It's Tuesday and you know what that means...! After taking last week due to sickness, @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd are back! Joined by @Calxiyn and @Sabby, we discuss all things digital gaming: digital marketplaces (like Steam or the PSN), whether or not we still buy physical games, DLC, and season passes, as well as some extra chats about Misty's serial killer-esque Sims tendencies! As always we answer user-submitted questions. @Graxe poses yet another mind-bending scenario, @. : tale : . asks us about the new Smash Bros, and, at @SPACESHIP's behest, Misty addresses some issues with women and gaming (Anita Sarkeesian specifically). Finally we talk a little bit about the revival of the Magic Kingdom Hearts project. It's a fun-filled episode and we hope you enjoy! Have any thoughts about what we've said? Please let us know in the comments below! View attachment 40171 Download Episode #64 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
View attachment 40163 Amongst other postings for a Tech Artist (who work on things like physics and environments) and a UI Designer, the Osaka Studio -- aka the people developing Kingdom Hearts III -- also seem to be interested in some online capabilities after a posting for a Network Programmer. Square-Enix is also recruiting for a new studio focused on console RPGs, so it's really been a week of job openings! The posting for the Osaka team is in Japanese, but Dualshockers reports: Fans of the series have lamented that the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix will not include the Mirage Arena, a special world in Birth by Sleep where up to six friends can team up for a variety of battles and challenges. Interviews with Tetsuya Nomura and Tai Yasue have remained open to the idea of multiplayer for Kingdom Hearts III but have not confirmed anything. Given Dualshockers' evaluation of the posting, it seems unlikely that the ad pertains to Kingdom Hearts III. However, we'd love to hear what you all would like to see in KH3 multiplayer. It's worth noting that the Osaka Studio is responsible for the Dissidia series and other spin-off titles, so it's entirely possible that the posting has nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts at all -- but maybe a Kingdom Hearts Dissidia? It's up in the air right now, but we'd love to hear your best speculations!
Looks like our summer vacation is... over! This week @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd are joined by @Plums and @Calxiyn for a special podcast episode about school! We talk about some of our favorite school memories, the differences between college and high school, our favorite classes, as well as offer tips to students new and old about surviving school in one piece! As always, we tackle some user-submitted questions. @Graxe asks us about our soulmates and our mistakes in life and @Chad Thundercucc poses the idea of Kingdom Hearts Dissidia. We hope everyone enjoys the episode and has a fantastic school year! Please interact with us by submitting questions, applying to be a guest, or just leaving a comment on the episode. View attachment 40025 Download Episode #63 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Late podcast because I have a JOB and RESPONSIBILITIES This week a certain podcast host made a bit of a booboo, so you're stuck with just your usual crowd of @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd, for an otherwise enjoyable episode about a new subscription service EA has announced! We discuss the terms and motivations behind EA Access, what other companies are looking into similar offerings, and what companies we might like to subscribe to. We also offer some updates on the recent buyout of Twitch, the topic of a previous episode. After that, we get Freudian with @Chad Thundercucc, speculate about the end with @Graxe, and discuss some of our favorite games with @. : tale wind. Everybody please enjoy the episode and leave us a lovely comment! View attachment 39890 Download Episode #62 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Hello Kingdom Hearts kids! It's Tuesday and you know what that means...! This week @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd are joined by @KHGrl15 to discuss the news out of Gamescom 2014. Gamescom is the major gaming conference in Germany, and gave us a lot for discussion about upcoming games and features coming to this new generation of consoles. Major titles discussed are The Order 1886, inFamous: First Light, Bloodborne, Destiny, Metal Gear Solid V, The Sims 4, and Rise of the Tomb Raider, as well as several other titles. We also cover some new console features such as the PS4's new Share Play. We wrap things up with questions from @Graxe and @Chad Thundercucc. Thanks everyone for listening and please tell us what games you're hyped about from Gamescom, and whether you agree or disagree with some of our opinions! View attachment 39593 Download Episode #61 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Hello everyone and welcome to a new episode of the KH-Vids Podcast! This week your usual hosts -- @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd -- are joined by one of the recipients