Honestly this story only expanded on stuff that was subtly told about Xehanort's character through Secret Reports and scene subtext. I'm glad to hear you gained more of an interest.
So you might be a bit confused about how Baldur got infected by darkness. In Scala keyblade wielders are trained from a young age to devote themselves to the light and destroy darkness. Naturally if you are trained to fight something you develop a resentment towards the idea of it (like Eraqus) even if you've never actually seen or interacted with it before. However because they've never interacted with darkness before the keyblade wielders who harbour this resentment aren't even aware its existence and that its infected their hearts. Except Baldur like Xehanort has the ability to sense whats in the hearts of others but unlike Xehanort who grew up in isolation in the formulative years of his life in isolation with only one other person for company (and even then doing so affected Xehanort by seeing the Players experiences in his dreams), Baldur grew up surrounded by a city of people each with darkness in their hearts. Even his fellow pupils who as children wouldn't have had much darkness in their hearts would slowly get infected with darkness while he could only watch until by osmosis he contracted that same darkness, hell because he was self aware of it you could even say he became a VESSEL to the darkness of every keyblade wielders hatred towards darkness. The sole exception was his sister Hoder who judging by Baldurs description of having a pure heart with no darkness may have been an earlier princess of heart and so he clung to her. His sister was his rock in what he viewed as a horrible dark world where everything kept getting worse...until she died being burned alive in front of his eyes protecting him, add 7 days of being put in isolation without any therapy with only his thoughts to stew on and Baldur snapping was his end result.
Xehanort: oh so when I’m gaslit, girlbossed and gatekept, no one says anything. BUT WHEN *I* GASLIGHT, GIRLBOSS AND GATEKEEP- SUDDENLY I “need to be stopped” and “I’m the villain”!
Dark Road is also interesting as it shows how differently Baldr's tragedy affected both Eraqus and Xehanort. Eraqus - got shackled by fear and started stamping out any "shadows" he sees - this fear exactly what will drive him to rise his Keyblade on Terra and Ventus when BBS happens. Xehanort - on the other hand refused to be controlled by fear - instead he decided to TAKE CONTROL - to find out WHY and HOW Baldr ended up like that and instead of fearing his Empathy ability or bowing to Darkness - he became expert in handling both, making elemental Darkness into instrument and his Empathy into both shield (by learning how to shut his Heart off) and weapon (by using it to better manipulate others). It is also worth noting how Dark Road makes it clear that despite trauma, encounter with MoM and Destiny itself making him quite jaded... Xehanort for years in spite of already knowing HOW to get to Kingdom Hearts and PURGE EVERYTHING... Didn't do it. Instead he tried to learn about his adversary, double check his theories, find proof and make others understand importance of Balance because lack of such in small community lead to corruption and death of Baldr and lack of such on multiversal scale? Almost doomed Realm of Light when first Keyblade War happened... But no one trusted him... He was left alone with all his knowledge unable to even find anyone to entrust his life's work... FOR FIFTY YEARS HE TRIED TO BE DIPLOMATIC. And only then he arrived at decision that as Eraqus's teaching took deep root in young generation - slowly upsetting balance and dooming everything - he is left with no choice... He was "nice" long enough - If they won't learn - then Well Intentioned Extremist Xehanort will FORCE them to learn or PURGE EVERYTHING WITH KINGDOM HEARTS (because multiverse is doomed either way) And so Xehanort shaved his head...
Darkness seems to have a property when you don't see it, until you see it. You see their Formless form when "sight"/Light fall upon them, like a shadow. These is why Ienzo can detected Master Xehanort in Terranort even before becoming Zexion. It is also reason the Union X character cannot see the Darkness in Ventus until they become directly aware of Them.
Player: You see that kid? *shows all the scenes of Xehanort doing evil stuff* Player: I raised that boy :D On a serious note the player being the hooded figure is super cool and I can’t wait to see if this plays into Missing Link.
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE I mean the last two flash forwards the player saw was xehanort arriving at scala and his chess game with Eraqus, so I say it's fair everyone though xehanort was the player
What's so great about it is that it's not even just the fact that they showed baby Xehanort right after bringing up the reincarnation stuff, it's also because it plays so perfectly into all the memes about Norting. Nomura basically weaponized our memes against us.
Remember that Woody roast about nobody loving him? Yeah, think about that now with everything that happened. Can't wait for Sora's mom in Missing Links.
There being 4 generations between Ephemer and Xehanort means there's potentially a lot of story left to tell in that space. The story of Missing Link though is during Brains time who is the Grandfather of Eraqus so we are actually only going back two generations. Nomura said bloodlines are going to be important in Missing Link so I'm curious if we learn what the deal is with Destiny Islands characters families since it seems like it was much more than a random world.
A part of me is also hopping that in Missing Link we'll see if this is where Demyx's "Keyblade Legacy" comes from because we still know nothing of where he came from. I can only guess that if he was a Keyblade Wielder, he got tired of constantly fighting, but wanted to still be of use somehow.
The implementation of Hades was so ominously dark this time around it felt so different from KH2 in tone. Hades actually felt like a Lord of the Dead here and the fates of the dead wielders was so surprising with how Baldr's Darkness quickly dispatched them, KH never felt so unapologetically ruthless, (except UX). Nomura did not hold back.
This explains why donald and goofy are looking for sora in underworld *it would see anyone who truley dies ends up there which intresting making hades cannocial place of dead in disney square enix universe?
You know what I just noticed about Bragi in this? Spoiler If you put the i in Bragi's name between the A and the G... you get Braig. Braig who later becomes Xigbar. ......HE PLAYED US ALL LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE.
MoM: Congrats Luxu! You can reincarnate! But there's a price...... MoM: You're only allowed to change your name by one (1) letter with each new incarnation. Have fun. You get to start with the weirdest name I can think of.
Woody to Xehanort in KH 3: "My guess is that nobody's ever loved you before!" Me before DR: "OH SHIT SON!!! YOU JUST GOT ROASTED!!!" Me after DR: "ummm ok Woody. Words hurt sometimes ok?"
Honestly, it kind of hurt my heart to see Hermod and Urd dying in that way. It seems almost like a slow death where the Darkness basically "ate them" alive until only their hearts were left to float off. And if they had any last lingering thoughts or feelings, it was mostly what was flowing through the Darkness; like all the pain and resentment Aqua felt wandering in Darkness for ten years, but 100 times more intense.
The major thing I really like about this is how "Tame" the story was, It actually felt like this gave more answers than questions finally, I like it alot
Where is Yen Sid? Are Eraqus and Xehanort blood related? Is Xehanort the child of destiny or was it Sora? Xehanort is coming back? how? How many times did Xehanort use the Mirror of the evil Queen? Did Luxu just got old in Bragi's body or just watched until he found Braig? Why did Xehanort grew to have yellow eyes? I thought that was a symbol of his Identity Was it released after KH3 for a reason? Does it connect to KH4??? SO MANY QUESTIONS!
@@BlaxeFrost-X From what i believe, odin is disne... I mean yensid, as said by eraqus, "after he retired he would settle down on some cozy little world". probably not. Probably both, xehanort got tainted by dankness while sora didnt. I hope not, all these games were the xehanort saga, it would be weird to bring him back. I dont remember if he was the one that used it with his classmates, but if it was him, that would be twice; he didnt really use it afterward, since the mirror regonized him as the child that turned a man, meaning that its been a long time since both saw each other. between dark road and bbs its been 65 years, braig is not that old. because dankness. probably not, kh4 is supposed to be a different story that has nothing to do with xehanort.
@@neonoah3353 Odin being Yen Sid makes no sense. They look completely different for one, age, and literally in BBS Eraqus and Yen Sid state they were keyblade wielders in training. Obvious answer is Nomura didn't want to dance around Disney and make a hypothetical anime KH version of classic Disney owned Yen Sid for a small time game that didn't require it.
