Dark Road ► Dark Road Finale Megathread

[LoneFox]

From what Master Xehanort told Vanitas, he stated that he wasn't born from Ventus AT ALL but rather latched onto him.

This is what Xehanort believes/suspects, but it's not what is actually going on. Remember that his sources of information aren't exactly reliable. He has the dreams he had as a child, which was a long time ago, and story is probably badly incomplete because the Player saw only a small part of it. Then he has the keyblade lore originating from the Book, which is also incomplete and polluted by later interpretations and additions (just like the "holy" books of real world religions). Finally, the Ven he knows in person is very weak and therefore the idea that Ven beat the Darkness to submission would feel absurd to him.

Remember in Union Cross we find out that Ven is actually pure light and he uses this to give Darkness a form.

He wasn't a pure light originally, but was turned into one temporarily whan the Darkness came out of him (and then later more permanently when Xehanort created Vanitas).

As of KH3 Ventus had already taken him back. I don't know why people keep confusing the past Vanitas we defeat in the graveyard as the present one.

This is simply wrong. Vanitas tried to rejoin them, but Ven rejected him. That's what the fight between them at the end of Ven's part of BBS is all about.

 

[Nazo]

There's basically no reason for "Child of Destiny = Sora" to actually become a bigger plot point because the thing it prophesizes has already happened from our perspective (KH3) without him even knowing about it. Which is perfect.

I'm pretty sure the reason it's brought up at all is more because it puts the final capstone on Xehanort's character. Think about it - he grew up being told he's the Child of Destiny who can save the world from darkness, so of course he grows up to think things like "I need to live 14 different lives" and "I'm the only person who can reset the world". Probably all the way until the end in KH3 he thought he was the anti-hero protagonist, saving the world because he's special and told he would.

Completely agree with this. I do hope the "child of destiny" thing stays as something in the past. It's the perfect way to communicate to the player how Sora fits into the larger narrative without explicitly stating so or contradicting what we already know. I hope it's not something that is continued to be discussed going forward, unless of course there's some kind of plot twist and it's not Sora.

I had the same thought. Only further adds to his character and his justifications for why he thinks he's in the right. He grew up being told he was destined for great things and to "save the world" and whatnot. I'm sure his ego grabbed ahold of that as he got older, especially since it was told to him repeatedly in his formative years.

 

[The_Echo]

Completely agree with this. I do hope the "child of destiny" thing stays as something in the past. It's the perfect way to communicate to the player how Sora fits into the larger narrative without explicitly stating so or contradicting what we already know. I hope it's not something that is continued to be discussed going forward, unless of course there's some kind of plot twist and it's not Sora.

I had the same thought. Only further adds to his character and his justifications for why he thinks he's in the right. He grew up being told he was destined for great things and to "save the world" and whatnot. I'm sure his ego grabbed ahold of that as he got older, especially since it was told to him repeatedly in his formative years.

To me the child of destiny plot point, regardless of its role in Missing-Link, is all about building out Xehanort's character, especially in relation to Sora.
It's a detail that recontextualizes Xehanort's behavior as a villain in a way that only adds depth, and more clearly communicates parts of him which you kind of had to look for previously (lots of people thought Xehanort's goals and heroic perception of himself were retconned in).

Where on the face of it, the reveal of a "destined chosen one" might seem tropey or lazy or out of place, the way it's used feels like a natural expansion of Xehanort as we already knew him. Even before the DR finale, I had the perception of Xehanort as being someone who was "promised the world," and buckled under its weight. So to see that this was literally the case is one of the most "yes, of course" moments I've ever had with a KH twist/reveal.

 

[LightxDarkness]

This is what Xehanort believes/suspects, but it's not what is actually going on. Remember that his sources of information aren't exactly reliable. He has the dreams he had as a child, which was a long time ago, and story is probably badly incomplete because the Player saw only a small part of it. Then he has the keyblade lore originating from the Book, which is also incomplete and polluted by later interpretations and additions (just like the "holy" books of real world religions). Finally, the Ven he knows in person is very weak and therefore the idea that Ven beat the Darkness to submission would feel absurd to him.


