Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts 4, Missing-Link, and Dark Road in extended Famitsu interview

[LightUpTheSky452]

I wonder if the reason Xehanort ends up bald is similar to Voldermort doing so in the Harry Potter series, with his actions making him lose his soul (multiple times over, in fact). There's also a bit more to it than that, like the snake connection, but obviously Nomura wouldn't do something like that. And man, is this weird to talk about.

About Skuld... while I don't doubt that Ephemer sadly moved on without her and she's of course Subject X, I will say that the woman who's Xehanort's mother looked an astounding amount like Skuld. So who knows? Maybe Skuld could somehow not be Subject X, or there could be two Skulds running around somehow. -shrugs- I also know Xehanort's mother is a while after Ephemer founded Scala, so I'm not saying that she might be Skuld or a Skuld, but maybe one of Skuld's descendents, if she was somehow still around with Ephemer, after all.

Anyway, a lot of this is good and interesting news, like with the new scenario writers, and I'm excited. I loved Neo TWEWY's scenario writer so much--and this should just work well, with someone who worked with moderninzing Shibuya before writing modernizing "Shibuya" again. And hopefully this will mean great things for our female characters, like people have already pointed out, as Nagi and Shoka in particular were great.

I should also probably say that I was one who didn't like Yozora, because I was nervous that the Verum Rex stuff might take over KH, and I didn't like Yozora for crystallizing Sora in the bad ending, etc. but I'm willing to try with him now.

 

[Sign]

But isn't stuff like that stereotypical for secret societies? They pretend to be a family?

Then again, maybe I'm simply overestimating the importance of meaningful names, and Skuld did return to this timeline with Ephemer. I guess I'm going to believe that for now.

Alternatively you can join us Ephemer x Player shippers in the ship graveyard 8D

 

[Blade1587]

I wonder if the reason Xehanort ends up bald is similar to Voldermort doing so in the Harry Potter series, with his actions making him lose his soul (multiple times over, in fact). There's also a bit more to it than that, like the snake connection, but obviously Nomura wouldn't do something like that. And man, is this weird to talk about.

Actually, now that you mention it, the kh4 trailer did mention the soul in one of the quotes showing up on screen.

Maybe this next saga will explore the concept of soul in a similar way that the heart has been used for the dark seeker saga.

Edit: thinking about it, I can even see it as something they could use to retroactively explain how some Nobodies remained looking human and also the nature of the Lingering Will left behind by Terra

 

[LucemFerto]

Okay, I have a question, because I have seen this on other websites, but it does appear to be just nowhere in the article: Does it say somewhere that Missing Link and/or Dark Road will explore the mysteries of Xehanort's bloodline?

Because it seems like someone conflated Xehanort and Eraqus in that regard, but I just wanted to make sure.

 

[Sign]

Okay, I have a question, because I have seen this on other websites, but it does appear to be just nowhere in the article: Does it say somewhere that Missing Link and/or Dark Road will explore the mysteries of Xehanort's bloodline?

Because it seems like someone conflated Xehanort and Eraqus in that regard, but I just wanted to make sure.

It does not. I don't think they've ever brought up the subject of Xehanort's lineage. It's only ever been about Eraqus, and I guess Ephemer now.

 

[LoneFox]

But it would make a lot of sense for Xehanort to be from Ephemer's bloodline, especially if Eraqus is from Brain's, wouldn't it?

In fact, I'm starting to see some connections that could form a story. It's a dark Scala, because the ruling family (which would be Ephemer's) is having a darkness problem, or perhaps even Darkness with a capital D. Brain's job is to get rid of that problem, that's why the ark landed him there. When he succeeds, the city transforms into light version (think Hollow Bastion vs. Radiant Garden). Also, taking Babynort away could be part of that cleansing.

It is very speculative, but would explain a lot.

 

[SuperNova]

It's interesting to think that Xehanort potentially being from Ephemer's bloodline as in the founder of Scala still gives him an inferiority complex over Eraqus being descended from Brain. Maybe he's from the "hidden" bloodline.

 

[LoneFox]

It's interesting to think that Xehanort potentially being from Ephemer's bloodline as in the founder of Scala still gives him an inferiority complex over Eraqus being descended from Brain. Maybe he's from the "hidden" bloodline.

He simply doesn't know about his true origins.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

But it would make a lot of sense for Xehanort to be from Ephemer's bloodline, especially if Eraqus is from Brain's, wouldn't it?

In fact, I'm starting to see some connections that could form a story. It's a dark Scala, because the ruling family (which would be Ephemer's) is having a darkness problem, or perhaps even Darkness with a capital D. Brain's job is to get rid of that problem, that's why the ark landed him there. When he succeeds, the city transforms into light version (think Hollow Bastion vs. Radiant Garden). Also, taking Babynort away could be part of that cleansing.

It is very speculative, but would explain a lot.