Ok time to explain & point important plot points out. So for the main character of Union Cross. he's actually the old man taking care of baby Xehanort. Not only dose Xehanort has the ability to see the true Darkness he can actually see the old man Player characters memories in his dreams. When baby Xehanort talking about each person he saw in old Union Cross Player memories he mentioned that Skulled looked like his mother. This is causing alot of confusion since most people at this point think Skulled is Terranort'a favorite experiment Subject X. Also after Xehanort dropped Ventus of to be with Eraqus, he talks to Vanitus and seems to already know that he's not actually apart of Ven and know he's one of the true 13 darkness. But it seems like Vanitus weakened from being with Ventus or isn't at full power since. It seems that the other way to summon Kingdom Hearts is for a pure Darkness to swallow and destroy 13 lights. We now have alot Keyblade users and others people on the side of light after KH3. This means a True Darkness or The Master or Master use this methond in future KH Games. Master Odin gave up being a Keyblade master most likely because he lost all but two students and once Eraqus became a master he left Scala Ad Caelum. This means that Master Odin could still be around and could show up in future KH games to to help Yen Sid and the others. At the ending we see that Bragi becomes one of Luxu's vessels and most likely that his next vessel will be Xigbar. Its most likely Luxu in Bragi's body kept an eye on Xehanort from a distance untill he was ready and when Xehanort was ready Luxu discarded Bragi's body since Xehanort knew Bragi, then jumped to Braig and played the fool wanting a Keyblade and we all know Braig later becomes Xigbar aka baddy Xigy. Also if you noticed, switch around the g & I in Bragi you get Braig. Luxu got lazy with the names.
I love the theory that Xehanort bequeathed Sora a keyblade and was his unofficial master since he created all of the evil that taught Sora so many valuable lessons. So seeing a Young Xehanort in a replica body without a keyblade living a normal life away from light and dark in Quadratum and then deciding to help train Sora to fight the Master of Master’s to make up for his past sins and maybe even sacrifice himself to save Sora to finally truly redeem himself would be amazing.
Eraqus being a descendant of Brain (I believe from context clues) and Xehanort being a descendant of Ephemer, on top of the UX Character being the hooded figure was a twist I had not seen coming
I remember a popular theory for those two years (!) was that Vor would grow up to become Kairi's grandma. While I was never 100% sold on it, it did subconsciously influence me to just think "oh she's gonna be fine, right?" oops
I was thinking the same way. I was also thinking that Baldr would maybe end up becoming Yen Sid after the events of Dark Road, seeing as it was said that Yen Sid was taught alongside Xehanort and Eraqus...... ......WELP.
There’s something inherently funny about the idea of Nomura, a man known for creating all sorts of explanations for the smallest of things, feeling like he has to explain why Xehanort lost his hair because of fan theories. I imagine him sitting at his desk, pinching the ridge of his nose and saying, “Do I really have to explain why the old man went bald?”
If Tetsuya Nomura was a fighting game character, he would definitely be a mix-up character. Because he'd be giving us combos that we cannot see it coming.
No, no, Nico! Elrena (Larxene) was just a friend of Lauriam's who was trying to help him find his sister Strelitzia. The ones Baby Xehanort just listed off were strictly the ones who all got a copy of the Book of Prophecies, sans Strelitzia for obvious reasons.
Only brain (and maybe ephemer I seem to recall) got copies of the book of prophecies, but the 5 are the successor union leaders. Only Ava actually gave her copy of the book, the rest kept them.
@@Sandromatic Strelitzia got one from Ava, but was stolen. The only ones we haven't actually seen given a copy are Lauriam and Skuld. Each of them tells the others they got a copy.
@@TheDoremifan1 I forget, did Ava do something that was going against the book of Prophecy by making Brain the "inheritor," (when it was actually Ephemer) or was she doing exactly as she was told?
At the end various people were discussing the child of destiny. Luxu shows up and says it's not Xehanort after all. Then blue robe gives a description of the child of destiny. A description that sounds awfully similar to Sora. Ya know, someone who can empathize and connect the hearts of others. My theory is that since Luxu ruled out Xehanort, Sora is the actual Child of Destiny.
Rounding out the remaining Upperclassmen, here's what we got Hoder is the blind son of Odin and Frigg, and is only really known for unwittingly murdered Baldr after being given a Mistletoe spear/arrow by Loki. After being slain by Vali and ending up in the realm of Hel, he meets together with Baldr and they make amends for the incident. Heimdall is the enigmatic son of Odin and the Nine Mothers, who watches over the Bifröst bridge that connects Midgard to Asgard. He awaits the onset of Ragnarok, when the Bifröst bridge will collapse upon Muspell's invasion. Sigrun (Norse for "Victory Rune), is a Valkyrie noted for being the reincarnation of another Valkyrie, Sváfa. Her story has her fall in love with the hero Helgi Hundingsbane, and dies from sadness after her lover is killed by her brother Dagr. There are two Helgi's in Norse mythology, Helgi Hundingsbane and Helgi Haddingjaskati. Hundingsbane attempted to free Sigrun from her marriage arrangements by slaying anyone who opposed their relationship, and is eventually slain himself. He is reborn as Haddingjaskati and reunites with Sigrun, reincarnated as the Valkyrie Kára.
Dark Road quick explanation round: 1. Blue Robe - indeed is Player at the end of his second life. It is heavily implied that his second life is him reincarnating as Player character of upcoming mobile game "Kingdom Hearts Missing Link" after he pulled off Heroic Sacrifice at the end if KHUX but refused to become Dream Eater opting for "His Heart melting into a Heart of a new one". 2. As stated in game - Empher is Xehanort's ancestor. 3. "Xehanort will be back!" theory - comes from 3 sources: First - Xehanort when talking about number of lives he needs to Rebuild the World says he needs 14 - one more than he used for his grand plan in KH3 implying he had ANOTHER BACK UP VESSEL. Second - In celebration of Dark Road's release Nomura drew an art with Xehanort in modern day clothes under umbrella standing somewhere in the park - upon closer inspection this is a Real Park behind him from Tokyo which in case of KH implies he is somewhere in Unreality, in Quadratum - because it is heavily based on real Tokyo. Third - in interview with Nomura after Dark Road's release upon asked if this is the last time we see Xehanort... Nomura states that "Xehanort can appear once more in future projects but his tenure as a Villian is over with conclusion of Dark Seeker Saga" So yea... Feels like Luxu's "Scapegoat" ain't quite finished yet.
@@colt1903 personally I suspect he already knew - giving (one of a kind, you can't make another one before current is destroyed) X-blade to "soon to be ejected from Reality" kid is quite a middle finger move towards anyone who wants to get to Kingdom Hearts, while also adding them to a number of people trying to get your "successor" w/ X-blade (Sora) out of Unreality which in turn makes them extra busy getting there and as a result gave Guardians of Light already a whole year to recover.
I actually started wondering about that all the way back in Remind, when Terranort tells Sora he ALSO chose to take the forbidden path and asked him if HE was willing to deal with the consequences- as if it's something Xehanort knows and accepts. Anyway, it does sort of imply that Xehanort's shenanigans are an abuse of the power of waking itself, and if it is... wouldn't he face the same consequences as Sora? 🤔
Xehanort's classmates doing a Lv1 Critical Run, obviously! Bragi, Braig. It's too easy, in KH nothing is that simple, but turns out it was that simple :P Becoming a tradition for a game to end with a Luxu Reveal huh! Dark Road was amazing, can't wait for Missing Link
Can we talk about how Maleficent went from killing four Keyblade wielders on the brink of mastery, to being killed by a 14 year old novice 75 years later?
To be fair, I think she only killed one, and the only reason Hoder got killed was because she was trying to protect Baldr. Darkness seemingly just jumped in for the kill steal while she was already disappearing. The rest were directly killed by Baldr while they were distracted by Maleficent.
So about the created character having 2 life times the theory/(fact for some) is that after the end of union cross when our character "goes to sleep" with chirethy is actually them reincarnating to the missing link character
Something that I couldn't help notice and think was very sad (if it's true) was the fact that Baldr kind of looks like Xemnas' design; specifically his fluffy white mane. Because Xemnas is part of Xehanort, perhaps in the deepest part of his memory is the guilt and sadness of Baldr that helped shape him into his Nobody when he was created. Having to clash with Baldr and following that up with personally executing him would definitely scar Xehanort, even in his old age. And it's kind of heartbreaking as you can see a semblance in Xemnas and Baldr; such as their obsession to be with others (particularly with a strong light), going to extreme lengths to compensate for their weaknesses and fear of being alone through cunning and manipulation, the empty loneliness of being left behind by the people they trust, and (ironically) being betrayed by those same people in the end because they could not truly trust them.
I'll never forget what my friend showed me on Twitter. It was a picture of Baldr with Black Air Force 1's just edited in. And that is truly hilarious to me because he do be having that energy in the round table.
I really hope the next let's play is Super Paper Mario we need more Bowser he is hilarious in this game also I hope we can return to Three Houses soon really want to see more of it.
So here is what I am thinking, Sora is going to run into a young Xehanort fairly early into KH4 that has absolutely no memory past his graduation. He may or may not know what his original self planned to do but either way, this one is just going about his life. Once Sora realizes he split off and is basically no different then someone like Roxas, he will choose to accept him. Since we already know Strelitzia is in KH4, it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that maybe Strelitzia and this Xehanort will be your two party members for that game.