of the Most Wanted Podcast Guest Award, @Princess ♥, for a discussion on some of the recent announcements for Twitch.TV. The popular streaming service is in the process of being purchased by Google's YouTube division, leaving many users in a panic after some of the unwelcome changes that Google made to YouTube after their purchase in 2006. With a new flood of emails about changes to the VOD storage system and copyright matching for audio in VODs, many Twitch users are now calling this the end-of-days for Twitch. We explain all the changes announced, what they mean for Twitch's future, and what streaming services we would like to try in the future. Finally, we answer a user-submitted question from @Graxe and go over some site and community news, including our new Fundraising Nights. Please enjoy the episode, send us a question, leave us a comment, and submit to be a guest on the KH-Vids Podcast! View attachment 39541 Download Episode #60 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
This obviously won't make it into the finished version, but I felt it was too good to let it wither away in the depths of my hard drive. a glimpse of the professionalism we exude
It's Tuesday which means a new episode of the KH-Vids Podcast! This week, in celebration of the recent release of box office smash Guardians of the Galaxy, @Misty, @libregkd, and @Llave are joined by @61 (Chris) to discuss our favorite superheroes, recent superhero movies (no spoilers for GotG!), and our lifetime relationship with comic books and webcomics. We also offer a number of suggestions, which I've listed out for your ease... Y: The Last Man - Misty Saga - Misty Mass Effect comics - Llave Era of Errors - libregkd Questionable Content - Misty A Softer World - Misty Manfeels Park - Misty Green Arrow: Year One - Chris First 25 issues of the New 52 Aquaman - Chris Batman: The Killing Joke - Chris Batman: The Long Halloween - Chris After that we move on to answering user-submitted questions from @Eric Luna, @Graxe, and @parabola. We plug some site news, including the close of the KH-Vids User Awards, the Top 5, and an update about Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix videos. Please everyone enjoy and let us know your favorite comics and superheros in the comments! View attachment 39504 Download Episode #59 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
It's Tuesday and we're back...! After a break last week in the podcast, we're back to discuss Western Animation! Joined by @metanoia and @Plums, @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd first nostalgia trip over some of the cartoons we enjoyed as children, then launch into a chat about what cartoons we're watching today. I spend a disproportionate amount of time expressing my Adventure Time obsession (especially where a certain ship is concerned), but we cover several other shows, including Steven Universe and The Legend of Korra. Finally, we discuss some of the differences between western animation and anime, and the place that Legend of Korra occupies between the two. We then answer questions from @Graxe and @. : tale_wind and finish off with some community news. Please listen, enjoy, and share your thoughts in the comments! Be sure to check out & participate in the Summer Mini Series! View attachment 39372 Download Episode #57 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Over the last couple of weeks, @libregkd has been hard at work on these neat new BB Codes for y'all, according to user demand. We're happy to now deploy them on the site! Dynamic Usernames Back in April, @Ars Nova requested a BB Code to display a user's current username that would react to username changes. The first of our BB Codes today does just that. Here's how it works, using me as an example. My User ID is 6 -- you can tell from the link to my profile kh-vids.net/members/misty.6/. Code: Hi, my name is [USERID=6][/userid]! Outputs... Hi, my name is Misty! If I were to change my name to Cassie, it would update accordingly. Hidden We've had the hide/hidden tag for a long time now, but previous implementations had their issues, and it was split between two different tags (one that would just use a black highlight, and another that could be specified by the user). It's been completely re-written to work as just one tag. We have a standard spoiler tag for larger blocks of text, that works as such: Code: [spoiler]I'm a spoiler![/spoiler] Spoiler I'm a spoiler! However, some users prefer to use an inline option, like so... Code: I can't believe that Darth Vader is [hidden]Luke's father[/hidden]! I can't believe that Darth Vader is Luke's father! The spoiler will be revealed when you click the blacked out text, and it will hide again when you click a second time. The code is very flexible, allowing you to specify your own colors in a number of formats. Using hex codes. And HTML color names. Code: Using [hidden=#A61DEC]hex codes[/hidden]. And [hidden=crimson]HTML color names[/hidden]. Please note that previously usage of the hide tag will now be broken -- we're running a big find & replace to update them to the new format. It should be completed shortly, but for now, be on the lookout for spoilers!
