Kingdom Hearts III 13 Darknesses vs 7 Lights: Matchups

We've talked about who each of them could be, we've seen hints who they might be, but now let us ponder something else: who will they be facing?

Gather round folks, for it's time to put your money where your Keyblade is and throw down some bets as we find out what battles between the Norts and the Dorks that you want to see!

My Thoughts

Lights
Sora, Aqua, Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Lea, Ven

Darknesses
Master Xehanort, YMX, Terranort, Vanitas, Ansem SoD, Xemnas, Isa, Braig, ??? x 5


Sora/Mickey vs Master Xehanort

Sora will obviously fight the big bad, but after someone pointed out what reasons Mickey could be a likely candidate against Xehanort whilst talking about it on Tumblr, I think he could definitely be a likely contender in the fight.​

Aqua vs Braig

Braig was the third to last boss for Aqua, and it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up fighting again (especially considering the likelihood of him making remarks about her not being able to really save her friends & just in general being in her way). Sora is another possibility here, too, since Braig had been involved with him in DDD.​

Aqua/Ven/Riku vs Terra(nort)

Brother/Mentor figure versus Siblings and Chosen Mentee? Hell yes. Aqua and Ven would likely be guaranteed to fight Terra to save him if it came down to it, but I think him seeing the man Riku became after going down through a similar path as Terra did but ending up on top could be the spark to finally get around to freeing his heart from the Northold.​

Ven vs Vanitas

Not much to say, other than Van probably resents his Godblade getting wrecked.​

Lea vs Isa

given. most people will probably cry here.​

Riku vs YMX

Finish the fight from DDD, especially since YMX had the SMUGGEST LOOK on his face when the Norts flew the coop.​

Mickey vs ???

If there's a Disney Xehanort (DisNort), I could see Mickey handling that probably. Who even are the remaining 5????​

Kairi vs Ansem SoD/Xemnas

Okay, so in all likelihood, it'll probably be Riku vs Ansem again. Which, y'know, we've seen time and time again. But after DDD, I think that ship's sailed around the port and needs to retire and not come back in the future. Guy's given Riku so much build-up, he needs to share the love. I think Kairi could really benefit from a figth with him and Xemnas. They were both responsible for her being shipped off to Destiny Islands, and likely know at least some parts of her past in Radiant Garden (even though they might not explore that which is lame but w/e). Kairi also probably might not care about the past too much, as she's said in KH1, but it would be nice. Plus they've been there since the beginning (KH1FM), and so has she, so it'd be a nice wrap up to see. Plus it'd be a good fight imo? Princess of Heart vs A Heartless and Nobody -- two things she could never create (on her own). yeah. that’d be such a good fight and i would love it so much.​

Have your own dream matchups you think are/should happen? Think this is all poppycock and Sora will take care of everything? Put your thoughts up, and let's see wait and see who's on the money!

 

The thing is, at some point it's gonna be a free-for-all, and that means fun fun fun because there will be tag teams, people will gang up on people or have 2v2s or 3v3s. That in mind, here are a few of my predictions - some of which are brazenly stupid and/or unlikely, because after basically writing the ending of KH3D before it came out and totally calling the "Nobodies have hearts" thing I have NO FEAR OF BEING WRONG.

Additional Lights
Roxas & Xion - I think it's entirely possible Sora and Ven will cooperate to try and imbue them with their own distinct bodies and identities, in which case they may arrive in time to join the fight.
Terra - As much as Master Xehanort makes a big deal about exactly seven lights fighting exactly thirteen darknesses, once the battle proper begins I doubt the head count will stay the same. At some point, someone's going to free Terra. And in the process they might be lucky enough to find...
Eraqus - Now this one's a stretch, but technically he is hanging out with Terra. So if there's hope for little big, there's hope for big big, right? Prereq for this one would be, the rest of Eraqus is actually around to receive his heart. But hey, you never know.

Additional Darknesses
Lexaeus, Zexion, Vexen - Considering it was not in the plan for Xemnas's trusted cabinet to get iced at Castle Oblivion, I imagine he'd still want them around if he had the choice. And since they were all in the same place when they awoke from their little Nobody nightmare, it wouldn't be hard to 'Nort them again.
Marluxia - Would Xehanort make the mistake of trusting him twice? Depends how desperate he is for the win. Would Marluxia jump at the chance to seize power for himself yet again? Absolutely. The prophecy says seven and thirteen will clash, it never said anything about the thirteen seeing eye-to-eye. He's strong - ergo, he's a candidate in my eyes. Cross your fingers, kids.