He wasn't a pure light originally, but was turned into one temporarily whan the Darkness came out of him (and then later more permanently when Xehanort created Vanitas).


This is simply wrong. Vanitas tried to rejoin them, but Ven rejected him. That's what the fight between them at the end of Ven's part of BBS is all about.

You honestly sound like you're in denial. We've had KH3RM, KHUX and now KHDR that have pretty much said Vanitas was his own being and one of the True Darknesses. That is why he reacted the way he did to Xehanort because he was trying to dodge the questions and try to cover his tracks. Vanitas is a True Darkness. This is a fact. He is and was never Ventus' darkness born from him.

 

[Ventuswayfinder]

I’m pretty certain that the Child of Destiny is bs.

I hope this is true; if not, I don’t know how to feel about the whole Child of Destiny thing

You honestly sound like you're in denial. We've had KH3RM, KHUX and now KHDR that have pretty much said Vanitas was his own being and one of the True Darknesses. That is why he reacted the way he did to Xehanort because he was trying to dodge the questions and try to cover his tracks. Vanitas is a True Darkness. This is a fact. He is and was never Ventus' darkness born from him.

Chill out, no one is disputing that. They only said it was from Xehanort's suspicions, so his belief shouldn't be considered a reliable confirmation.

 

[Chie]

You honestly sound like you're in denial. We've had KH3RM, KHUX and now KHDR that have pretty much said Vanitas was his own being and one of the True Darknesses.

This is sort of fair, but we've also had every single KH game tell us things about the Keyblade War that are looking extremely false these days, but the games refuse to explicitly acknowledge this.

This story has become one where it's tough to verify info unless we see it directly with our own eyes.

 

[Sign]

You honestly sound like you're in denial. We've had KH3RM, KHUX and now KHDR that have pretty much said Vanitas was his own being and one of the True Darknesses. That is why he reacted the way he did to Xehanort because he was trying to dodge the questions and try to cover his tracks. Vanitas is a True Darkness. This is a fact. He is and was never Ventus' darkness born from him.

Not that LoneFox even said what you're accusing them of, but nothing they've said is incorrect either. We know for a fact that Xehanort only has part of the story, so why should we take his word as the absolute truth?

Vanitas was not born from Ven's darkness, we all know that. It doesn't mean he holds no part of Ven within him.

 

[Zackarix]

This story ended up being just as important for Eraqus as it was for Xehanort, if not more so. Why is just a little bit of darkness enough for him to flip out? Eraqus has seen what darkness turned a trusted friend into and it wasn't pretty. Why was Eraqus so attached to Xehanort even after everything? Aside from them being the sole survivors of their generation they also had a ton of chemistry with each other - they really felt like best friends.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I-I still like it...

??? The style is really cute and adorable and very timeless. Unless you mean the animation which…yeah of course that is dated. It’s literally Flash.

I'm just tired of the style now. It worked for X/Unchained/Union Cross because those games were set during The Age of Fairy Tales but it just doesn't work as well for Dark Road because that game is supposed to feel more directly connected to the mainline Kingdom Hearts games.

 

[Chie]

Neither of these games are "supposed" to be in this style, it's entirely circumstance. Not that I dislike it.

 

[Perkilator]

I just had a thought:

Even if Sora somehow is “the child of destiny”, he wouldn’t give a hoot about it. Sora’s always been the “screw destiny” kind of boy who does good things on his own terms.

 

[maryadavies]

Phewwww. I can say right now, this game is still pretty grindy, if not WORSE than when it had microtransactions. I ended up having to zombie the later bosses b/c star charms are so easy to get now and I did not have the patience to leave it on my pc for months and months to get my level up. If you have to start over like I did, for crying out loud get powerful cards asap and get the cure ones maxed if you can.