A good Xehanort bouncing off Sora and light crew would be interesting. I just hope the characters don't immediately forgive him like Terra, Aqua and especially Ven/Vanitas
Riku's on his way to Quadratum too, I think it would be an interesting angle for Riku to be the one to run into a hypothetical young Xehanort. Kind of doubt Strelitzia though she sounds more like a hub NPC that will be Sora's guide than party member.
@@KatsuImagitian What if Riku runs into Yozora who then team up to find Sora... only to then find out in the end that they're searching for Sora for very different reasons?
i will say, the set up with the Union Cross ending implying the Player Character is Xehanort annoyed me greatly. Like, the idea of making our PC him via reincarnation felt cheap. SO NOMURA PULLING THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER US AND GOING "No you weren't Xehanort, you were the hooded person." made me so happy. it felt like a genuine twist that was slightly set up with how in the ending of Union X we saw the hooded guy with Xehanort the whole time, we just all assumed we were Xehanort. and now i felt more interested in the plot of Dark Road... it should have been Info we knew about before KH3 tho.
After this I personally wouldn't mind if Xehanort pops in as a party member at some point because I do like concepts of long enemies joining as party members and doing cool stuff.
i see it this way: Yes Nomura dances around the story a lot and what we knew about kingdom heart in the mainline we approach this from sora's point of view and see things as Black and white as Eraqus sees it that we must stop the darkness and we're given very generic description of xehanort through our Journey and so with what we had we become jaded in our opinion of the character cause we played as sora . But with games like this i have proven the point that not everything is so black and white and now Xehanort is more fleshed out here there was at least something to his character. Nomura pull the rug out of our on judgment with Woody in KH 3 with "no one ever loved you" quote when we first saw it we supported woody but now we look at t his now we regret our own judgment on the line and we reversed course that woody is now in the wrong. Nomura is a genius for this tugging at are hearts and playing into his hands.
While I have no problem with the voice you gave Baldr, hearing him say "stepping stones" and overall being fucking insane makes me kinda sad he didn't get the Komaeda voice.
Xehanort saying he wants to live 14 lives is really interesting and likely why you heard murmurs about him coming back. We obviously saw 13 of those with the whole KH saga. So I, and many others, wonder if that 14th life means we will get to see Xehanort in KH4, maybe as an ally this time? If Sora is split from Donald and Goofy, and Nomura wants to focus more on KH original characters while Sora is in Quadratum, it would make sense to have Xehanort be a party member for that world. Also, the deliberate mention of Odin settling down in some cozy world leads me to believe he may also be involved in KH4.
@@soul6733 The 13 lives in this context that Xehanort had are the 13 villains from KH3. The ones you ultimately fight in the Keyblade Graveyard in the final stretch of the game.
I thought the “cozy little world” was just referencing The Land of Departure. Otherwise it makes no sense that Eraqus would randomly go there. It’s likely that’s where Odin settled until his death, leaving Eraqus as his successor.
well the story is kinda like star wars, with Xehanort being Anakin (thought to be the chosen one but being bad instead) and Sora as Luke. considering this fact, Xehanort will get his 14th life as a ghost later on.
I like how despite the chibi art style, the artists decided to emphasize Aqua's chest. Like, from what I can remember, the other female characters don't have very pronounced breasts, which makes sense because of the chibi art style and more modest clothing. Aqua's on the other hand is very noticeable. Don't worry, I hate myself for noticing this too.
Well to be fair, Aqua’s original design was for 3D meaning the costume couldn’t be as intricate and had to be kinda simplistic for gameplay sake, so that means a tight shirt which means…chest. You can see a lot of the union X characters are wearing heavy robes or are like 15.
This was a nice let's watch and it really expanded Xehanort's character wish this came out before KH3. I hope for the next LP it's Mario and Luigi I need it maybe Three Houses or Zelda afterwards been a long time with both of them.
1:11:10 “Plunge the thirteen lights into shadow” ok I was just skipping around and for a second I thought this story got official voice acting only to realize oh damn it was Nico Again. My dude, please go pro, you got the power
Remember when they told Nomura that he was working on FF7 remake through the teaser trailer so it was a surprise for him too? so no surprise that dark road was left to 2 ppl.
I'm interested in what the next new series will be maybe Yakuza 4 that would be cool. I do hope at some point we can revisit Fire Emblem Three Houses I miss Professor Nico.
Gonna throw in Trails in the Sky as a LP recommendation, though, not sure you'd want another JRPG at the same time as Xenoblade 3, even with different gameplay.
So regarding what Xehnaort had said about wanting fourteen lifetimes. The first 13 can be considered himself and the 12 vessels he has in Kingdom Hearts 3. But what about the fourteenth one you may be asking? Well let's look to what Noruma had released for the end of Dark Road. He released art of Young Xehnaort holding an umbrella as its raining at Miyashita park in Shibuya, Japan. Or a version of that park in Quadratum. This and the 13th question that Nomura had answered during an interview confirms that KH3 isn't the end of Xehanort, namely not the last we see of him. Since at the end of KH3 we see him and Eraqus both become young again before going to the afterlife. And the Afterlife seems to be Quadratum. Thanks to this, we'll be seeing Xehanort and Eraqus again in KH4. And maybe we'll also see their classmates and the upperclassmen there as well. Hanging out together with Neku, Rindo and everyone from both TWEWY games. Seeing as Neku in Dream Drop Distance said: "See you in Shibuya" to Sora. Also major lore about the person who raised Xehanort during his time on destiny island. That's the Union X/Missing Link player character. That's right we were mislead into thinking our character from Union X became Xehanort after dying. Nope! He became the Missing Link player character who goes onto raise Xehanort, the Great Great Great Grandson of Ephemr, on Destiny Island. Oh and I personally Believe that the Child of Destiny prophecy also applies to Riku. Seeing as he's also from Destiny Islands and was chosen to be a vessel for darkness. So it's not that unreasonable to think that its Riku.
As much as I wouldn't like to say it but this kind of sets up Xehanort returning potentionally, somehow and idk how tf. Nomura mentioned in a QnA that even though Xehanort's story arc was completed with the Dark Seeker Saga, that does not mean he will never appear in the story again. But then again, who knows lmao.
The whole 14 lifetimes comment definitely implies it (maybe Xehanort had one last vessel if he did succeed in KH3) plus some rumors regarding Nomura's new Xehanort art depicting maybe Quadratum.
I feel like in the case of Brain, he might have gone back to a time that was after Ephemer had long past, but before Xehanort and Eraqus' generation were born. Given that his appearance at Scala ad Calem was predicted, there's also the possibility his identity was kept under wraps and he might have been working in the shadows throughout his lifetime there. He clearly had joined a group involved in clandestine matters kept hidden among the citizens; probably to prepare for the coming perils that Ephemer had once encountered. I feel as though there are characters who are staying off the grid as much as possible, being aware that there is a danger that lurks in the shadows. And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be the Master of Masters.
The ending of khux with Brain was just before Missing Link most likely. Our character said they lived two lives. The first was khux. The second was probably in missing link. So them as the hooded figure was probably their third life.
I think them in the hood was just the end of their second life. I wouldn’t be surprised if Missing Link ends with the MC getting baby Xehanort from the mother.
I guess ultimately this story mainly revolved around Eraqus and Xehanort - anything related to Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain is probably fully revealed in Missing Link with the bloodlines aspect, since we generally know at this point what happened to the KHUX Player Character, Lauriam and Elrena, and Ventus
welcome to another episode of Nomura introducing and cutting down a full cast while throwing lore bombs. LPwise really hoping Trails in the sky happens, althought Super paper mario would be cool too.