Sora, Riku, & Kairi vs. Asod
a.k.a. Destiny Islands Grudge Match 201X. This is the guy who first got them all stranded from home, and I imagine they've all still got a bone to pick with him. Plus it would be really heart-warming to see Sora and Kairi step in to help Riku tame his darkness.

Sora, Riku, & Kairi vs. Xemnas
If the above doesn't happen, then this one almost certainly has to. Not only prolonging the search for each other but also attempting to drive them even farther apart, Xemnas has done more than enough to make the main three hate him in equal measure. Then again, maybe that's his plan. Maybe when he talked about the power of hatred, he meant other people's hatred. DUN DUN DUNNNN. Nah prolly not

Roxas, Xion, & Lea vs. Xemnas
a.k.a. The Vengeance that Never Was. Similar situation to the above, he's responsible for pretty much all of their misfortune and it's time to settle the score. Plus everyone kept telling Roxas he wasn't ready to fight Xemnas, well, now he's got backup. Excuses officially invalid.

Ventus & Aqua vs. Terranort
a.k.a. We Can Bring Back the LIIIIIIIIIIII-IIII-IIII-IGHT~. I mean this one's a given, they've gotta bring Terra back at some point, or at least try. That and we really, really need a reason to re-use and remake Dismiss, because that track is just... NNF. Right in the heartstrings.

Master Eraqus vs. Master Xehanort
Now of course this one's provisional to my Eraqus prediction coming to fruition, but if it does happen then there's no way we can let the battle conclude without the O.G.s going toe-to-toe in a free and pure light vs. dark slugfest. I doubt Eraqus still wants to invite MX over for tea and exams after everything that's come between them.

Marluxia vs. Xemnas
Another which is contingent upon my predictions proving true, but now I notice that out of all the 'Norts, Xemnas seems to have painted himself with the biggest bullseye. Everybody has it out for this guy, adversaries, subordinates, you name it. Guess that's what you get for proclaiming the virtues of anger and enmity and spouting pseudo-Darwinian gobbeldygook all the time.

Marluxia vs. Master Xehanort
Now this one directly ties in to the last one: I imagine Marluxia catches Xemnas at a vulnerable point, maybe he's been fighting for a while, maybe he's just not paying attention - and defeats him. Master Xehanort, annoyed, steps in and obliterates Marluxia in an utter curbstomp of a battle. Just to demonstrate how truly terrifying MX can be, because let's face it, he could use the press; the only serious battle he entered in the series to date, he intended to lose.

Riku vs. Lexaeus & Zexion
Again, I have to be right about the returning members, but this one seems fitting. "Remember us?"

Lea vs. Vexen
Fire vs. ice. Who doesn't wanna see that? Not to mention, if Vexen does make a return appearance he'll likely be out for blood, and there's no better place to start than your killer. Imagine if he tried to make an Axel-fied clone of Lea on the spot. Old vs. new, body vs. Nobody. How sick would that be?

Yen Sid vs. Maleficent
This one's kind of a side battle, but I sincerely hope Maleficent doesn't become irrelevant in the final chapter. What's more, I wanna see Yen Sid fight. I don't care if he's over the curve, plenty of former badasses have come out of retirement with splendid results, and he can't have earned the title of master for nothing.

Sora vs. Asod, Xemnas, & Master Xehanort
This is what I imagine the final battle looking like: a gauntlet of Sora's deadliest foes ending with the man who started it all. Asod and Xemnas may even tag-team him, but MX will definitely be a one-on-one fight for all the marbles.

Xigbar vs. Everybody
Xigbar wins. INTO THE SUNSHINE OR UNDER THE BLADE // WE GONNA DANCE ON YOUR GRAVE! // SSSSUCKERRRR

 

Agreed. Although I'm not too sure about the rest of the Org members. Would it be possible to have Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene in it?
I think Xion is going to be one of the lights instead of Kairi. Feel free to disagree with me on that, but she is part-Sora and she's probably a better candidate anyway

I'm fine with having Yen Sid as one of the lights, but the way I interpreted it Xehanort will be using people as vessels for his heart and I highly doubt Maleficent will let that happen to herself. But as a side battle I definitely agree.