Hi, my name is [USERID=6][/userid]!
[spoiler]I'm a spoiler![/spoiler]
I can't believe that Darth Vader is [hidden]Luke's father[/hidden]!
Using [hidden=#A61DEC]hex codes[/hidden]. And [hidden=crimson]HTML color names[/hidden].
In lieu of an episode of the podcast this week, we’re happy to bring back the Summer Mini Series! We usually begin earlier in the year, so we hope you all will forgive our tardiness, but better late than never, right? What is the Summer Mini Series? The Summer Mini Series is an opportunity for members to be further involved in the KH-Vids Podcast. In groups, members will make their own podcast episode with a topic of their choosing. The completed episode will be posted on KH-Vids like any other episode of the podcast for all to hear! The Mini Series will not affect the official podcast nor act as a supplement for them, but is just another opportunity to have your voice (literally) heard on KH-Vids! Sounds great! How can I participate? The first step is to gather a group for your episode. Groups must have at least three but no more than six participants; each group member must be a registered member of KH-Vids (so if some of your friends aren’t members yet, direct them to our registration page). Each participant should have a clear, working microphone and a set of headphones. Feel free to use this thread to post up your topic and look for people interested in participating! Next, you’ll need to decide upon a topic for discussion. You have (almost) complete freedom here, but remember that you’re recording an episode for the masses – it shouldn’t be something that no one will understand or take interest in. Here are a few of our previous Mini Series topics… Doctor Who Mass Effect Project Magic Kingdom Hearts General entertainment news / discussion (manga, games, books, movies, etc) Once you’ve sorted all of that, one member must message me (@Misty) with a list of your group members and your planned topic prior to recording! I’ll reply back with approval of your topic and send you on your way. Recording, editing, and exporting The KH-Vids Podcast records their episodes over Skype, but any VOIP application (e.g. TeamSpeak, Mumble, etc.) will work. There are a number of solutions out there to record a Skype call, but here are a few free options. We recommend doing a few test calls with your recording program of choice prior to beginning your episode and having more than one group member recording – you wouldn’t want to lose your conversation! MP3 Skype Recorder (Windows) Skype Auto Recorder (Windows) Skype Call Recorder (Linux; experimental Windows version available) iFree Skype Recorder (Windows) Most options for Macintosh computers are limited, but you can try this tutorial out if you’re feeling daring! After you’ve recorded your podcast, you’ll need to edit it. Programs like Audacity, Garageband, or Reaper will work fine for this. Episodes should be, roughly, between 45 and 90 minutes. If your episode exceeds this limit, we may ask you to cut it down more! You should try to edit out any off-topic discussion and remove/censor any swear words. Here’s a guide I wrote up last year on using MP3 Skype Recorder as well as editing your episode. The program has since updated updated, but the process should be pretty much the same! Spoiler MP3 Skype Recorder (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8) Step #1: Download & install Head over to this page and click “Download latest version 3.1 - [BMP3SkypeRecorderSetup.exe[/B] (2.4 MB) (recommended).” Run the installer and open the program once it finishes. Step #2: Configure MP3 Skype Recorder In the window that opens, you’ll have a relatively simple user interface. If you want to change where your recordings are saved, you can click the folder button and choose a different one (default is the Desktop). I’d recommend setting your Recording Mode to Stereo and your Recording Bit Rate to 128. Close out of the program completely, for now. Check your system tray to make sure it’s not open in there. Step #3: Allow access to Skype Open up Skype and then open MP3 Skype Recorder. Skype should have a small notification towards the top asking if you’d like to allow MP3 Skype Recorder access to record. Allow it. In MP3 Skype Recorder, it should now say Connected to Skype at