The implication or theory is that the player character dies in Union X and is reincarnated as the player character in the upcoming missing link who then goes on to look after Xehanort and retains his memories of his past life
Nice. That is a cool ending and some big twists there. ^_^ Thank you very much for this amazing "Let´s Watch". I enjoyed it so much and it was a great journey about Xehanorts past. ;-) Really interesting backstory of Xehanort and Eraqus and so tragic, too. I also agree and wish that we knew this (Dark Road story) before KH3 to understand Xehanort and Eraqus better and their relationshp they had back then to feel for them more emotionally and heart breaking when they vanished in the end. Baldr being consumed by darkness was a good twist which was reasonable/understandable, because what happened to his sister (it reminds me a bit of Lauriam/Marluxia and his sister) and darkness interfered and he was depressed and manipulated by it. Bragi being Luxu/Braig was another cool twist. It was a nice idea/move to see Luxu was there hidden as one of the keyblade wielder/classmates of Xehanort and Eraqus to observe them. Also that Xehanort is a descendant from Ephemer and his mother is related to Skuld is another big twist and interesting, too. (So maybe Ephemer and Skuld were a couple at some point and had a child who could be a [grand-]parent to Xehanort? Hopefully that will be explained in Missing Link.) I am so glad about the other big twist in the end/epilogue that it turns out that "Player" was the blue hooded figure who took Xehanort to Destiny Island and raised him and that Player was not reincarnated as Xehanort. I always thought that this theory was weird and stupid, but many others said/assumed this, so that it was believed as a fact until this Dark Road ending released and stated/proofed otherwise. Really happy about that secret revealed, because this makes more sense (that it does not show the face and clothes under that hood and robe, because the player was created/custom made by yourself and fits better if it was not shown how that person look like now) and it was interesting about the child of destiny thing that Player was talking about (I think that child of destiny could be Sora, it would fit perfectly.) I am looking forward to KH Missing Link which some other mysteries and secrets will be revealed there and I want to know what happened with the other characters, like Brain, Skuld, Ephemer and how the 2nd life of the Player will be there. ^^
Nico thank goodness we are all not Xehanort. Union X to Missing Link to Dark Road. plus love the new Xehanort. I am ready for Missing Link now. And Kh4 .
Question Nico.....do you agree with what Xehenort did now in when he's older or....not. do you think his actions while harsh and evil was justified by dark road Also at 9:12 if you look to the left of the screen Nico you can see a imagine of a person there
I think the inference that Xehanort will come back is the 14th lifetime he talked about with Eraqus- to enjoy life in the new world. It's possible through Nomura shenanigans, that Xehanort could potentially come back in some way during either this current saga, or during the saga afterward, if the world is remade. At least, that's my guess, because it's the only thing I could think of. Also, I really enjoy the slight parallels between Riku's and Xehanort's stories, with the Child of Destiny story. Xehanort was Eraqus's Riku, and Eraqus being his Sora. Riku was thought to be the true Keyblade Wielder during KH1, and it's still a consistent theory. However, much like Xehanort, Riku was twisted to darkness. And to be fair, the story does apply just as much to Riku as it does Sora. Riku simply chose the same path as Xehanort, in the end, but with different ideals and values, still making our more present generation the proper targets for the story, though it's still fascinating that all of their paths are relatively similar in various ways.
So about Missing Link. Yes it is going to be a 3d vocalize mobile game however it to be said that is possible to be sort of similar to Pokémon Go but with lore add to in to it and some sort of Gotcha trophies to equip. Well just have to wait and see.
I am already an invested fan of Kingdom Hearts but the stuff happening in Dark Road and KHUX has made me more invested in Kingdom Hearts. Nomura is lucky that they are people who can somehow be invested in a complicated lore mess of a game and continue to be invested in said franchise.
Crazy thought here, but what if Odin is Yen Sid??? 😆😆😆 We didn't see him at all among Eraqus and Xehanort's peers, and I'm pretty sure he'd mentioned how he consulted him after he passed as a Keyblade Master. He also did mention near the end that Odin had decided he'd planned to retire with them being his last official students and find a nice "cozy" world to stay in, while ensuring that their must be a change. And maybe it's something crazy like he used his abilities to change his face and identity to the one we now know. Lol, but that's just me spitballing a crazy idea. 😆
So Luxu must have gotten pretty lazy with getting a new name for himself later in his life when taking a new vessel when here he is Bragi, and later he is Braig.
You mayyyy wanna rewatch the “Missing Link” trailer, if you haven’t watched it already. This story was never about Brain and old Scala. That’s what Missing Link is going to be.
You know who the Master of Masters reminds me of? Loki(from mythology). He is a Trickster, with unimaginable, perhaps godlike power. He has goals, but his plans are complex, as are his motives- of which we know little about, because I doubt he's given anywhere close to the full extent of his motives, as well as doubt that he is done scheming up ways to achieve said goals. He doesn't give people straight answers, instead answering in riddles to test his conversation partner's cunning without fully appearing to do so with his immense gift of manipulation. I imagine when we do finally learn everything about the Master of Masters, it will answer a lot of things about the full, finished world of Kingdom Hearts... Or Nomura will be like, "Nah, I'm still just getting started. Have you seen the inside of my brain?", but I suppose we'll have to see with the progression of the Dark Seekers Saga.
9:54 Ok, that is cute. Poor Vor. 1:41:52 Oh my god. I think I actually called it. I think that actually was Skuld. 1:51:04 Actually, that makes more sense. 1:55:51 Ah. That makes sense now.
![My kingdom hearts 3 journey [part 1]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/u48ePnyKQdQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![My kingdom hearts 3 journey [part 1]](/img/tr.png)
This story made Xehanort a vastly more interesting character...
God I wish I had this before finishing 3.
Show me anguish kingdom hearts!!!
I do not blame you
Honestly this story only expanded on stuff that was subtly told about Xehanort's character through Secret Reports and scene subtext. I'm glad to hear you gained more of an interest.
until when the gameplay of professor layton vs ace attorney?
Kingdom hearts missing link I believe will explain all of ur question since it takes place before dark road
So you might be a bit confused about how Baldur got infected by darkness. In Scala keyblade wielders are trained from a young age to devote themselves to the light and destroy darkness.
Naturally if you are trained to fight something you develop a resentment towards the idea of it (like Eraqus) even if you've never actually seen or interacted with it before. However because they've never interacted with darkness before the keyblade wielders who harbour this resentment aren't even aware its existence and that its infected their hearts.
Except Baldur like Xehanort has the ability to sense whats in the hearts of others but unlike Xehanort who grew up in isolation in the formulative years of his life in isolation with only one other person for company (and even then doing so affected Xehanort by seeing the Players experiences in his dreams), Baldur grew up surrounded by a city of people each with darkness in their hearts.
Even his fellow pupils who as children wouldn't have had much darkness in their hearts would slowly get infected with darkness while he could only watch until by osmosis he contracted that same darkness, hell because he was self aware of it you could even say he became a VESSEL to the darkness of every keyblade wielders hatred towards darkness.
The sole exception was his sister Hoder who judging by Baldurs description of having a pure heart with no darkness may have been an earlier princess of heart and so he clung to her.
His sister was his rock in what he viewed as a horrible dark world where everything kept getting worse...until she died being burned alive in front of his eyes protecting him, add 7 days of being put in isolation without any therapy with only his thoughts to stew on and Baldur snapping was his end result.
Damn, that's awful. Imagine how lonely you'd have to feel in his position.
Xehanort: oh so when I’m gaslit, girlbossed and gatekept, no one says anything. BUT WHEN *I* GASLIGHT, GIRLBOSS AND GATEKEEP- SUDDENLY I “need to be stopped” and “I’m the villain”!
@PenitentDeadMan308 T Sounds like the "side effects" of what 'might' happen if you take "Darkness." 😆
@PenitentDeadMan308 T He tried to be nice and diplomatic for over 60 years and nothing worked. I'd go nuclear too.
Dark Road is also interesting as it shows how differently Baldr's tragedy affected both Eraqus and Xehanort.
Eraqus - got shackled by fear and started stamping out any "shadows" he sees - this fear exactly what will drive him to rise his Keyblade on Terra and Ventus when BBS happens.
Xehanort - on the other hand refused to be controlled by fear - instead he decided to TAKE CONTROL - to find out WHY and HOW Baldr ended up like that and instead of fearing his Empathy ability or bowing to Darkness - he became expert in handling both, making elemental Darkness into instrument and his Empathy into both shield (by learning how to shut his Heart off) and weapon (by using it to better manipulate others).
It is also worth noting how Dark Road makes it clear that despite trauma, encounter with MoM and Destiny itself making him quite jaded... Xehanort for years in spite of already knowing HOW to get to Kingdom Hearts and PURGE EVERYTHING... Didn't do it. Instead he tried to learn about his adversary, double check his theories, find proof and make others understand importance of Balance because lack of such in small community lead to corruption and death of Baldr and lack of such on multiversal scale? Almost doomed Realm of Light when first Keyblade War happened...
But no one trusted him... He was left alone with all his knowledge unable to even find anyone to entrust his life's work... FOR FIFTY YEARS HE TRIED TO BE DIPLOMATIC. And only then he arrived at decision that as Eraqus's teaching took deep root in young generation - slowly upsetting balance and dooming everything - he is left with no choice... He was "nice" long enough - If they won't learn - then Well Intentioned Extremist Xehanort will FORCE them to learn or PURGE EVERYTHING WITH KINGDOM HEARTS (because multiverse is doomed either way)
And so Xehanort shaved his head...