7 LIGHTS: Sora, Riku, Ven, Aqua, Mickey, Xion/Eraqus, Lea
13 DARKNESSES: Master Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem, Young Xehanort, Terranort, Vanitas, Isa, Braig, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen?, Zexion?

Aqua vs Terra
Clearly that will be a battle to tug at the ol heart strings. Aqua will fight Terra to try and free him from darkness. Either she'll be successful, or she'll kill him. If he is freed from darkness he will have a touching cutscene with Riku about the darkness and blahbitty blah. Still, that should definitely be a fight.

Ven vs Vanitas
This is pretty much going to happen. there is nothing quite like fighting your evil counterpart, so why not?

Lea vs Isa
Yep yep yep. I definitely see this happening. The two were best friends and its pretty much another Aqua/Terra situation. After Isa is defeated Lea teams up with Xion and probably mickey to fight against the rest of the organisation members

Xion/Lea/Mickey vs Xemnas
I feel like Mickey is going to be a sidekick in all of the battles, but nevertheless after Lea has his fight with Isa, him and Xion would team up with Mickey against Xemnas and that would finally defeat all the original organisation members

Mickey vs Young Xehanort
If Mickey has his own battle with any of these then I reckon it will be Young Xehanort. They actually seem like a perfect match for battle and I do recall him knowing Young Xehanort from back when Ansem The Wise was around

Sora/Riku vs Ansem
It's pretty much a given that this will happen. The guy destroyed their home and deserves to have a keyblade to the butt. After this there will be a cutscene with Kairi and all is well with flowers and sparkles. she offers to help and they're all like noooo we're macho (not really lol, but like I said I don't see Kairi being one of them)

Everyone vs Master Xehanort
I assume this will be a game where you can pick a character, or develop each one. If Eraqus isn't one of the 7 lights, then the final battle will be everyone against MX. And this will be the final battle because he'll transform into all these monsters that you have faced while playing specific characters. Real mind-f*ckery shape shifting too (eg MX transforming into Xion's final form and her having to fight that, or Sora fighting A transformed Kairi, or Lea/Xion fighting a transformed roxas, or Aqua/Ven fighting a transformed terra. I talked about all these battles before but I'm saying as part of Xehanorts master plan he could shapeshift into characters which hold sentimental value to our protagonists. Of course I'm thinking quite far ahead though.)

Also, has anyone considered if Mickey was a Disney character from the light, then perhaps there could be a Final Fantasy character? I mean, I know none of them have keyblades, but one of them could. Having Cloud or Squall as one of the lights could be really good too, although like Maleficant, I really highly doubt Sephiroth will give in to Xehanort. They probably look at him like "b*tch please, you aint gettin my body"

So yeah there are my thoughts. What do you think?

 

I don't think Master Eraqus, Roxas, or Xion will be one of the lights. Seeing as Master Eraqus is dead. Also Roxas, and Xion are already a part of Sora, they were created from Sora, unlike Ven, who existed before Sora. It would be pretty hard to bring them back out, and would be quite a long shot to make them part of the 7 lights.

I think the 7 lights would be: Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Ven, Mickey, Lea

13 Darknesses would be: Master Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem SoD, Young Xehanort, Terranort, Vanitas, Braig, Isa, Dilan, Aeleus, Even, Ienzo, Luxord/Marluxia

Most of these are pretty obvious, but for the Organization people, I think they'll be part of it because there's already been a scene showing Even and Ienzo on the floor after Xehanort attacked them. It's safe to assume that he did to them what he did to Braig, and since Isa was also part of it, I think it's safe to assume that the rest of the Organization members in Radiant Garden have had the same thing happen to them. As for Luxord, he lasted quite a while, so that might be proof to his strength and ability, which might make his candidate. Marluxia was made boss of Castle Oblivion, and is also pretty strong, I think controlling him won't be a problem, once he's become half Xehanort.

Sora vs Master Xehanort
This one is kinda obvios, Sora has been the hero for most of the series, so why not make him beat the main villain. After all, he has everyone's hearts in him as his strength to fight.

Kairi vs Dilan/Aeleus/Even/Ienzo
Kairi used to live in Raidant Garden, so it wouldn't be that hard to imagine her going against the any of these guys, not all at once of course.

