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Originally Posted by Silvercry
Finished up the game tonight myself. That was quite possible the most enjoyable final boss battle I’ve ever fought in an RPG.
(mad spoilers follow)
On topic, much like KH1 and CoM, there were a few plot threads that Square purposively didn’t resolve in KH2 to make way for a sequel:
1) Xehanort's Origins. The whole "he just showed up In Radiant Garden one day with no memory and supernatural powers" thing begs to be explored.
Yes, which is probably why it was mentioned in the final video as well. But there is more to Xehanort than just his missing memories and his powers. There is also his total obsession with the Heart of All Worlds. Even when he was just Xehanort, he constantly sought out Kingdom Hearts. When he spoke with Ansem in the World that Never Was, he said that Ansem's experiments inspired him to go further with his own studies. I think it was the other way around. I think Xehanort's obsession, even without his memories to drive it, where what caused Ansem to delve into his studies. As far as we know, before he found Xehanort, he had not started to experiment with the darkness in the Heart. Xehanort drove him to do what he would not normally have done. For Xehanort is always seeking Kingdom Hearts. And just what exactly was Xehanort before he lost his memory? What sort of being is called No Heart? Notice also, that when Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness (Xehanort's Heartless) was destroyed, no captive heart was released. You could argue that it was because he was not killed by the Keyblade, but many enemies not destroyed by the Keyblade gave up their captive hearts (all the ones destroyed by your other party members, and even those Sephiroth eliminated in KH2). I'm not sure Xehanort ever had a Heart. He gave himself over to darkness, immersed his soul into it, and came out as one of only two Heartless who still had their own will and drive. His body then became Xemnas. With no Heart, how could he even now be truly gone?
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2) Revenge of the Witch. Assuming Maleficent and Pete survived the Heartless assault on the Castle That Never Was, you can be pretty sure that she isn’t about to let Sora and Co. live happily ever after on their little island. Plus I get the feeling Pete still has it in for Mickey.
Well said. Nothing more to add to this, really.
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3) The Heartless V. Under normal conditions, the Heartless are mindless beings, driven by instinct alone, unlike Nobodies. Yet when Xehanort became a Heartless, he retained his form, memories, and 'brilliant' (albeit twisted) mind. If he could, then I see no reason why the same could not be said about the rest of Ansem's former students. Where are their Heartlesses at?
This was answered in Chain of Memories. Axel says specifically that only Sora and "one other" ever managed to keep their sense of individuality when they became a Heartless. This was one of the things that Axel found intriguing about Sora. However, it means that none of the other Organization XIII members have unique Heartless.
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4) The Keyblade War. Much like KH1's Another Side, Another Story secret ending, the secret ending of KH2 has a darker feel to it and a noticeable absence of visible Disney characters. The scope of a war over/with/about the keyblade lends credence to my key-force theory, but I'd be a fool to even guess what it will really be about. Heck, I thought dual key-blade wearing warrior from Another Side, Another Story was Kairi at one point, off in search for Riku and Sora. Obviously this was way before CoM came out.
The Keyblade War has fascinated me since I first heard of it. Of all the various phrases that appeared in the final video, the words "Keyblade War" were the most intriguing. Given the number of Keyblades we've seen, the idea of Keyblade wielders facing each other is certainly an option. And it could definitely be a set-up into a Kingdom Hearts MMORPG. We'll just have to wait and see, since none of my ideas are ready to be presented just yet... :D
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5) The Return of the King. I don't buy for one second that Ansem the Wise died when his Kingdom Hearts Encoder exploded. I've been playing Square games ever since Final Fantasy was supposed to be just that -- final -- and I think I know how they work by now. Show me his body, or his dramatic Tellah-esque fade out. Until then, I fully expect him to return.
Agreed.