the bottom. Keep it open. Step #4: Start a Skype call & record it You can call a friend or make a Skype test call—either will work fine. Once the call has started, open up MP3 Skype Recorder and hit the Record button (red circle, furthest to the left). A window should appear telling you that a recording is in progress. Have a test call with you and the other person talking back and forth a bit. Once you’ve got an adequate test, you can either end the call via Skype, or hit the Stop button in MP3 Skype Recorder. The file will appear in whichever folder you chose to save to, and you should get a confirmation in the window that appeared earlier. Having trouble recording? No worries! Feel free to contact me with questions and I’ll do my best. There’s plenty of software out there that can do the same thing and even function similarly if you really can’t get it working. Here’s a few option—I haven’t personally tested all of them, but I can offer whatever help within my power. Messenger Plus (Windows & Mac) Download link: //shop.skype.com/apps/Call-recording-audio-video/Messenger-Plus-for-Skype.html Callgraph (Windows) Download link: //scribie.com/free-skype-recorder Warning: I’ve had trouble getting this program to work. Use at your own risk. Garageband, Soundflower, & LineIn (Mac) Downloads & tutorial: //www.wikihow.com/Record-Skype-Into-Garageband-With-SoundFlower-and-LineIn (Supports Mac only) Warning: this is an advanced method and is not recommended if you don’t know what you’re doing! SkypeCallRecorder (Linux) Tutorial: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SkypeRecordingHowto Got another program that works for you? Feel free to post and share it with others! Can’t get it working? Simply ask for help. If you really can’t get it working, though, contact me (Misty) and I can record for you. Editing your podcast You have your recording all done, but it needs some editing! Maybe you want to add an intro or cut out some chatter. It’s not hard! There are a lot of audio editing programs out there. Because you’ll probably just be doing simple edits, you won’t need anything fancy. Mac users will probably find GarageBand sufficient. Audacity is a fantastic program that’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. If you need help using it, check out their beginner’s tutorial. I personally use REAPER, and Jayn wrote up a great tutorial on using it. It’s more so for the Chorus than editing podcasts, but it’s worth a look if you’re really lost. As with recording, if you need help, feel free to ask! Tips Do test records before the actual recording! The worst thing out there is having a great conversation only to find that the recording didn’t work or you forgot to hit the button. Make sure everyone in the call is using a decent microphone. The recording will only be as high quality as the inputs—built-in microphones usually aren’t very good. There are a lot of cheap options out there. Make sure everyone uses headphones during the call. This is the only way to avoid echo! Edit the podcast naturally. Cutting out chatter is a good thing, but be forgiving—if the chatter is interesting or funny, leave it in, even if it’s not completely on topic. Once you’ve finished editing your episode, export it as an MP3 and send it to @Misty. She’ll guide you from there! A few other rules and guidelines No two Mini Series episodes may have the same topic. For example, two groups may not do an episode about Doctor Who – whoever submits a proposal to me first for Doctor Who will get it! You are responsible for recording and editing your episode according to the rules in this post (time limit and censors). These responsibilities can be delegated through your group members, or you can ask for help outside of your group, but anyone who helped you must be credited for their work. In addition to our limitations on swearing, sexual content and otherwise offensive language (racist or sexist terms/comments, etc.) are also forbidden. Avoid inside jokes! Remember, you have a broad audience here. You must include a warning for any spoilers included in your episode. Episodes can be submitted up until August 31st! Have fun! How to contact me Start a conversation Send an email to podcast@kh-vids.net Feel free to ask any questions you may have in this thread!