Riku/Mickey vs Ansem SoD/Young Xehanort
Riku has been fighting against Ansem in almost every single game. It's gotten to the point that seeing someone else aside from Riku fight against Ansem, seem almost unnatural to me. Mickey being the only exception, it'd be fun to see the King go against the Heartless that's been around since KH1. Mickey having a lot of light go against Ansem, a very powerful Heartless. Seeing either of them go against Young Xehanort wouldn't be too much of a big deal either. Riku's already fought him once, and technically Mickey has faced him, so either of them could deal with Young Xehanort.

Aqua vs Braig/Terranort
Aqua's fought against Braig multiple times, and seeing her end it with him would be cool. She could also go against Terranort as a way to bring back her friend, or fulfill her master's orders to keep an eye on him.

Ven vs Vanitas
To see Ven fight against his dark self wouldn't be hard to imagine. The only problem here is that it might forge the X-blade again, if Ven isn't strong enough.

Lea vs Isa/Marluxia
Lea vs Isa would definitely be one of the battles needed here. It is sad to see two best friends fight against each other though. Well we already saw how epic Axel vs MArluxia was in Re:CoM, so why not finish the battle in KHIII, it would be really cool to see the two fight again.

 

In theory, that would be a prereq, but couldn't they just bond his heart to his armor (or anyone's armor for that matter)? I mean, Terra's soul essentially bonded to his armor in the Keyblade Graveyard, and I'm p. sure Eraqus's suit is a boss fight in BBSFM. If all else failed, their master could at least come back Alphonse Elric style for a bit and then disappear b/c hearts need bodies and all that.

I have a few problems with this. First off, we can assume that Braig and Isa went along with this willingly. I say this because even in Days they seemed to be super close to Xemnas, especially when compared to other members of the Radiant Garden converts. Second, the eyes are a window to the soul. Even as members of the original Org, who're the only people that had those yellow eyes? Out of the members you mentioned, only Braig and Isa showed the sign of being Half-Norts. Sure we can assume that guys like Luxord or even Marluxia were part of it, but again, who was loyal to the bitter end?

Now enough of messing with theories. Time to talk matchups.

Seven Lights vs Master Xehanort
Now just hear me out. In every numbered KH game, the final boss has had multiple forms. And despite Sora having fought one or more variations of the big bad's forms, the final form of our antagonist is always fought by a group. MX has been orchestrating this whole thing for over ten years now, and it's safe to say that being old won't stop him from being tough. After everyone fights their respective baddie(s), I feel like this will be a multi-part fight where every single light will get a chance to fight at least one of his forms. Maybe one group will have to take out the Guardian, now super-sized from all the Dark Norts everywhere, while another has to whittle away at shadow-forms of the other 12 darknesses (like KH2 Data Battles) and in the end, Sora, Riku and Kairi -- because the trio that inherited TAV's legacies should be the trio to end it -- go all out against MX to put an end to it once and for all. Also, seeing one of the trio end up with the X-Blade only to destroy it would be so great imo.

Aqua/Ven/Both vs Braig
Let's face it, both of them have beef with this guy. In their final battle as a team, he not only aided MX in creating Terranort (to an extent, at least), but insulted Ven while he'd been frozen in place, distracted Aqua so she couldn't save either of her best friends and ran away when things looked bad. Plus, who here doesn't wanna see Ven toss back an "angry look" quip that's been eleven years in the making?

Lea/Ven/Both vs Isa
Sure Lea vs Isa alone is probably enough for major feels, but remember that Ven met them both in Radiant Garden all those years ago. He and Lea had a real connection, and Lea would probably mistake him for Roxas at first, which would probably cause major waterworks. Whether or not Ven has had any sense of consciousness inside of Sora this whole time, he'd probably try to bring up the past and snap Isa out of it.

Sora vs Vanitas
As much as everyone wants to see Ven vs Van part deux, how confused would Sora be when he sees a dark version of himself? On top of that, Vanitas is a major reason why Ven's heart ended up with Sora in the first place. Ven would probably want to destroy him once and for all, but Sora would want him to go be with Aqua or something and this would be way more satisfying in my eyes -- especially when Vanitas could make jokes about how "we would've made a great team; like twins" or something.

Mickey vs Young Xehanort
Mickey vs MX would be a great one, but between Mickey's Stopza and YX's time manipulation, the battle could be over in the equivalent of a second for everyone else. I don't know, I really just want to see this one play out.