Still. Yipe! Sure explains a few things tho I have had more than a sneaky suspicion about Sora anyway; because of the Ralph summon in KH3, I seriously think that Sora has a connection to Player somehow. Might not be a rebirth but there's a connection. Also with the Child of Destiny thing; if Sora is it, then I don't think he'll care at all. I agree with ya Perk; he's always been the type to go, "Eff destiny!" and kick its butt..

 

[Xickin]

So some thoughts:

1. I've been watching some KH theory videos, and I’m wondering if Riku might be this “Child of Destiny”; most of the theories have pointed out to me just how important Riku actually is. I can see him as said child owing to the fact that he is someone unique who can keep darkness locked in their heart, something even Xehanort had never seen before (and plus it would keep Sora in the ‘by accident’ position, thus maintaining the status quo). Plus, I feel like that's schtick of this series sometimes,
NOMURA: *Presents a noun*
US: It's Sora
NOMURA: NOPE!

2. (In a very sarcastic tone) How shocking that Bragi turned out to be Braig [Luxu]...I feel like this was a very inconsequential inclusion into the series; nothing new or really reinforced, and every reveal they had felt either unearned or obvious.

3. Gathering opinions: Who amongst Xehanort’s classmates should be considered a canon companion in the early episodes? I'm personally thinking Vor right now (for thematic and poignant sake) or Bragi (for reveal reasons).

 

[Sign]

3. Gathering opinions: Who amongst Xehanort’s classmates should be considered a canon companion in the early episodes? I'm personally thinking Vor right now (for thematic and poignant sake) or Bragi (for reveal reasons).

Edit: Rewatched the scenes and changed my mind lol

Edit 2: lol the credits have Urd as the party member for Episode 2 so maybe my original thought was correct

I've checked all four variations of Chapters 1-3.

In chapter 1, the dialogue is almost identical, and pretty generic in tone and personality. Obviously this was because they hadn't gotten the hang of things yet, but given what we have to work with, I felt it fit Hermod Urd best.

In chapter 2, there's a little more deviation, but the way the 4th scene plays out gives me the impression that Urd Bragi is probably the party member for this chapter. The main thing that convinced me was when Eraqus realizes the reason why the other party got caught by the queen, the only ones contributing to the discussion and expressing remorse are Hermod, Urd, and Vor.

In chapter 3, it's undoubtedly Vor. Seems like they put a lot more effort in expressing her than the others.

Hermod's the responsible one and the one that often rains on Eraqus's parade. I think it's more likely that he lead the other party than deal with him lol

If I had to pick just one though, it'll be Vor. The interactions she has with Eraqus and Xehanort throughout the game leads me to believe they spent more time with her than anyone else.

 

[LostArtist]

I just finished watching all the dark road cutscenes, it's a lot to take in, but I really enjoyed it! Imagine this whole thing being part of kh3 holy moly. ISTG everything is getting recontextualized for me ahhhh. Xehanort is precious . I need to catch up on the other mobile story now

also I could have sworn the upperclassmen theme was new, but turns out it was in kh3 and I just never remembered it, but it's sooo good

 

[LostArtist]

also, that one scene where xehanort's like, a life is too short to accomplish my goals, and he rather do it all himself, and that he needs 13 lives to rebuild the world,

but then he's like wait no 14 lives, to see the new world ...




ok you better show up, I'll be waiting

 

[bambii (aka foreteller)]

Yeah idk if this is a popular opinion but I’m absolutely thrilled about the possibility of seeing Xehanort show up in Quadratum and continue to be a staple throughout the series. Heck, give him a major role. I love this character.

 

[Sonofjafar]

No amount of backstory or shipping is going to make it not satisfying to see Sora try to kill Xehanort the moment he sees him

 

[Zettaflare]

No amount of backstory or shipping is going to make it not satisfying to see Sora try to kill Xehanort the moment he sees him

Sora might not even remember Xehanort if the theory of him losing his memory after Re:MIND is true. Which could lead to some interesting interactions between the two in KH4

 

[SuperNova]

I actually hope that theory about Sora losing his memory is proven incorrect, simply because it would be very interesting for him to see Xehanort and be suspicious as heck and antagonistic to this guy who is just trying to water his plants in peace.