective, it’s attainable the sacrifice is minimize as a result of Sora merely doesn’t bear in mind it ever going down.
Sora Misremembers How Many Hearts He Saved
When in The Last World in ReMind, Sora tells Chirithy he’s assured about saving Kairi’s coronary heart: “Hey, I’ve already saved six hearts. What’s another?”
However… he saved seven hearts. After saving Riku’s coronary heart, Sora travels to 6 worlds and saves a coronary heart in each.
Aqua, Ventus, Axel, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy… Are you forgetting somebody, Sora?
It’s a frequent joke that Sora can’t depend, but it surely’s not performed for laughs right here. Donald and Goofy aren’t there to level out that Sora miscounted, so why trouble establishing the joke with no punchline?
However How Would Sora Have Forgotten?
Sora might have simply forgotten about Riku sacrificing himself as a result of his unconscious blocked it out: it was a traumatising occasion, so his unconscious simply determined to wipe it away completely.…
However there’s a extra convincing rationalization for this. After Sora rescues Axel’s coronary heart in San Fransokyo, Younger Xehanort seems and warns Sora that he’s misused the Energy of Waking. It’s for traversing hearts to succeed in worlds; not traversing worlds to succeed in hearts. The latter of which is what Sora has been doing to rescue his pals already.
Younger Xehanort then tells Sora that he’s “already paid the value.” Allowing for that this dialog occurs properly earlier than Sora absolutely saves Kairi, it means that he’s already misplaced one thing previous to his disappearance.
Sora Nonetheless Hasn’t Thanked Namine
In addition to the potential for Sora already having misplaced an necessary reminiscence, a big plot thread concerning Namine stays open.
Again in Chain of Reminiscences, Sora made a promise to thank Namine for what she did for him – risking her life for him and returning his true reminiscences, even when she may need most popular Sora to maintain the altered ones.
Sora makes it clear in KH3 that he’s not fulfilled that ‘thanks’ but. Whereas he thanked her within the datascape, he desires to thank her correctly in the actual world. He even by chance thanks her once more whereas speaking to her and makes it doubly clear that’s not the actual thanks.
Thanks Namine. Oops! That’s not the official thanks.
Namine’s complete deal is having the ability to alter Sora’s reminiscences, so it appears significantly becoming that her storyline with Sora has been left open, regardless of KH3 being a straightforward place for this to have been resolved. Namine might but have a component to play in piecing Sora’s reminiscences collectively as soon as extra, as she could be the just one who can relink the chains of his reminiscences.
The seeds of Sora having forgotten not less than one thing necessary have already been sown, and ‘Thank Namine’ has purposefully been left open, so it wouldn’t be too shocking if Sora misplaced much more of his reminiscence upon getting into Quadratum.
Sora having to get well his earlier reminiscences would enable him to have some significantly overdue self-reflection too – I’m not satisfied he’s labored on his “alone, I’m nugatory” mindset within the slightest – and it will work completely along with ensuring newcomers aren’t utterly misplaced leaping into KH4.