Tuesday podcast time let's do it! This week we have a fantastic new episode of the podcast! Joined by member guest @Ars Nova, @Misty, @libregkd, and @Llave sit down to discuss the term 'gamer' and gaming culture. We begin by applying the term to ourselves -- whether we consider ourselves gamers and when we began to call ourselves such -- and how we apply the term to others. We then discuss the gender component of the word & culture, how women often feel excluded from the community and how they are treated within it. After that engaging discussion on the nature of labels, stereotypes, and identity, we take on some user-submitted questions! @Anixe takes us back to our childhood stuffed animals and games, @. : tale_wind asks us about Premium membership, and @Graxe poses yet another of his bonkers scenario questions! We finish off by highlighting a few developments in the KH-Vids community, including Cycle 2 of the KH-Vids User Awards, Nova's Mafia game, and July's Game of the Month. It's a thought-provoking episode -- definitely one of our best thus far -- so please let us know your thoughts on the subjects we've discussed and whether you label yourself a 'gamer'! View attachment 39212 Download Episode #56 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our RSS feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Adding yet another entry to his impressive collection of recent interviews, RPG Site had the opportunity to sit down with Tai Yasue, the co-director of the two Kingdom Hearts games currently in development: Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix and Kingdom Hearts 3. They set off by discussing the HD remasters the series is now touting, what 2.5 will include, plans for a Dream Drop Distance remaster, and the development process & decisions behind Kingdom Hearts 2.5. They finish off with some discussions about the future of Kingdom Hearts, like what worlds might appear in future games and whether any games might bridge the gap between Kingdom Hearts 2.5 and Kingdom Hearts 3. You can check out the full interview below. Source: RPG Site
Hello everyone and welcome to yet another episode of the KH-Vids Podcast! Taking a suggestion from @Stardust, who joins us as our staff guest, @libregkd takes the hosting reigns this week in a discussion of retro gaming. Usual hosts @Misty and @Llave appear, as well as @Gamefreak103, our member guest. We begin by defining what are "retro games" and what some of our favorite retro games are. From there we discuss art style, difficulty, what we feel has been lost in modern gaming, and more! Finally, we answer questions from @Graxe and @Eric Luna, then talk a little bit about the newly returned Top 5. View attachment 39158 Download Episode #55 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our XML feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Hi everyone! As you probably noticed, we just had some short downtime. I decided to seize the opportunity of free time and boredom to deploy the latest version of XenForo on our live site. I also thought I'd take the opportunity to highlight some new features on the site -- they've been there for a little while now, but we haven't drawn attention to them yet. Board Updated to 1.3.3 This update really isn't anything too fancy, just a few bug fixes. Previously, we were running 1.3.1; the bug fixes made for version 1.3.2 are... And in 1.3.3... Organize Pins Next to your posts, along with your user info and avatar, the three pins you were last awarded appear. The feature has been requested before, and now you can finally decide which pins you would like to show in your posts! To do so, just head over to your profile page, click on the Awarded Pins tab, then the Organize Pins button at the very bottom. You can then move the three pins you'd like to display in your posts to the top of the page! Export Conversations This is a feature that a few may have missed from our vBulletin days -- the ability to back your conversations up to your computer. You can export your conversations to a TXT, HTML, or XML file by selecting the conversation in your inbox (by clicking the checkbox), then selecting Export Conversation... Please note that very long conversations may throw a server error and are therefore impossible to export. We're looking into a solution for this and will keep you updated. We can't say what number of replies pushes you into dangerous territory, but just give it a try and see if it goes through. Don't worry, you won't break the site. :) These are just a few of the updates and new features we've got in the pipeline. If you encounter any problems, just let me know, either in this thread (if related to the update) or in the Feedback & Assistance forum. Thanks!
It's Tuesday and you know what that means...! Podcast time yaaaay Following a suggestion from @Plums, who joined us as a staff guest for this episode, we decided to talk about the future of the Final Fantasy series this week! Your regular hosts -- @Misty, @Llave, and @libregkd -- all appear, as well a very special appearance by one of our former moderators, @Clawtooth! We start off by going through some of the recent Kingdom Hearts news (as expertly reported by our news team), then move onto our topic for the day. We open with discussing Square's many remasters and what we would like to see remastered in the future, then evaluate Final Fantasy XIII's quality and its place in Square's future, discuss some of our hopes for Final Fantasy XV, extol the merits of Final Fantasy XIV, and then provide our future Final Fantasy wishlist. As always, we answer user-submitted questions from @. : tale_wind and @SPACESHIP. Do note that we're getting low on questions so please send some in! Enjoy the episode and let us know your thoughts in the comments! View attachment 39091 Download Episode #54 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our XML feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
