[FONT="][FONT="]I have expressed yesterday that I am of the belief that the screenshot is real. I can also see how it could be fake. I’ve followed many discussion threads and debated with others about why they believe it to be real and why others believe it to be fake.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The key points of it being real, in my opinion, outweigh the points made about it being fake however the ‘fake points’, as it were, hold us all back from believing it to be true.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The designs of Sora, Donald, and Goofy are extremely imaginative and realistic to the world they are being in. Donald being a little Spyro looking dragon and Goofy being some weird green lizard with lumps (and he has little tentacle flaps that are reminiscent of Randall!) fit the aesthetics of the world and I would believe those to be the official designs if Monsters Inc were a chosen world. Sora being based on a monster seen in the movie is a bit odd, as Donald and Goofy were designed so well and fit their own selves so well it’s weird to see Sora with the colour scheme of purple and orange. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The Unversed are extremely well designed. The Floods are just like how they were designed in Birth by Sleep, and their transition to Unreal Engine 4 looks natural and fitting. The bigger enemy, that may be a regular enemy or a boss, is genius. It ties together the idea of Roz, a slug, with the Unversed. It has the symbol all over it, from the traditional emblem on itself to it’s fingers and eyes being based on the emblem.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The aesthetic design of the EXP text matches what we’ve seen in 0.2 and Kingdom Hearts 3 trailers. I am unsure if that is a text designed by Square Enix, and if so if it is easily replicated, or if it’s text that can be purchased and modified off a font website. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The level looks detailed enough for it to be believable. There are reflections of not only the characters and enemies, but also of the map of Earth above (I haven’t seen the movie in a long time but I feel that the movie had an actual map of the world so it’s a bit disappointing seeing misshapen replicas of America, Africa, and Australia). There’s also the open hallway which would lead to the scare floor, which highlights that maybe the Slug Unversed isn’t a boss since it would make sense for the company to go into a security shut down and the doors would shut (although I have a world plot theory coming up about this).[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]And as for that world plot theory, I’ve often begged for Monsters Inc to be in Kingdom Hearts 3. I thought it would be perfect with Kingdom Hearts being a door in the first game, and for Sora’s Keyblade that locks keyholes. I thought it was a match made in heaven for Xehanort to be seeking a door or a shortcut to achieve his destination. However the very nature of the Unversed being there throws that out completely because we might have a different Seeker of Darkness pulling the strings in Monstropolis.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The Unversed in Birth by Sleep were born of the negative energy from Vanitas after his split from Ventus. His return was foreshadowed in Dream Drop Distance, and it’s been clear since 2011 that pretty much everyone except for Riku Replica would be brought back in some fashion. For Vanitas to return, and on a mission from Xehanort, it makes sense he would be drawn to a world that feeds off the negative energy (read: fear) of children. And the designs of the Unversed look like Monsters which means he might have the perfect cover for going into that world. No one would give the Unversed a second look because they look like everyone else. The Slug Unversed is a perfect example of this. Like I said before, it is reminiscent of Roz.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Having Vanitas look into the massive amounts of negative energy that comes through this world makes narrative sense, and it works for Sora as well. This is a bit of a stretch, but Sora seeing this negative person who looks like him, a monster version of himself, will be confronting. It may even be a step towards restoring Ventus. Remember how Roxas was sending emotions through Sora without him realising, like when Sora started to cry when saying goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, or would make random quips at the Organization without realising why he was saying that? Ventus would react inside of Sora if he saw Vanitas. And that kind of drama would be delicious to explore. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]As for the negatives, I’ve seen some people who think one Pixar world is enough. It’s been understandable since the reveal of Big Hero 6 in 2015 that the Disney properties in this game are based on the CG films. So far only Olympus is the only world based on a 2D movie. Having Monsters Inc in there is another CG slot filled, and one less potential 2D slot taken away.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Another point is the reflections of the characters. I’ve noted that above that the screens could be real because the reflections are in place and reflect a lot, but they are blurry and some of them are out of place and look odd. It could potentially point towards these being fake, as a lack of care being put into place with optimising these screens. This resolution, however, makes no sense. Why would there be incredible designs for the main characters and the Slug Unversed but a lack of care given to other elements of the screenshots? There’s a reasonable explanation for this that I will get into soon, something a lot of people have touched on before so don’t expect anything original to be coming up aha.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Sora’s design is just downright bad. I mentioned above that it’s based on a monster from the movie, that information was found by another poster here. Donald and Goofy may also be based on monsters from the movie, however their designs and aesthetics work with them. Sora’s does not. Why would they choose an orange striped Monsters with purple hair as the inspiration for Sora? It is ugly and makes no sense. If it’s a fake then I have to give respect to the people who made these as it is clear they did their research on other monsters when designing Sora. But if it’s from the Osaka team, and with Pixar/Disney approval, why was this Sora approved? [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Furthermore, how could they not have implemented his jacket in a more natural way? Have it blend into his fur or something. It sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s only purpose there is to tell us, as the players of the game, which form Sora is in. But it’s insulting for them to have not naturally integrated it. Sora’s forms were naturally designed to match his Halloween/Christmas town clothes. We could still tell which form Sora was in when in Timeless River, thanks to subtle colouring of Sora’s clothes. How they were unable to find a natural way to blend Sora’s outfit in with a monster form has me actually baffled.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]This brings me to my final point. The point I said I was going to touch upon about optimisation. A big factor in peoples beliefs that it is fake is there are oddities around the screenshot. The hub portraits are of the standard characters rather than their monster forms. The reflections are blurry and out of place. There are some weird outlines on objects such as Sora’s Keyblade. If this is real then the solution is so obviously clear: this is a video game under development. Things are not finalised (like Sora’s monster form PLEASE!) and are under development. Plus this screen could have been taken anywhere from 6 to 12+ months ago (based on HUB and a consistent aesthetic and art style). [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]The second screenshot, the one that contains various debugging information like frame rate and whatnot, proves that optimisation on the world was underway. It makes sense for things to look odd. We’re not meant to see this. We’re not meant to see these oddities. Sulley’s fur is blurry, yes, but character models are still being tweaked. Young Xehanort is being fixed. I believe Nomura said Kairi and Riku haven’t been shown yet as they’re still trying to get them to look nice and proper for the game (I guess they don’t want another 2.8 Jump Festa scenario where they looked like crap and everyone and their mother was thinking that the game would look awful).[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]If this is something fake then like I said before, mad respect to those who faked these (this is a lot of work for one person, but it’s not impossible for it to have been one). With lighting, rigging, textures and whatnot, it’s impressive for people to have faked these. If it is real, then it makes sense for it to look incomplete. It’s a game under development and we aren’t meant to have seen it in this state (it’s like how Disney is not allowing Nomura to show the Big Hero 6 world. As of July 2017, it was not in a state that Disney would have liked to have shown, whereas Nomura wanted to show it).[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]I hate attaching myself to the “real†side, only because every time I believe in a real leak for a franchise I love, I end up burnt and hurt by the reality when it’s proven wrong. But after reviewing the evidence and possibilities, I can really see this as being a highly probably example of an actual world in Kingdom Hearts 3. I am ready to believe that Monsters Inc is a world in Kingdom Hearts 3. I am ready to believe I will hear Billy Crystal yelling to Vanitas “Put that thing back where it came from or so help me†before jumping into a boss battle. I am ready to believe that whenever Square Enix and Disney choose to reveal Monsters Inc that all the worries of the ‘fake points’ will have been rectified.[/FONT][/FONT]