You could say he was being reasonable…
@@fourdayz1414 You could say for 65 years, he was be reasonable
Darkness seems to have a property when you don't see it, until you see it. You see their Formless form when "sight"/Light fall upon them, like a shadow. These is why Ienzo can detected Master Xehanort in Terranort even before becoming Zexion. It is also reason the Union X character cannot see the Darkness in Ventus until they become directly aware of Them.
Player: You see that kid?
*shows all the scenes of Xehanort doing evil stuff*
Player: I raised that boy :D
On a serious note the player being the hooded figure is super cool and I can’t wait to see if this plays into Missing Link.
Player(crying): They grow up so fast!
If he is somewhat prevalent in that, maybe he mentions having an older adoptive parent?
Nomura jebaiting everyone into thinking your khux character is xehanort is the biggest fucking troll ever, its great
Honestly that moment is one of the most trolliest moments I've ever experienced in my life in a game lol
Tbf the first thing we see was the blue hooded man so it’s kind of our fault in assuming so.
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE I mean the last two flash forwards the player saw was xehanort arriving at scala and his chess game with Eraqus, so I say it's fair everyone though xehanort was the player
What's so great about it is that it's not even just the fact that they showed baby Xehanort right after bringing up the reincarnation stuff, it's also because it plays so perfectly into all the memes about Norting. Nomura basically weaponized our memes against us.
I don't think he ever really trolled anybody on that?
Remember that Woody roast about nobody loving him? Yeah, think about that now with everything that happened.
Can't wait for Sora's mom in Missing Links.
It's fucking insane how we saw Xehanort's mother before Sora's.
There being 4 generations between Ephemer and Xehanort means there's potentially a lot of story left to tell in that space. The story of Missing Link though is during Brains time who is the Grandfather of Eraqus so we are actually only going back two generations. Nomura said bloodlines are going to be important in Missing Link so I'm curious if we learn what the deal is with Destiny Islands characters families since it seems like it was much more than a random world.
A part of me is also hopping that in Missing Link we'll see if this is where Demyx's "Keyblade Legacy" comes from because we still know nothing of where he came from. I can only guess that if he was a Keyblade Wielder, he got tired of constantly fighting, but wanted to still be of use somehow.
During ML? Prolly not much considering that even in Xehanort's time Destiny Islands was still empty
Cant wait for the plot twist that brain is actually xehanorts mom, which in turns makes him also the MoM.
@@neonoah3353 Is that a JuJutsu Kaisen reference?
It's so opposite that Brain is Eraqus' Ancestor when he is the cunning and planning one of the group. You'd think they'd be swapped around normally.
The implementation of Hades was so ominously dark this time around it felt so different from KH2 in tone. Hades actually felt like a Lord of the Dead here and the fates of the dead wielders was so surprising with how Baldr's Darkness quickly dispatched them, KH never felt so unapologetically ruthless, (except UX). Nomura did not hold back.
He had to throw his anger around after going through a roguelight.
Makes sense, Nomura likes to give villains traumatic reasons for being the way they are
I mean, there was plenty of ruthlessness in CoM.
Like how Axel killed Vexen, and when he manipulated Repliku into murdering Zexion.
@@yourcollegedebt8384 Honestly, KH always had some ruthless undertones since CoM but Union X and Dark Road go ham on actual, full on deaths
This explains why donald and goofy are looking for sora in underworld *it would see anyone who truley dies ends up there which intresting making hades cannocial place of dead in disney square enix universe?
You know what I just noticed about Bragi in this?
Spoiler
If you put the i in Bragi's name between the A and the G... you get Braig. Braig who later becomes Xigbar.
......HE PLAYED US ALL LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE.
Luxu got lazy with his names with Bragi and then Braig lol.
No…he played us like a kazoo. Because it was just to easy.
There's also Brian btw. Brain is just Bragi but with the g replacing the i.
MoM: Congrats Luxu! You can reincarnate! But there's a price......
MoM: You're only allowed to change your name by one (1) letter with each new incarnation. Have fun. You get to start with the weirdest name I can think of.
Woody to Xehanort in KH 3: "My guess is that nobody's ever loved you before!"
Me before DR: "OH SHIT SON!!! YOU JUST GOT ROASTED!!!"
Me after DR: "ummm ok Woody. Words hurt sometimes ok?"
Honestly, it kind of hurt my heart to see Hermod and Urd dying in that way.
It seems almost like a slow death where the Darkness basically "ate them" alive until only their hearts were left to float off.
And if they had any last lingering thoughts or feelings, it was mostly what was flowing through the Darkness; like all the pain and resentment Aqua felt wandering in Darkness for ten years, but 100 times more intense.
I agree they were done the most dirty with how they went out. They didn't even get the luxury to go down fighting.
Its implied that Baldr killed them. Urd says help is coming, turns, smiles, then drops her smile before it cuts to black.
@@beastlysoldierful ugh, that's even sadder. 😭
Thinking there's salvation, only to be cut down by a "friend".
The major thing I really like about this is how "Tame" the story was, It actually felt like this gave more answers than questions finally, I like it alot
Where is Yen Sid?
Are Eraqus and Xehanort blood related?
Is Xehanort the child of destiny or was it Sora?
Xehanort is coming back? how?
How many times did Xehanort use the Mirror of the evil Queen?
Did Luxu just got old in Bragi's body or just watched until he found Braig?
Why did Xehanort grew to have yellow eyes? I thought that was a symbol of his Identity
Was it released after KH3 for a reason? Does it connect to KH4???
SO MANY QUESTIONS!
@@BlaxeFrost-X Good question hope Nomura remember those for future kingdom hearts games
@@BlaxeFrost-X
From what i believe, odin is disne... I mean yensid, as said by eraqus, "after he retired he would settle down on some cozy little world".
probably not.
Probably both, xehanort got tainted by dankness while sora didnt.
I hope not, all these games were the xehanort saga, it would be weird to bring him back.
I dont remember if he was the one that used it with his classmates, but if it was him, that would be twice; he didnt really use it afterward, since the mirror regonized him as the child that turned a man, meaning that its been a long time since both saw each other.
between dark road and bbs its been 65 years, braig is not that old.
because dankness.
probably not, kh4 is supposed to be a different story that has nothing to do with xehanort.
@@neonoah3353 dude Riku, Maleficent, Pete, hell even Sephiroth all use Darkness and don't have the yellow eyes it's a Xehanort exclusive
@@neonoah3353 Odin being Yen Sid makes no sense. They look completely different for one, age, and literally in BBS Eraqus and Yen Sid state they were keyblade wielders in training. Obvious answer is Nomura didn't want to dance around Disney and make a hypothetical anime KH version of classic Disney owned Yen Sid for a small time game that didn't require it.
"Someone likes a stacked deck."
This is a very ironic quote, and of course it would come from Hades.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts."
"...Really?"
"HAH! AS IF!"
Ok time to explain & point important plot points out.
So for the main character of Union Cross. he's actually the old man taking care of baby Xehanort. Not only dose Xehanort has the ability to see the true Darkness he can actually see the old man Player characters memories in his dreams.
When baby Xehanort talking about each person he saw in old Union Cross Player memories he mentioned that Skulled looked like his mother. This is causing alot of confusion since most people at this point think Skulled is Terranort'a favorite experiment Subject X.
Also after Xehanort dropped Ventus of to be with Eraqus, he talks to Vanitus and seems to already know that he's not actually apart of Ven and know he's one of the true 13 darkness. But it seems like Vanitus weakened from being with Ventus or isn't at full power since.
It seems that the other way to summon Kingdom Hearts is for a pure Darkness to swallow and destroy 13 lights. We now have alot Keyblade users and others people on the side of light after KH3. This means a True Darkness or The Master or Master use this methond in future KH Games.
Master Odin gave up being a Keyblade master most likely because he lost all but two students and once Eraqus became a master he left Scala Ad Caelum. This means that Master Odin could still be around and could show up in future KH games to to help Yen Sid and the others.
At the ending we see that Bragi becomes one of Luxu's vessels and most likely that his next vessel will be Xigbar. Its most likely Luxu in Bragi's body kept an eye on Xehanort from a distance untill he was ready and when Xehanort was ready Luxu discarded Bragi's body since Xehanort knew Bragi, then jumped to Braig and played the fool wanting a Keyblade and we all know Braig later becomes Xigbar aka baddy Xigy. Also if you noticed, switch around the g & I in Bragi you get Braig. Luxu got lazy with the names.
1:21:30 Well let’s put it this way, using a direct quote from the first game.
“The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes.”
I love the theory that Xehanort bequeathed Sora a keyblade and was his unofficial master since he created all of the evil that taught Sora so many valuable lessons.