It's Tuesday and you know what that means....! This week we've got our full lineup of hosts: @Misty, @libregkd, and @Llave sit down with @Cat~ and @Darkandroid to discuss E3 2014! We go through all the major conferences, citing what games interested us, rating the company's show, and more, as well as discuss what we saw on the floor show. Because this is so much to cover the episode is nearly double the length of our usual podcast, but I'm sure you'll be interested and entertained all the same! Have thoughts of your own on E3? Hyped for a game shown? Bummed not to see an in-development game? Let us know in the comments! View attachment 38995 Download Episode #53 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our XML feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
Hello all you Kingdom Hearts kids! We've got a new episode of the KH-Vids Podcast this week, special just for you! Today @Misty and @libregkd were joined by @Fearless, @Mike, and @Cat~ to discuss all the latest Kingdom Hearts news! In particular we cover all the newly confirmed Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix release dates and all the merch that came along with the announcement, speculate on KH2.5's presence at E3 2014, and then move into a discussion of the Kingdom Hearts 3 teaser shown at the end of the recent trailer. We also, as always, answer user-submitted questions; @Graxe gave us the challenging conundrum of our survival in the face of rising sea levels, @. : tale_wind dug the knife into Misty's gut about the recent delay on The Order 1886, and @Eric Luna asked us for some tips on defeating Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts II. Finally, we cover some recent community news and then finish off the episode. Listen please, tell us your thoughts, and please enjoy! Next week will be our full post-E3 coverage (Kingdom Hearts included) so please be excited for that! View attachment 38759 Download Episode #52 (MP3) Subscribe to us on iTunes or through our XML feed Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
View attachment 38705 If you all missed it, Square released a pre-E3 Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix trailer a few hours ago. The nostalgia and emotion no doubt gripped us all as we saw some of our favorite scenes in their full HD glory, and I'm sure many of us would have been happy just with the December 2nd (NA) and December 5th (EU) release dates confirmed. Square Enix decided to take an extra step and tease some information about the in-development Kingdom Hearts 3. Announced at E3 last year, we've had precious few updates on it since. Unsurprisingly, the teaser was short and rather cryptic, fitting for the Kingdom Hearts series. Let's take a look, shall we? General warning: spoilers up to and including Dream Drop Distance are fair game for this post! We can of course only speculate on Kingdom Hearts 3, but if you're not quite up to date on the series & don't want to be, don't read ahead! View attachment 38697 The teaser begins by flashing some Dream Drop Distance scenes, as the plot of Kingdom Hearts 3 will unquestionably be influenced by the events of the latest installment in the Kingdom Hearts series. To recap the events of Dream Drop Distance... Seems a good lead-in for Kingdom Hearts 3, does it not? There are, of course, a fair share of complications on both sides of the conflict -- notably, who will be the Thirteen Darkness and Seven Guardians of Light, especially considering the fates of our Birth by Sleep trio. But this is Kingdom Hearts we're talking about -- nothing is ever simple (and clean)! Many fans want to know more about Xehanort's past before his saga comes to a close, and it certainly seems necessary. This is where the teaser comes in -- the outlines of two people were faint and shown briefly in conversation. I've inverted the colors and increased the contrast to give a better look at both figures... View attachment 38698 While pointy, long hair is not unique to any one character in the Kingdom Hearts series, we could identify this sketch as a younger Xehanort purely on that basis. However, the positioning of the (gloved!) hand is also eerily familiar, making me pretty confident in that identification. For comparison... View attachment 38699 View attachment 38700 View attachment 38701 That established, let's look at the other figure. View attachment 38702 The hair on this character seems to be more waved, and there seems to be a faint scar under his eye. View attachment 38703 View attachment 38704 Thus identified as a young Xehanort and a young Eraqus, let's look at the conversation between the two. Well, we're certainly accustomed to tales of the Keyblade War. In Dream Drop Distance, Xehanort explains it to Riku and Mickey. The final "But you knew that, didn't you?" appears separated from the rest of the conversation, a seeming taunt to the fans as much as to Eraqus! Kingdom Hearts χ (Chi) also gave us this hint towards the future of the series... The teaser isn't, therefore, much new information -- we've known for a long time that Xehanort is obsessed with tales of the Keyblade War and past wielders. But Kingdom Hearts 3 seems to have some history in store for us, building perhaps upon the time travel presented in Dream Drop Distance. Who was Xehanort and Eraqus's Master? Who are these old Masters Xehanort references? Will we see more of young Xehanort and young Eraqus? Only time will tell, really, but we can have fun speculating! Only Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix is confirmed to appear at E3, which begins next week, so this teaser may very well be all we see of Kingdom Hearts 3. Hopefully this analysis has got the wheels turning in your head, even if the identities of our figures were obvious to you. Sound out in the comments or visit our Kingdom Hearts 3 section for more conversation about the final installment in the Xehanort Saga!
