• Hello everybody! We have tons of new awards for the new year that can be requested through our Awards System thanks to Antifa Lockhart! Some are limited-time awards so go claim them before they are gone forever...

    CLICK HERE FOR AWARDS

What would you change for KHCOM story?



REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS

magic713

Active member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
257
Awards
4
Location
Bald Mountain
Part 2 of my posts. So, what changes, big or small, would you change to the story of Chain of Memories? What do you think would help improve, be it characters or plot or such?

For me, I would make changes to Riku's story, mostly. I had some time to think on this one, and I would have made the Big Bad Zexion instead of Ansem, SoD. Mostly I would like the parallels with Sora and Riku's last opponents of Castle Oblivion being Organization members of opposing factions. Plus, Ansem SoD was the big bad of one game, so I thought him being the big bad of another game is too repetitive. Also, change Zexion's motivations in targeting Riku, in that Zexion could sense DiZ and identifies his true identity, and tries to destroy Riku as a way to deprive DiZ of an asset to destroy the Organization (Vexen is more concerned about the traitors within the Organization, while Zexion is more concerned about the outside threat of DiZ, which is why he and loyal Lexaeus didn't do much to help Vexen with the Replica). And Riku's story is confronting his guilt over his crimes over several worlds that may or may not have been seen in KH1. DiZ would be more present in his actual form, rather than pretending to be ASoD.

Maybe also Zexion doesn't die in a rage scream like Marluxia, but is curious how Riku can wield darkness and not be consumed by it, and Riku says the light in his heart, which connects him to his friends, keeps him whole. A kind of call back to "My friends are my power" from KH1.

[And (this is more superficial minor personal preference) I might have liked Marluxia to be female, like originally designed. I do like how Marluxia's character design, regardless male or female, but I thought having a female Big Bad would be cool. Also, Riku's story, not using "scent", as I never got that aspect.]
 
Last edited:

disney233

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
1,161
Awards
2
Age
26
A FUCKING WAY TO HAVE KAIRI GO TO CASTLE OBLIVION AS WELL, ENOUGH. FUCKING. SAID.
 

Elysium

Be Wiser Than the Serpent
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
3,772
Awards
37
I've made a post like this many times before, but I wish Riku's story had some dialogue with the Disney villains before he fights them. Plus, a Key of Beginning room in some worlds where he confronts his role in what happened at some points. Like with Pinocchio, Jiminy, and Geppetto in Monstro, Jasmine in Agrabah, The Beast, even Wendy in NeverLand perhaps.
 

disney233

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
1,161
Awards
2
Age
26
I mean, she doesn’t NEED to be there. Kairi should have more of a role in the story, but she doesn’t need to be at castle oblivion for that.
I know she doesn't. But like...idk. For some reason, it doesn't feel right to me that all three of the trio doesn't explore CO. I feel...doing so would help develop her character a bit, like how it developed Riku's character. idk, it doesn't...sit well with me.
 

magic713

Active member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
257
Awards
4
Location
Bald Mountain
I've made a post like this many times before, but I wish Riku's story had some dialogue with the Disney villains before he fights them. Plus, a Key of Beginning room in some worlds where he confronts his role in what happened at some points. Like with Pinocchio, Jiminy, and Geppetto in Monstro, Jasmine in Agrabah, The Beast, even Wendy in NeverLand perhaps.
Yeah, I mean, it could have worked. Maybe fudge the details so he was involved in abducting Alice as well, to cover Wonderland story. Go through the whole "turning on Sora" in Traverse Town; and have a convo with Hades in Olympus. The only ones that would need some embellishing would just be Atlantica and Halloween Town.
 

Oracle Spockanort

written in the stars
Staff member
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
35,552
Awards
96
Age
32
Location
California
Website
twitter.com
I would really only change a few things. In Riku’s story, give him more characters to interact with, even if they are just villains. The lack of them makes R/R boring until the player reaches a major floor.

In the overall story, there should have been more that showed what Marluxia and Larxene wanted after they took over the Organization. We know they want to pull a coup, but we never really find out the why behind it.
 

LoneFox

Active member
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
309
Awards
3
Also, Riku's story, not using "scent", as I never got that aspect.
In the human brain, signals from the sense of smell are connected directly to the parts where new memories are formed. Other senses go through a lot of processing before getting there. Therefore, we tend to remember things associated with a smell really well. So, it does make sense in a story that is about memories. But why they didn't explain this anywhere in the game? Is it considered common knowledge in Japan? Or maybe there was an explanation, but it somehow got lost in translation?