I prefer this.

 

[palizinhas]

He simply doesn't know about his true origins.

Doesn't he? Would be kind of weird to give Xehanort this whole convoluted backstory and he died without ever learning it.

 

[The_Echo]

Doesn't he? Would be kind of weird to give Xehanort this whole convoluted backstory and he died without ever learning it.

I don't see a problem if that's the case.

But it's not impossible he does learn about his origins (maybe about Player too). There is that line when he's talking to the Master, "I've learned... the reason for my existence" which in JP is「悪い意味で自分の存在意義を感じた」(I felt the reason for my existence in a bad meaning ("in a bad way" may be more natural)). If, for example, infant Xehanort's removal from Scala correlates with its transformation, or even abandonment, it certainly fits.
The Secret Report where he mentions Eraqus's lineage is written early on in his tour of the worlds before his Mark of Mastery, when he's still in his youth. There's plenty of time after that point for him to learn about himself.

 

[LoneFox]

Doesn't he? Would be kind of weird to give Xehanort this whole convoluted backstory and he died without ever learning it.

He seems to have learned about it soon after writing the KH3 secret report where he mentions Eraqus being blueblood. From BBS Xehanort's report VIII, note the term Successor:
"I had already shown the Mark and become a Keyblade Master—but having been passed over as Successor, all that remained to me was the road of teacher."

 

[bambii (aka foreteller)]

Re: the comment that ML takes place 4 generations after Ephemer, I’m seeing a lot of people making the assumption that this means ML takes place 4 generations after UX, and that KH3 is therefore set ~180-ish years after UX. But that’s overlooking the fact that we don’t actually know how much time passes from the end of UX to when Ephemer emerges from the lifeboat. All the other Union leaders + company got pulled across time, so for all we know Ephemer skipped forward several hundred years. Am I missing something?

 

[LoneFox]

I’m seeing a lot of people making the assumption that this means ML takes place 4 generations after UX, and that KH3 is therefore set ~180-ish years after UX.

You need to add the time between the beginning of Missing Link and the beginning of Dark Road, which is presumably two generations, or about 50 years. So, the total would be somewhere between 200 and 250 years, which is still way shorter than what Luxu tells in the secret reports.

All the other Union leaders + company got pulled across time, so for all we know Ephemer skipped forward several hundred years. Am I missing something?

First, that would not matter, because there wouldn't be anybody for the Eye to see, or to be passed on during those centuries. Second, large amount of debris on the scene where he emerges should mean that the town was destroyed very recently. Third, it makes sense that the ark/lifeboat had exactly 7 destinations pre-programmed into it (one for each pod), but 8 people ended up using it, leaving the last one without a destination.

 

[Squood!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1519462344212062208

Well this certainly clears things up a bit. He is indeed talking about the worlds of the games themselves and not the characters.

Someone really oughta specify next time....or maybe not. Nomura prolly gettin very tired of this question

 

[Sign]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1519462344212062208

Well this certainly clears things up a bit. He is indeed talking about the worlds of the games themselves and not the characters.

Someone really oughta specify next time....or maybe not. Nomura prolly gettin very tired of this question

Yeah, we knew this already, it was in the web interview, hence why I left it out here.

My take is that he misunderstood the sentiments he's seeing online and thought he was getting ahead of things by addressing it early, when he's really just failing to realize that people only want cameos.

 

[SuperNova]

I've wanted TWEWY cameos since DDD, Neku and Sora need that reunion dang it. But I feel like Nomura is gonna keep saying his Shibuya is different until his face turns blue, poor guy needs to breathe.

 

[Chie]

Except when he says they're the same sometimes.

In-between saying that everything he's doing now is not related to Versus XIII.

I think the exact relationship between different works by the same people is much more ethereal and formless than people who want a yes/no answer for the wiki can grasp. And I think a lot of creators resort to hard "no"s because it's the easiest way to explain it in a way where your brand manager won't get mad at you.

 

[HakaishinChampa]

Just because he says they won't show up in Quadratum or there's no connection - normal Shibuya could still be in KH4 in some shape or form. Maybe Sora & Co. need to return to Quadratum some point in the story but can't find Nameless Star in the Final World so they find Shibuya and that let's them get to Quadratum.

 

[Chie]

TWEWY Shibuya is also not "normal", since in the Ultimania Nomura differentiates them from Shibuya (ours) instead of eachother. Instead, both would seem to be "Shibuyas of death".

There's a lot that's up in the air but even within "the Quadratum connected to Yozora" there might be multiple Shibuyas. There's a whole lot of scenes in which their context in reality is still not clear, like the contents of the Verum Rex advertisement.

Even though this isn't "a TWEWY crossover", which is clear, I still think pretty much anything could happen in the game regardless of what Nomura says. We don't even know what Quadratum or Yozora or any of these things actually are, after all.