So seeing a Young Xehanort in a replica body without a keyblade living a normal life away from light and dark in Quadratum and then deciding to help train Sora to fight the Master of Master’s to make up for his past sins and maybe even sacrifice himself to save Sora to finally truly redeem himself would be amazing.
Eraqus being a descendant of Brain (I believe from context clues) and Xehanort being a descendant of Ephemer, on top of the UX Character being the hooded figure was a twist I had not seen coming
I remember a popular theory for those two years (!) was that Vor would grow up to become Kairi's grandma.
While I was never 100% sold on it, it did subconsciously influence me to just think "oh she's gonna be fine, right?"
oops
I was thinking the same way. I was also thinking that Baldr would maybe end up becoming Yen Sid after the events of Dark Road, seeing as it was said that Yen Sid was taught alongside Xehanort and Eraqus......
......WELP.
So that's what Vanitas meant before disappearing in KH3 "What I am is Darkness" He was being very literal
There’s something inherently funny about the idea of Nomura, a man known for creating all sorts of explanations for the smallest of things, feeling like he has to explain why Xehanort lost his hair because of fan theories. I imagine him sitting at his desk, pinching the ridge of his nose and saying, “Do I really have to explain why the old man went bald?”
The roughly 90 year old man by the time of KH3, no less.
If Tetsuya Nomura was a fighting game character, he would definitely be a mix-up character. Because he'd be giving us combos that we cannot see it coming.
This copypasta is starting to spread now xd
@@Jaxv3r There is no GD way that people are spreading my jokes around the internet! DX
Would Tetsuya Takahashi be his Echo fighter? Or Yoko Taro?
No, no, Nico! Elrena (Larxene) was just a friend of Lauriam's who was trying to help him find his sister Strelitzia. The ones Baby Xehanort just listed off were strictly the ones who all got a copy of the Book of Prophecies, sans Strelitzia for obvious reasons.
Only brain (and maybe ephemer I seem to recall) got copies of the book of prophecies, but the 5 are the successor union leaders. Only Ava actually gave her copy of the book, the rest kept them.
@@Sandromatic Strelitzia got one from Ava, but was stolen. The only ones we haven't actually seen given a copy are Lauriam and Skuld. Each of them tells the others they got a copy.
actually they got a copy of the rule book. only brain got the book of prophecies, then he gave it to ephemer
@@TheDoremifan1 Okay, I may be misremembering. It's been a while since I've gone through UX. Thank you for the correction.
@@TheDoremifan1 I forget, did Ava do something that was going against the book of Prophecy by making Brain the "inheritor," (when it was actually Ephemer) or was she doing exactly as she was told?
Eraqus is absolutely *shocked* to discover that the resident white haired anime boy has experienced trauma.
Brain, Bragi, Braig. What's next? Oh right, Xigbar. That's next. What a strange set of names.
At the end various people were discussing the child of destiny. Luxu shows up and says it's not Xehanort after all. Then blue robe gives a description of the child of destiny. A description that sounds awfully similar to Sora. Ya know, someone who can empathize and connect the hearts of others. My theory is that since Luxu ruled out Xehanort, Sora is the actual Child of Destiny.
Rounding out the remaining Upperclassmen, here's what we got
Hoder is the blind son of Odin and Frigg, and is only really known for unwittingly murdered Baldr after being given a Mistletoe spear/arrow by Loki. After being slain by Vali and ending up in the realm of Hel, he meets together with Baldr and they make amends for the incident.
Heimdall is the enigmatic son of Odin and the Nine Mothers, who watches over the Bifröst bridge that connects Midgard to Asgard. He awaits the onset of Ragnarok, when the Bifröst bridge will collapse upon Muspell's invasion.
Sigrun (Norse for "Victory Rune), is a Valkyrie noted for being the reincarnation of another Valkyrie, Sváfa. Her story has her fall in love with the hero Helgi Hundingsbane, and dies from sadness after her lover is killed by her brother Dagr.
There are two Helgi's in Norse mythology, Helgi Hundingsbane and Helgi Haddingjaskati. Hundingsbane attempted to free Sigrun from her marriage arrangements by slaying anyone who opposed their relationship, and is eventually slain himself. He is reborn as Haddingjaskati and reunites with Sigrun, reincarnated as the Valkyrie Kára.
You know that shit has truly gotten real when the character who had been silent throughout the game finally speaks aloud.
*flashbacks to Live A Live*
That animation of Eraqus bouncing up and down in a tantrum just makes me laugh! It doesn't exactly look like he's having a tantrum.
Dark Road quick explanation round:
1. Blue Robe - indeed is Player at the end of his second life. It is heavily implied that his second life is him reincarnating as Player character of upcoming mobile game "Kingdom Hearts Missing Link" after he pulled off Heroic Sacrifice at the end if KHUX but refused to become Dream Eater opting for "His Heart melting into a Heart of a new one".
2. As stated in game - Empher is Xehanort's ancestor.
3. "Xehanort will be back!" theory - comes from 3 sources:
First - Xehanort when talking about number of lives he needs to Rebuild the World says he needs 14 - one more than he used for his grand plan in KH3 implying he had ANOTHER BACK UP VESSEL.
Second - In celebration of Dark Road's release Nomura drew an art with Xehanort in modern day clothes under umbrella standing somewhere in the park - upon closer inspection this is a Real Park behind him from Tokyo which in case of KH implies he is somewhere in Unreality, in Quadratum - because it is heavily based on real Tokyo.
Third - in interview with Nomura after Dark Road's release upon asked if this is the last time we see Xehanort... Nomura states that "Xehanort can appear once more in future projects but his tenure as a Villian is over with conclusion of Dark Seeker Saga"
So yea... Feels like Luxu's "Scapegoat" ain't quite finished yet.
Xehanort Number 14 meeting Luxu like: Motherfucker, over 60 years you used my ass! I'm getting some payback!!
@@colt1903 personally I suspect he already knew - giving (one of a kind, you can't make another one before current is destroyed) X-blade to "soon to be ejected from Reality" kid is quite a middle finger move towards anyone who wants to get to Kingdom Hearts, while also adding them to a number of people trying to get your "successor" w/ X-blade (Sora) out of Unreality which in turn makes them extra busy getting there and as a result gave Guardians of Light already a whole year to recover.
I actually started wondering about that all the way back in Remind, when Terranort tells Sora he ALSO chose to take the forbidden path and asked him if HE was willing to deal with the consequences- as if it's something Xehanort knows and accepts. Anyway, it does sort of imply that Xehanort's shenanigans are an abuse of the power of waking itself, and if it is... wouldn't he face the same consequences as Sora? 🤔
Xehanort's classmates doing a Lv1 Critical Run, obviously!
Bragi, Braig. It's too easy, in KH nothing is that simple, but turns out it was that simple :P
Becoming a tradition for a game to end with a Luxu Reveal huh!
Dark Road was amazing, can't wait for Missing Link
I guess his next name gonna be Bgira, Briga, Bgari, Gbari, Griba lol just mix them
What I have learned from this is if we meet a character with the letters b, r, a, and i in their name, they are guaranteed to be a vessel of Luxu.
Don't forget about the G!
@@Rogeryoo Brain
We have braig, bragi, brain, and I for one can't wait for brani
@@mochhhhee I can't wait for Luxu to possess a new guy only to find out that the body is blind and he changes his name to Brail.
Can we talk about how Maleficent went from killing four Keyblade wielders on the brink of mastery, to being killed by a 14 year old novice 75 years later?
To be fair, I think she only killed one, and the only reason Hoder got killed was because she was trying to protect Baldr. Darkness seemingly just jumped in for the kill steal while she was already disappearing. The rest were directly killed by Baldr while they were distracted by Maleficent.
So about the created character having 2 life times the theory/(fact for some) is that after the end of union cross when our character "goes to sleep" with chirethy is actually them reincarnating to the missing link character
Something that I couldn't help notice and think was very sad (if it's true) was the fact that Baldr kind of looks like Xemnas' design; specifically his fluffy white mane.
Because Xemnas is part of Xehanort, perhaps in the deepest part of his memory is the guilt and sadness of Baldr that helped shape him into his Nobody when he was created.
Having to clash with Baldr and following that up with personally executing him would definitely scar Xehanort, even in his old age.
And it's kind of heartbreaking as you can see a semblance in Xemnas and Baldr;
such as their obsession to be with others (particularly with a strong light), going to extreme lengths to compensate for their weaknesses and fear of being alone through cunning and manipulation, the empty loneliness of being left behind by the people they trust, and (ironically) being betrayed by those same people in the end because they could not truly trust them.
I just fucking wish this was an actual game because the story is so good
I'll never forget what my friend showed me on Twitter. It was a picture of Baldr with Black Air Force 1's just edited in. And that is truly hilarious to me because he do be having that energy in the round table.
