Yesterday, KINGDOM HEARTS Union X Dark Road received its Version 5.0 update which put KINGDOM HEARTS Dark Road into offline mode and finally released the long-awaited conclusion of the game's story.
Many mysteries were answered while plenty of new ones were created, leaving many fans with a ton of questions about where KINGDOM HEARTS' story is going in KINGDOM HEARTS Missing-Link and beyond.
Series Creator Tetsuya Nomura was prepared for everybody's confusion, so a Q&A was prepared in advance for fans to read after finishing the finale to Dark Road.
Goldpanner has translated the Q&A and can be viewed down below. Also, consider buying Goldpanner a ko-fi!
First of all, my apologies for the wait.
I wanted to make it bigger, and there were parts I wanted to tell in more detail, but as this size of this installment physically went over capacity, I have depicted the essentials. I hope you enjoy it - both the completion of "Dark Road," and the gameplay, which we worked on quite a bit to make the difficulty level more balanced and easier to play. Also, the plot interweaves with future developments in "Missing-Link" and "KHIV," so keep that in mind.
Below, I have created a supplementary Q&A for this installment - if you're interested, I'd love for you to read it.
*This contains heavy spoilers for the end of the story. Be warned if you have not yet finished the game.
"KINGDOM HEARTS Union X DARK ROAD" Completion Commemorative Q&A
Q1: In previous titles, we saw the Xehanort who leaves Destiny Islands as a young man. He seems a lot younger in DR.
A1: DR presents the correct version. For previous games, we used the young man model we already had as a catch-all symbolic representation of "his youth," in order to save cost modeling a young boy version. In KHIII, they were specifically split. I'd like you to interpret it as the symbolic representation becoming a rich one.
Q2: Will there be any fix patches?A2: Yes. We've discovered some bugs, such as the battle backgrounds displaying the wrong background, and there are a few lines of dialogue fixed at the last minute to be replaced - these will be addressed in an upcoming patch called version 5.0.1. I am very sorry. Also, there are scenes where an easily understood form of the Player is shown in Xehanort's final battle and final reflections, but as it could be misinterpreted in a way I didn't intend, we will be updating how it is represented sometime next month too.
Q3: You said the mystery of why Xehanort went bald would be answered, but it ended up being unexpectedly straightforward.A3: Yes, it wasn't really a very important issue, after all. It's just that people were wrongly theorizing that it fell out after many years, so I wanted to correct the record that he shaved it. It also wasn't important that the Queen of Hearts didn't remember Xehanort. That's just how she is.
O4: Several Emblem Heartless appeared in the worlds of DR. Timeline-wise, Emblem Heartless weren't first created until after KH, right?A4: The reason Emblem Heartless appear in worlds of the past is an important part of the setting of "Missing-Link," so it will be explained in the future.
Q5: Who is the blue robed figure who appears in the DR epilogue?A5: Someone who bears the heart of the Player from UX. Later the part where it talks about a "second life" will be withdrawn. And then, it will be about how after its final destruction, that heart will once again melt into the heart of another person.
Q6: Places called Scala ad Caelum appear in both DR and Missing-Link. Is it the same place?A6: It is the same place. It looks different because it is a different time period: as per the "multi-tiered city" label, the city is structured in tiers, where new districts are built on top of the old ones.
Q7: The story didn't go so far as to show when Xehanort becomes completely devoted to the darkness. What of this?A7: That's true. But, I feel I showed the circumstances that led him to the start of that dark road. I also got to do the part I wanted to show the most: the relationship between him and Eraqus. So, I think it's possible to guess what happened from there.
Q8: There were a lot of interesting characters among his classmates and upperclassmen. Can we look forward to seeing them again?A8: There were a lot of characters which I am sad to restrict to one game, and characters who made their exits without getting to do much talking, which I was disappointed about. But, as mentioned above, I wasn't able to go deeper due to issues regarding size limitations. I feel very sorry about this. I think it would be very difficult for most of the characters to appear again in a future game. But, there are some possibilities. I've also thought it could be good content to touch on in a book or something.
Q9: What did Master Odin mean at the end when he spoke of a "teacher" and a "cruel fate"?A9: Master Odin himself once had a master who taught him, naturally. His master entrusted him with a certain duty - parts of this align with that of the blue robed figure. This will be revealed in detail in Missing-Link, which depicts a later period.
O10: Xehanort's motherly figure looked a lot like Skuld. Is it her?A10: No, but she is connected to Skuld. Missing-Link is also a story about bloodlines, you see.
Q11: In this game, we learned about Xehanort's bloodline. What about Eraqus? Previously we learned he is descended from the very first master. Do the two share lineage?A11: Sorry, but this is also a Missing-Link topic. I will say they don't have the same parents.
Q12: When can we next expect news on Missing-Link?A12: CBT (Closed Beta Testing) is first, we are currently making preparations. I have to balance the time-frames of other titles, but first of all, we do plan to revive the KINGDOM HEARTS Union x Twitter account as a Missing-Link account, so please make sure to follow.
Q13: Lastly, will Xehanort appear again in a future title?A13: The Dark Seeker Saga, which hinged on Xehanort, is now over. However, this doesn't have bearing on whether he will or won't appear. At this point, it's up to whether there's a good opportunity.
—Thank you.
KINGDOM HEARTS Series Director Tetsuya Nomura
2022/08/26