Aqua/Riku vs Terra
Honestly, I'd be happy with either of these. Friend vs friend or master vs pupil (to an extent, anyway), this fight could break Nort's control over Terra and I'd love to see that since poor Terra inadvertently caused 99% of the tragedies in this series.

Lea/Sora/Both vs Xemnas
The former members of Organization XIII versus the former leader. Tell me you wouldn't want this. Plus, in the early 3D trailers, it was shown that Sora's main antag is Xemnas while Riku's is Ansem SoD, which also brings me to the next matchup.

Riku/Mickey/Both vs Ansem SoD
Since Chain of Memories, Mickey has been shown to care deeply about Riku, almost like a father/son kind of relationship tbh, and while Riku finishing SoD off on his own would be closure enough, the Limits he and Mickey could pull off against him would be incredible.

As much as I'd like to see Roxas, Xion, Terra or Eraqus jump in as assists for the seven, I doubt it'll happen. Still, you never know with Nomura...

 

Braig didn't look like he was willing when Xehanort plunged his keyblade into him. Sora wasn't willing to become part of it, yet Xehanort tried to make him one of them. Seeing how Xehanort tried to make Sora one of them, I think he could do the same to the others.

 

That was just turning Braig into a Nobody though. He didn't know if Xehanort remembered anything from before, and it would've come as a major shock to anyone if he just summoned a Keyblade the guy assumed he'd forgotten about.
And remember why Xehanort resorted to using Sora as a vessel: because Riku, the original candidate, had overcome his darkness. Sora, on the other hand, hadn't really had any inner conflict up to that point. Go back to the end of 3D where Riku's in Sora's Dive to the Heart. Ven had to shield Sora from the darkness to keep him safe. Sora's never faced darkness from the inside the way Riku has. He was desperate to have the clash while all 13 of him were there at once.

Desperation is definitely what's gonna make or break the final battles.

 

If that's the case then what was the use of Xehanort attacking Even and Ienzo?

 

At that point, Xehanort was carrying out experiments of the heart and experiments about the Heartless. Obviously, he wanted to test any theories he had and creating artificial Heartless had probably brought his research to a standstill. If he wanted to see what happened to a human when their heart was removed, he had plenty of test subjects within his own inner circle. To put it bluntly, he took advantage and started to observe what happened when a heart and body were separated. Braig seemed like he might tell or try and stop him, so he just created another test subject.

 

Now it makes sense to me, I thought that scene happened after they woke up, not during the experiments they conducted.

 

Nope. That was all a flashback. You can tell because Ienzo looked like he was just a kid. The only other time he looked like that was during BbS, when Xehanort was first formed and would've started to betray Ansem the Wise.

 

The problem I have with Kairi as a light is that she's always been the one to hang around on the side. I wouldn't like her to suddenly become all badass UNLESS there is an opening scene where she's actually been training with her keyblade while on Destiny Islands and then actually has the ability. At the moment it just seems like Kairi is going to be a side character again waiting for Sora and Riku to get back. I might be very wrong on that though.

 

Kairi could always end up training during her adventures, the same way Sora learned along the way in KH1, she could also be formally trained by Riku, Mickey, or Yen Sid.

 

I don't know about Kairi becoming a master overnight, but if the game took place half a year or so after 3D's secret ending, I'd believe that she's about where Sora was around KH1. I mean, Sora and Riku constantly fought with wooden swords throughout their childhood, so they'd obviously be more comforatable fighting with Keyblades than she would.

Still, I'd love to see her go around to all the worlds the way Sora and Riku have, and if she went with a group (or maybe just Aqua) who could teach her along the way, it would seem more believable that she could fight in the final battle.

 

A Disney Xehanort... cannot be Maleficent?

And, yeah! A battle between her and Yen Sid (doesn't need to have keyblades or weapons, just the pure duel between two great sorcerers!) would be very welcome. :D

 

Um, don't the seven lights refer to the princesses of heart?

 

They did before Dream Drop Distance, ha (and still technically do). The Seven Lights post-DDD refer to the seven Keyblade warriors that will be going up against the 13 Seekers of Darknesses Xehanort has amassed.

 

This is mostly pretaining to the Extra darknesses you brought up, the first three members are working with Axel and as Xemnas said most of them were failures so I don't they will be used by Xehanort