If your name is Baldr, then you have to have that energy. It just comes with the territory.
Let's go! Dark Road is such a good story. Now we wait for Missing Link.
1:31:21
"Always the joker"
Ha! Might not have been intentional but could fit cause of Mark Hamill voicing Adult Eraqus
I really hope the next let's play is Super Paper Mario we need more Bowser he is hilarious in this game also I hope we can return to Three Houses soon really want to see more of it.
So here is what I am thinking, Sora is going to run into a young Xehanort fairly early into KH4 that has absolutely no memory past his graduation. He may or may not know what his original self planned to do but either way, this one is just going about his life. Once Sora realizes he split off and is basically no different then someone like Roxas, he will choose to accept him. Since we already know Strelitzia is in KH4, it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that maybe Strelitzia and this Xehanort will be your two party members for that game.
That would be quite a lot of fun if true. Those three are quite a power trio in personality alone
A good Xehanort bouncing off Sora and light crew would be interesting. I just hope the characters don't immediately forgive him like Terra, Aqua and especially Ven/Vanitas
Riku's on his way to Quadratum too, I think it would be an interesting angle for Riku to be the one to run into a hypothetical young Xehanort.
Kind of doubt Strelitzia though she sounds more like a hub NPC that will be Sora's guide than party member.
@@KatsuImagitian What if Riku runs into Yozora who then team up to find Sora... only to then find out in the end that they're searching for Sora for very different reasons?
I feel like everyone who's covering Dark Road is calling the final episode CHILD OF DESTINY. It just shows we're all of one mind... and one heart!
You could even say One sky and one destiny
@@posteriorpepperoni Yeah, sure! Why not?
i will say, the set up with the Union Cross ending implying the Player Character is Xehanort annoyed me greatly.
Like, the idea of making our PC him via reincarnation felt cheap.
SO NOMURA PULLING THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER US AND GOING "No you weren't Xehanort, you were the hooded person." made me so happy.
it felt like a genuine twist that was slightly set up with how in the ending of Union X we saw the hooded guy with Xehanort the whole time, we just all assumed we were Xehanort.
and now i felt more interested in the plot of Dark Road... it should have been Info we knew about before KH3 tho.
Nomura: "MWAHAHAHA YO FOOLS!!!!! You thought you were Xehanort when in actually you were XEHANORT'S FOSTER PARENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Haha his name was Bragi and I didn't see it coming I cannot believe this
Eracqes is like a more jaded Naruto. He has this one friend that no matter how far gone they are, he'll never truly let go of his bond with them.
After this I personally wouldn't mind if Xehanort pops in as a party member at some point because I do like concepts of long enemies joining as party members and doing cool stuff.
the name "Missing Link" indicates that the game will link between the two Chi games (Union Cross and Dark Road), and the trailers showed Brain there
i see it this way: Yes Nomura dances around the story a lot and what we knew about kingdom heart in the mainline we approach this from sora's point of view and see things as Black and white as Eraqus sees it that we must stop the darkness and we're given very generic description of xehanort through our Journey and so with what we had we become jaded in our opinion of the character cause we played as sora . But with games like this i have proven the point that not everything is so black and white and now Xehanort is more fleshed out here there was at least something to his character. Nomura pull the rug out of our on judgment with Woody in KH 3 with "no one ever loved you" quote when we first saw it we supported woody but now we look at t his now we regret our own judgment on the line and we reversed course that woody is now in the wrong. Nomura is a genius for this tugging at are hearts and playing into his hands.
While I have no problem with the voice you gave Baldr, hearing him say "stepping stones" and overall being fucking insane makes me kinda sad he didn't get the Komaeda voice.
One thing I noticed is that Luxu's bodies tend to have similar names - Brain, Bragi, Braig. I wonder if there's a reason for that.
Sounds like a dumb rule from MoM, like he's only allowed him one (1) letter changed each life.
Everything with Sigurd and Brain was decades before this game from my understanding during Missing Links
Xehanort saying he wants to live 14 lives is really interesting and likely why you heard murmurs about him coming back. We obviously saw 13 of those with the whole KH saga. So I, and many others, wonder if that 14th life means we will get to see Xehanort in KH4, maybe as an ally this time? If Sora is split from Donald and Goofy, and Nomura wants to focus more on KH original characters while Sora is in Quadratum, it would make sense to have Xehanort be a party member for that world.
Also, the deliberate mention of Odin settling down in some cozy world leads me to believe he may also be involved in KH4.
I thought the 14th was just Xion since organization 13 and all that.
Technically Xehanort in a way already had way more than 14 lives since he got 14 vessels, including Vexen and Demyx.
@@soul6733 The 13 lives in this context that Xehanort had are the 13 villains from KH3. The ones you ultimately fight in the Keyblade Graveyard in the final stretch of the game.
I thought the “cozy little world” was just referencing The Land of Departure. Otherwise it makes no sense that Eraqus would randomly go there. It’s likely that’s where Odin settled until his death, leaving Eraqus as his successor.
well the story is kinda like star wars, with Xehanort being Anakin (thought to be the chosen one but being bad instead) and Sora as Luke.
considering this fact, Xehanort will get his 14th life as a ghost later on.
Anakin still was the chosen one though, luke isn't.
Child Xehanort is seriously damn adorable 😂😂
I like how despite the chibi art style, the artists decided to emphasize Aqua's chest. Like, from what I can remember, the other female characters don't have very pronounced breasts, which makes sense because of the chibi art style and more modest clothing. Aqua's on the other hand is very noticeable.
Don't worry, I hate myself for noticing this too.
Well to be fair, Aqua’s original design was for 3D meaning the costume couldn’t be as intricate and had to be kinda simplistic for gameplay sake, so that means a tight shirt which means…chest.
You can see a lot of the union X characters are wearing heavy robes or are like 15.
This was a nice let's watch and it really expanded Xehanort's character wish this came out before KH3. I hope for the next LP it's Mario and Luigi I need it maybe Three Houses or Zelda afterwards been a long time with both of them.
I think I’ll miss this art style. The characters all look very cute.
Return to Three houses.....do it.....
1:11:10 “Plunge the thirteen lights into shadow” ok I was just skipping around and for a second I thought this story got official voice acting only to realize oh damn it was Nico Again. My dude, please go pro, you got the power
Remember when they told Nomura that he was working on FF7 remake through the teaser trailer so it was a surprise for him too?
so no surprise that dark road was left to 2 ppl.
Art work makes me want to play the world ends with you.
Gosh his artwork is beautiful
I'm interested in what the next new series will be maybe Yakuza 4 that would be cool. I do hope at some point we can revisit Fire Emblem Three Houses I miss Professor Nico.
1:09:30 One of my favorite moments in this Let's Watch. Describes Dark Road perfectly!
damn that twist at the end pretty dope
i'm not sure if it was intentional but I like how said xeanort said eraqus is always the JOKER
Gonna throw in Trails in the Sky as a LP recommendation, though, not sure you'd want another JRPG at the same time as Xenoblade 3, even with different gameplay.
So regarding what Xehnaort had said about wanting fourteen lifetimes. The first 13 can be considered himself and the 12 vessels he has in Kingdom Hearts 3. But what about the fourteenth one you may be asking? Well let's look to what Noruma had released for the end of Dark Road. He released art of Young Xehnaort holding an umbrella as its raining at Miyashita park in Shibuya, Japan. Or a version of that park in Quadratum.
This and the 13th question that Nomura had answered during an interview confirms that KH3 isn't the end of Xehanort, namely not the last we see of him. Since at the end of KH3 we see him and Eraqus both become young again before going to the afterlife. And the Afterlife seems to be Quadratum.
Thanks to this, we'll be seeing Xehanort and Eraqus again in KH4. And maybe we'll also see their classmates and the upperclassmen there as well. Hanging out together with Neku, Rindo and everyone from both TWEWY games. Seeing as Neku in Dream Drop Distance said: "See you in Shibuya" to Sora.
Also major lore about the person who raised Xehanort during his time on destiny island. That's the Union X/Missing Link player character. That's right we were mislead into thinking our character from Union X became Xehanort after dying. Nope! He became the Missing Link player character who goes onto raise Xehanort, the Great Great Great Grandson of Ephemr, on Destiny Island.
Oh and I personally Believe that the Child of Destiny prophecy also applies to Riku. Seeing as he's also from Destiny Islands and was chosen to be a vessel for darkness. So it's not that unreasonable to think that its Riku.
