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Though not officially confirmed by Square or Disney, creator Tetsuya Nomura has openly admitted to having a plot for Kingdom Hearts III in the works and is planning to create it. Though, he has stated that he is working on another title first. Much like Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts III's first look can be found in the secret trailer at the end of Kingdom Hearts II. The first look at the game shows some new, unknown characters and a whole lot of keyblades.A message in a bottle with Mickey's emblem.
This form of teaser trailer was used in "Another Side, Another Story" and "Deep Dive". Two trailers secretly found in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix which hinted at Kingdom Hearts II and eventually, we learned that it was a teaser to the backstory of Kingdom Hearts II. I feel the same tactic is being used here, why else would Square put this random trailer at the end of the game?
This secret trailer can be found by completing certain tasks within the game. On the hardest difficulty, you just need to beat it. That's reward enough, apparently.
What Happens in the Trailer ::.
The secret trailer reveals to us a list of all of the Ansem Reports. I can't read Japanese, but it points out a few Reports in bolded, up front text that doesn't scroll by. It says Ansem Report 8 & 9 at the bottom. Ansem Report 8 talks about Xehanorts machind that creates Heartless, while 9 has a line that may hold great significance to the trailer. The line reads "The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it." Knowing that Kingdom Hearts explores more than one world, more than one side of the heart it is safe to say that maybe KH3 will deal with how the keyblade brings destruction, because it doesn't seem like the happiest trailer ever.
UPDATE (April 20/06): The English trailer has been released. The text that reads at the beginning along with the Ansem Reports reads:
"The Keyblade is said to hold phenominal power. One legend says it's weilder saved the world while another says that he wrought chaos upon it. I must know what this keyblade is. A key opens doors..."
It seems my previous assumptions were correct, it is referring to those Ansem Reports with a little added on I didn't expect.
Three soldiers.
The trailer brings us to a deserty plain with dark clouds over head. Three heavily armored soldiers are standing by a ruin which quickly erupts into dust and then nothing. The first soldier we see has chrome armor with a helmet that has rabbit-like earpieces. He wears a cape and holds a giant keyblade over his shoulder which is of an unfamiliar design.
To his right, another armoured figure walks towards him, also dawning a cape. This character has ear-pieces that shoot backwards, rather than up. The tinted eyepiece is the same as the first soldier, the eyes are unseen. This second charater has larger forearm armour and is relatively thinner. He is not carrying a weapon.
To the first soldiers left is a third character. Much like the first soldier in appearance but there is something about this third soldier that looks feminine. The walk or the figure makes this last character have a female touch. This character is carrying a keyblade as well.
Mickey or Kairi's Keyblade, Kingdom Key, Road To Dawn. The structure behind turns to dust.
As the three are close together, the first soldier moves towards three keyblades sticking out of the sand. The first keyblade in the line has been argued to be either Kairi's Keyblade used late in Kingdom Hearts II or Mickey's Keyblade, then there is The Kingdom Key, followed by Riku's Road To Dawn Keyblade. The fact that these three Keyblades are selected above all others predict great importance of the three heroes once again. Much thanks to the many people who have e-mailed me with corrections referring to the keyblades. When the soldier moves closer to them, the ruin he was standing on vanishes into dust. The soldiers pick up the keyblades, the two with the pointed "ears" weild two blades each, the one with "ears" pointing back picks up the Kingdom Key.
There is a quick pan outwards and it is revealed that there are hundreds upon hundreds of keyblades sticking out of the ground. It strongly resembles a graveyard. There are for pathes carved out, which have a striking resemblence to the crossroads from Chain of Memories. The crossroads proved as paths between light, dark, twilight (as DiZ said) and dawn (as Riku said). Each character in the trailer comes from a different path, indicating a different state of heart. It is clear the crossroads will play an important part in KH3.
Comparison of the crossroads visible in CoM and the secret trailer.
Suddenly, there is a distant rumble, almost like an explosion. The three look into the distance and through the haze of the heat, an outline can be seen of a figure. Then the following captions show up on screen:
"It all begins with birth by sleep."
"Master of Keyblade"
"The Lost Two"
"Memory of Xehanort"
"Chasers"
"Keyblade War"
The final text says, "It all begins...with birth by sleep." Thanks to "Trike" for submitting this to me.