Back on topic, I can't think of any major improvements to the story. One detail Nomura himself would want to change for sure are the names of the Organization members. Had he come up with the anagram thing a bit earlier, we wouldn't have silly names like Even, Ienzo, and Aeleus, or a male character called Lea.
 

Zettaflare

Shibuya
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
11,819
Awards
5
Location
California
Honestly I can think of anything I'd change personally about the story. Even if Riku didn't engage with any of the Disney villains outside of Maleficent his conflict with Ansem was always satisfying enough for me.

Maybe add a Disney world Roxas went to in 358 2 Days that Sora never experienced
 

Grey Skies

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Messages
79
Awards
1
I would add Deep Jungle as a world. It's not that it would offer much in story, but I'm still sore about its absence, and it's been like 17 years since I first played CoM.

I would expand Riku's story. I think it worked decently having R/R be a short epilogue to Sora's story, but on its own it isn't as substantial. I would add more scenes of Riku interacting with Disney characters, and I'd give Lexeaus and Zexion more screen time. I would consider making Zexion, Xemnas, Saix, or Xigbar the final boss, coming right after the Ansem fight. The Ansem fight was good for the story, but it didn't feel like a final boss, just like Riku in Days and Roxas in Coded.

Zexion could have used a proper fight, but I think it was a good story choice to have Axel kill him. That added a lot to Axel's character. Saix or Xigbar hadn't been at all established, and it would be awkward having a new character be the final boss. I think Xemnas would have been the best final boss. He was already introduced in KH1FM, and he was much more powerful at that point than Ansem. He would give some information on what a Nobody is and then reveal his identity in relation to Ansem SoD and the Organization.

I would have Xion as well as Roxas be alluded to in Sora's Twilight Town scenes. I'd give HPO a quick cameo.

At the end I would add a cutscene of SDG being moved to the real Twilight Town. I would remove the shot of Roxas at the end because it didn't add much at all.
 

Elysium

Be Wiser Than the Serpent
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
3,772
Awards
37
Yeah, I mean, it could have worked. Maybe fudge the details so he was involved in abducting Alice as well, to cover Wonderland story. Go through the whole "turning on Sora" in Traverse Town; and have a convo with Hades in Olympus. The only ones that would need some embellishing would just be Atlantica and Halloween Town.
I think they could include Pinocchio at Traverse Town, or have TT deal with Pinocchio and Monstro focus more on Geppetto, for example. I always sort of assumed TT's where the connection between Riku and Pinocchio began, since it's not long after Sora meets Riku again that Pinocchio appears in Cid's shop. Then Pinocchio lies and says some pretty cynical things that sound like what Riku might say. Plus, it would be like Riku in KH1 to be petty and pick up a "new" friend at Traverse Town just like he believed Sora did with Donald and Goofy, lol.
Back on topic, I can't think of any major improvements to the story. One detail Nomura himself would want to change for sure are the names of the Organization members. Had he come up with the anagram thing a bit earlier, we wouldn't have silly names like Even, Ienzo, and Aeleus, or a male character called Lea.
For years I thought Larxene's name would have to be Arlene and how horrible that would've been (no wonder she's so angry, lmao). He managed to get good names with Elrena and Lauriam at least. But even KH2 has a couple of duds like Dyme and Dulor. I don't even like Braig, tbh.
 
Last edited:

LoneFox

Active member
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
309
Awards
3
But even KH2 has a couple of duds like Dyme and Dulor. I don't even like Braig, tbh.
Ludor is Latin for Player, and makes perfect sense with his gambling gimmick.

Neither Braig nor Xigbar sounds particularly good, so maybe being one letter away from Brain was intentional from the start?
 

redcrown

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
1,005
Awards
6
Riku interacting with the Disney chracters and revealing what he was up to more in KH1 is good, but I dont think its enough on its own. I feel his story needed actual flashbacks of his hidden emotional journey and fall to darkness, like how he met Ansem on DI and was guided on how to open the door to darkness, or how Maleficent took Riku in and how she got him to trust her more. Even small revealing moments like in ReCoded of him with comatose Kairi on Big Ben and reaching for the moon. What truly drove him to his actions, what were all his choices, and to what extent did he know the consequences and severity of his actions and choices?

Reverse Rebirth was such a missed opportunity to reveal all of this, and we're probably not going to get that chance ever again, especially with the new saga probably not going to have the time or interest to explore any of this.
 