As much as I wouldn't like to say it but this kind of sets up Xehanort returning potentionally, somehow and idk how tf. Nomura mentioned in a QnA that even though Xehanort's story arc was completed with the Dark Seeker Saga, that does not mean he will never appear in the story again. But then again, who knows lmao.
The whole 14 lifetimes comment definitely implies it (maybe Xehanort had one last vessel if he did succeed in KH3) plus some rumors regarding Nomura's new Xehanort art depicting maybe Quadratum.
TRAILS IN THE SKY AS THE NEXT LETS PLAY!!! PLEASE!!!
Need my trails fix…..
Ephemer appearing to Sora in Kh3: Go beat up my grandkid for me kiddo
xehanort and riku are the best kingdom hearts characters ever, so much emotion and edge from these two
God damn! I nearly spit out my water when Nico misread Odin's name as "Olden."
They proved us wrong. They have a graveyard, people die in Kingdom Hearts.
We just forgetting the literal Keyblade graveyard with all the dead kiddies? Lol
I feel like in the case of Brain, he might have gone back to a time that was after Ephemer had long past, but before Xehanort and Eraqus' generation were born.
Given that his appearance at Scala ad Calem was predicted, there's also the possibility his identity was kept under wraps and he might have been working in the shadows throughout his lifetime there.
He clearly had joined a group involved in clandestine matters kept hidden among the citizens; probably to prepare for the coming perils that Ephemer had once encountered.
I feel as though there are characters who are staying off the grid as much as possible, being aware that there is a danger that lurks in the shadows.
And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be the Master of Masters.
The ending of khux with Brain was just before Missing Link most likely. Our character said they lived two lives. The first was khux. The second was probably in missing link. So them as the hooded figure was probably their third life.
I think them in the hood was just the end of their second life. I wouldn’t be surprised if Missing Link ends with the MC getting baby Xehanort from the mother.
I guess ultimately this story mainly revolved around Eraqus and Xehanort - anything related to Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain is probably fully revealed in Missing Link with the bloodlines aspect, since we generally know at this point what happened to the KHUX Player Character, Lauriam and Elrena, and Ventus
Lmfao Bragi was Xigbar. Funny as hell how all he did was swap two letters to get his layer name of Braig.
welcome to another episode of Nomura introducing and cutting down a full cast while throwing lore bombs. LPwise really hoping Trails in the sky happens, althought Super paper mario would be cool too.
The implication or theory is that the player character dies in Union X and is reincarnated as the player character in the upcoming missing link who then goes on to look after Xehanort and retains his memories of his past life
Nice. That is a cool ending and some big twists there. ^_^ Thank you very much for this amazing "Let´s Watch". I enjoyed it so much and it was a great journey about Xehanorts past. ;-)
Really interesting backstory of Xehanort and Eraqus and so tragic, too. I also agree and wish that we knew this (Dark Road story) before KH3 to understand Xehanort and Eraqus better and their relationshp they had back then to feel for them more emotionally and heart breaking when they vanished in the end.
Baldr being consumed by darkness was a good twist which was reasonable/understandable, because what happened to his sister (it reminds me a bit of Lauriam/Marluxia and his sister) and darkness interfered and he was depressed and manipulated by it. Bragi being Luxu/Braig was another cool twist. It was a nice idea/move to see Luxu was there hidden as one of the keyblade wielder/classmates of Xehanort and Eraqus to observe them.
Also that Xehanort is a descendant from Ephemer and his mother is related to Skuld is another big twist and interesting, too. (So maybe Ephemer and Skuld were a couple at some point and had a child who could be a [grand-]parent to Xehanort? Hopefully that will be explained in Missing Link.)
I am so glad about the other big twist in the end/epilogue that it turns out that "Player" was the blue hooded figure who took Xehanort to Destiny Island and raised him and that Player was not reincarnated as Xehanort. I always thought that this theory was weird and stupid, but many others said/assumed this, so that it was believed as a fact until this Dark Road ending released and stated/proofed otherwise. Really happy about that secret revealed, because this makes more sense (that it does not show the face and clothes under that hood and robe, because the player was created/custom made by yourself and fits better if it was not shown how that person look like now) and it was interesting about the child of destiny thing that Player was talking about (I think that child of destiny could be Sora, it would fit perfectly.)
I am looking forward to KH Missing Link which some other mysteries and secrets will be revealed there and I want to know what happened with the other characters, like Brain, Skuld, Ephemer and how the 2nd life of the Player will be there. ^^
Nico thank goodness we are all not Xehanort. Union X to Missing Link to Dark Road. plus love the new Xehanort.
I am ready for Missing Link now. And Kh4 .
Question Nico.....do you agree with what Xehenort did now in when he's older or....not. do you think his actions while harsh and evil was justified by dark road
Also at 9:12 if you look to the left of the screen Nico you can see a imagine of a person there
No way he was. Dude had a sad backstory but he still wanted to reset the world to a blank state and then rule over it.
I think the inference that Xehanort will come back is the 14th lifetime he talked about with Eraqus- to enjoy life in the new world. It's possible through Nomura shenanigans, that Xehanort could potentially come back in some way during either this current saga, or during the saga afterward, if the world is remade. At least, that's my guess, because it's the only thing I could think of. Also, I really enjoy the slight parallels between Riku's and Xehanort's stories, with the Child of Destiny story. Xehanort was Eraqus's Riku, and Eraqus being his Sora. Riku was thought to be the true Keyblade Wielder during KH1, and it's still a consistent theory. However, much like Xehanort, Riku was twisted to darkness. And to be fair, the story does apply just as much to Riku as it does Sora. Riku simply chose the same path as Xehanort, in the end, but with different ideals and values, still making our more present generation the proper targets for the story, though it's still fascinating that all of their paths are relatively similar in various ways.
So about Missing Link. Yes it is going to be a 3d vocalize mobile game however it to be said that is possible to be sort of similar to Pokémon Go but with lore add to in to it and some sort of Gotcha trophies to equip. Well just have to wait and see.
I can't with the way Nico voices Odin. It's like the Judge backflipped into Kingdom Hearts
I am already an invested fan of Kingdom Hearts but the stuff happening in Dark Road and KHUX has made me more invested in Kingdom Hearts.
Nomura is lucky that they are people who can somehow be invested in a complicated lore mess of a game and continue to be invested in said franchise.
I know!!! Can not wait for 4 the hype is real!!!!!
I do enjoy Hades' resting-smug face
24:15
Maleficent: yes, burn Hodor, burn
Hodor: I'm doing it, i can't exactly burn any faster!
Maleficent: burn!
Hodor: i'm doing it, geez!
Maleficent: Burn!
*Hodor falls and says something about her keys*
Crazy thought here, but what if Odin is Yen Sid??? 😆😆😆
We didn't see him at all among Eraqus and Xehanort's peers, and I'm pretty sure he'd mentioned how he consulted him after he passed as a Keyblade Master.
He also did mention near the end that Odin had decided he'd planned to retire with them being his last official students and find a nice "cozy" world to stay in, while ensuring that their must be a change.
And maybe it's something crazy like he used his abilities to change his face and identity to the one we now know.
Lol, but that's just me spitballing a crazy idea. 😆
So Luxu must have gotten pretty lazy with getting a new name for himself later in his life when taking a new vessel when here he is Bragi, and later he is Braig.
You mayyyy wanna rewatch the “Missing Link” trailer, if you haven’t watched it already.
This story was never about Brain and old Scala. That’s what Missing Link is going to be.
You know who the Master of Masters reminds me of? Loki(from mythology). He is a Trickster, with unimaginable, perhaps godlike power. He has goals, but his plans are complex, as are his motives- of which we know little about, because I doubt he's given anywhere close to the full extent of his motives, as well as doubt that he is done scheming up ways to achieve said goals. He doesn't give people straight answers, instead answering in riddles to test his conversation partner's cunning without fully appearing to do so with his immense gift of manipulation. I imagine when we do finally learn everything about the Master of Masters, it will answer a lot of things about the full, finished world of Kingdom Hearts... Or Nomura will be like, "Nah, I'm still just getting started. Have you seen the inside of my brain?", but I suppose we'll have to see with the progression of the Dark Seekers Saga.
I dunno if anyone mentioned this, but the two animators were actually women. They joined the ML team soon after this was done.
9:54 Ok, that is cute.
Poor Vor.
1:41:52 Oh my god. I think I actually called it. I think that actually was Skuld.
1:51:04 Actually, that makes more sense.
1:55:51 Ah. That makes sense now.
Nico did you notice that Bragi name is just Braig with the last two letters switched?
Xehanort wasn't wrong. He did live 13 times technically in Kingdom Hearts 3.
He said he needs 14 lives 13 to complete his goal one to see the new world
Fourteen lifetimes, for the world after…