What Happens Next?? ::.
So, Kingdom Hearts II leaves us with Sora and friends home safe on Destiny Islands. All the evils are set straight, everyone is living in peace and harmony. Sora's adventure is over. With the fact that the ordeal is over, there is a chance that a new main character will come into play in Kingdom Hearts III. Also, considering the massive amounts of Keyblades found, it's entirely possible anyone could weild one.
Then again, after the credits are done rolling in KH2, Kairi runs out onto the beach with a letter in a bottle. It bares King Mickey's emblem on it. The three read the parchment with worried expressions, the camera never exposes the paper to show us what is on it. This is indication enough that Sora is being called off on another mission (starting to sound like James Bond).
Speculation from April 20, 2006
After seeing the english trailer, it becomes more clear of what may be going on. The Ansem Reports reveal a theory of the keyblade bringing chaos upon the world. And indeed in this scene the world ain't looking too good. In reference to birth by sleep it's a good guess that we're delving deeper into the "memories" that have been dealt with in all the games. A world created when Sora fell asleep perhaps? A theme that would be likely for Kingdom Hearts is alternate realities, where in another reality the keyblade destroys the world, not save it. This may be the theme of KH3. Check the theories for further answers to that.
Nick S. e-mailed me bringing up this interesting point: "The 3 Soliders/Chasers and the mystery Keyblade wielder came from different paths in the crossroads. This means a person from the light, dark, twilight, and dawn have come together to wield keyblades." His theory checks out, indeed the characters come from different paths to meet. What does this mean about the characters? It seems they have been seperated and they have distinct attributes about them and their hearts. Thanks, Nick!
Tetsuya Nomura also stated that these are new characters and the scene is set in the past, but also the future in a sense. A strong indicator we are dealing with another dimension where time does not align to Sora's world.
Speculation from March 7, 2006
The text at the end of the secret trailer says "Memory of Xehanort", so it could be that the guy isn't dead, yet. If that's the case he has more lives than a cat. But, in Square's Final Fantasy X, the nemesis, Seymour, took forever to die. He was reborn several, several times. Square is notorious for keeping their bad guys alive against all odds.
The reference to the "Lost Two" might refer to someone and their nobody. It may also refer to Sora and Riku. This is pretty unknown. It could be anything.
"The Chasers" is a pretty random term considering the other text. I believe that The Chasers are the soldiers who are seen in the trailer. Like the Nobodies, this is what they are referred to as. Off the top of my head, I'm going to guess that they "chase" keyblades, bringing them back to this dead land. Maybe for safety? And it's possible that they could never aquire Sora's. I'm betting, through the nature of the trailer, that these guys are bad. So, they may be another step up from Organization XIII, using XIII just as pawns. So from now on, I'm going to refer to the soldiers as Chasers.
With the end text refering to "birth by sleep" may refer to Sora's deep sleep between Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. During this time anything could happen that influenced the events of this trailer. Also, the depths of Kingdom Hearts II dig deeper when three parts of human existance are revealed by Ansem in his Other Reports. There is the body, soul, and heart. It is known the corrupt heart becomes a Heartless, the empty body becomes a Nobody, but what about the soul? It may in fact be an ingredient in creating a Nobody, but the soul may also become something else, something more powerful. The Chasers?
Active Theories ::.
Theory #3: The story is completely unrelated. Could be a spin-off.
Verdict: Possible, but unlikely. It could be that since Sora's adventure is over, another person adventure could begin. Also, being a keyblade war, it's possible the new title could be just a spin-off. A fighting game or hack-n-slash? More support comes from Tetsuya Nomura who states the featured characters are completely new faces.
Theory #4: The "birth by sleep" line refers to a new story of beings created by Sora during his sleep. Taking place within Sora's mind as he sleeps, hence the "birth by sleep". Born within Sora's dreams.
Verdict: Again, possible. The soldiers could be representations of Sora, Riku and Kairi overcoming the locked and lost memories caused by Naminé. Their faces are not shown either to keep people guessing or because Sora's memories are so scattered that he can't recall faces, so the figures are represented as soldiers.