MATGSY

Silver Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2005
Messages
6,783
Awards
8
I'm going big on this: Riku should've been the only playable character. The whole reason Sora lost his memories at the end was so players who skipped CoM (IE everyone) wouldn't feel left behind. After all Sora didn't remember the events of the game either.

Except this didn't work: Sora begins KH2 in a different place than he ended KH1 and now there's this Namine person he has to find for some reason. Players were still lost and confused.

So instead of Sora forgetting about his time in CO, don't have him there at all! Why is Occam's Razor such a hard concept for Nomura?
 

disney233

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
1,161
Awards
2
Age
26
I'm going big on this: Riku should've been the only playable character. The whole reason Sora lost his memories at the end was so players who skipped CoM (IE everyone) wouldn't feel left behind. After all Sora didn't remember the events of the game either.

Except this didn't work: Sora begins KH2 in a different place than he ended KH1 and now there's this Namine person he has to find for some reason. Players were still lost and confused.

So instead of Sora forgetting about his time in CO, don't have him there at all! Why is Occam's Razor such a hard concept for Nomura?
Because Kingdom Hearts. Where EVERYTHING has to involve Sora in some capacity.

Honestly, all this talk on the worlds in COM, I'm almost hard-pressed into thinking they should've just been scrapped entirely. Like...I get that if that happens it'll be a short game, and all that. But like...only 3 worlds in Sora's story had a SEMBLANCE of plot relevance, while the rest is filler. RIKU CAN LITERALLY SKIP THE DAMN PLACE. Like...it's...so hard for me to see the Disney worlds in COM as nothing more than just...idk polished-up versions of KH1's story.
 

magic713

Active member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
257
Awards
4
Location
Bald Mountain
I'm going big on this: Riku should've been the only playable character. The whole reason Sora lost his memories at the end was so players who skipped CoM (IE everyone) wouldn't feel left behind. After all Sora didn't remember the events of the game either.

Except this didn't work: Sora begins KH2 in a different place than he ended KH1 and now there's this Namine person he has to find for some reason. Players were still lost and confused.

So instead of Sora forgetting about his time in CO, don't have him there at all! Why is Occam's Razor such a hard concept for Nomura?
Agreed

Yeah, I was one of those confused players. I read of events of KHCOM, and the sales person warned me that I should try it before KH2, but I jumped into KH2, regardless. I did recognize Org XIII characters from the Japanese website but was disappointed I didn't fight five if them in KH2. And KH2 opening video made me think Namine was a bad guy, trapping Sora in a stasis pod, without context to why.

Anyways, there's my history with KH2 and CoM. A little sidetracked from the og subject but I couldn't resist sharing
 
Last edited:
D

Deleted member 246005

Guest
2 years ago someone asked "How would KH work without nobodies?" in a thread.

After thinking about it, I'd say CoM is the easiest to keep than Days and 2. I think you just have to change the context for why the Castle Six do what they do.

I'd make it a standalone game. If KH1 was an adventure, CoM is a horror story about a haunted house and its untrustworthy residents.

Marluxia and the others are survivors of their world's collapse. They took refuge in Castle Oblivion and seek to weaponize its memory powers. Over the years the six picked up a ward in Namine and started fighting among themselves. By the time Sora and Riku reach there, they are willing to kill the other side.

Marluxia's scheme is roughly the same. He wants to brainwash Sora to be a weapon against his enemies. Luckily for him Sora has doubts about Riku he can exploit. So he pulls a MGS2 and creates a new journey for Sora. He tricks Sora into believing Zexion is the new big bad and Riku is working for him. Marluxia, Larxene, and Namine fill the Leon/Yuffie/Aerith role in the first half of the game.

I wanted there to be other denizens that Marluxia is also trying to manipulate. Those could be Disney/FF characters who lost their world and found refuge. So the floor levels could be based on them.

The ending of the game is roughly the same as canon. Namine swaps sides and helps Sora beat Marluxia and Larxene. Riku watches over Sora while Namine undoes her manipulation.

I'm still trying to work out the middle but that's all I got.

@MATGSY I'm cool with getting rid of Sora and making it a Riku spinoff.

But most of the problems you outlined could be solved in a KH2 rewrite. They aren't problems innate to CoM to me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Zackarix

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 12, 2021
Messages
407
Awards
3
I would give Lexaeus and Zexion more character development. They're by far the least developed in the villains in the game.

Also, either have more story in Riku's worlds or at least a better excuse for why he's going through them besides asset recycling.
 
Back
Top