Theory #5: The things "born by sleep" are another form of Heartless or Nobody, but since the soul is such a powerful thing, it's creation out of darkness is much stronger. A "Chaser" refering to a soul chasing a body or purpose.
Verdict: From the trend the games have been setting, it seems possible that another form of humans could be converted to darkness, but this type of creature would be repetative and something Square probably wouldn't want to do.
Theory #6: The game takes place in an alternate reality where the Keyblade is a weapon of destruction and evil, not good. Either Ansem or Mickey travels to this world to end the chaos.
Verdict: This type of theme would be something to expect from a game like Kingdom Hearts which can throw twists like this. Indeed the reference to the Keyblade being good and evil has come up often in the series and will be dealt with further. The keyblades evil tendencies will be revealed in the next game for sure. Whether or not we'll see Ansem or Mickey travelling to another dimension is still pretty unknown.
Theory #8: This trailer is actually advertising a Kingdom Hearts CGI movie, much like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. (submitted by Mayura)
Verdict: Square did it with Final Fantasy, it could be done again here. Lets hope it's a game at least.
Dead Theories ::.
Theory #1 (theory busted!): The trailer is a flashback to long before Sora's adventure. The keyblades are wiped out in the "war" and that's why it's so difficult to aquire one.
Verdict: This theory is false. I heard this on a message board. It's an interesting theory but it isn't true. In KH2 it becomes clear that more than one person can weild a keyblade, so it would be logical that more and more people would have them later, rather than soon. Also, it mentions the memory of Xehanort who is defeated in the end of Kingdom Hearts II. Therefore, logic says that this must take place after KH2.
Theory #2: The three "chasers" are Sora, Kairi, Riku.
Verdict: Kingdom Hearts Ultimania posted an interview with creator Tetsuya Nomura who stated that the characters were not in fact Sora, Kairi, or Riku and were three completely new characters.
Theory #7: (from visitor TGK): I have found a pic of Sora online that you might want to take a look at. It shows Sora in a red suit and says "the king" at the bottom. I think that this might mean that all the events in the trailer could take place long after Sora's death. Sora may have been involved with a war using the keyblades.
Verdict: The image talked about was not included because it is fan art and we don't have the rights to it. But, the red suit is Sora's Valor form from Kingdom Hearts II and "The King" reference is just a nickname by the artist. The game could take place after Sora's death, but that wouldn't be related to his suit. Besides, this is a Disney produced game, killing the main character is definitely not like them, something they wouldn't let Square-Enix get away with. The kids, they'd cry.
Release Information ::.
I can bet you that we'll be seeing a Kingdom Hearts III on Playstation 3. Why? Because PS2 is in it's final days, Playstation 3 is sceduled for release later this year and Square takes forever to develop games so either this will be an incredibly outdated game on a dead PS2 or an incredibly new one on a powerful PS3.
If it's on the Playstation 3, you can bet there will be some oustanding graphics, larger scale battles and high definition picture! Expect Square to make the best of this and we'll be able to see every reflection of these "Chasers" armor in-game as well as twice as many enemies on screen at once as in Kingdom Hearts II. WOW!
Then again, Square is releasing Final Fantasy XI on Xbox 360, it's possible they could switch partners to Microsoft. This might be a bad business move since the Xbox isn't very popular in Japan and given that Kingdom Hearts is HUGE in Japan, Square will probably keep it to PS2. Phew.
As for a release date. Well, let's look at Square's track record. We saw the secret KH2 trailer after the first game in 2002. Then Square officially announced the game a year later. So that's about 2003, then they delayed it several times until they finally pinned down March 2006 for the release. That's FOUR years after the first game, people. And now, on PS3, they will have to start from the ground up getting used to developing for a new, more powerful system. Square will have to create a brand new graphics engine and battle system. That should take quite a bit of time, but don't complain, quality takes time, the more time taken, the better KH3 will be.
Check out my calculations:
Developing new graphics engine + new battle sytem + switching platforms + delays + possible delays of PS3 + other stuff = 4+ years.
I'm going to estimate we will see some previews of Kingdom Hearts III in 2008, then we'll see a release in 2011 at the earliest. WHOA! That's far off. But think, it's only five years. Let's all wish for sooner, and put some coffee on while at it.