5 Kingdom Hearts Misconceptions THAT NEED TO BE CLEARED UP!

With so many moving parts in Kingdom Hearts, some misconceptions and mistruths can pop up. Let’s clear 5 of those up!

[@lowkeymatt]

Just to clarify some language (legalese and stuff): Square Enix has the exclusive license to make and sell KH games and merchandise, but all the ownership copyright wise falls with Disney. It’s always ©Disney/Games Developed by Square Enix I got a C in Copyright in college so I’m a bit rusty lol, but that’s my understanding

[@xblade149]

There we go

[@raidenvakarian9362]

Yeah, that's what I was going to comment too. Disney owns KH but it's not like they can cut ties with Square Enix tomorrow and have Ubisoft make KH5, since SE owns the license to develop and publish the games. So while legally Disney owns the franchise 100%, practically it's more like 50/50, since KH can only exist if those two companies collaborate. Even that super early mobile game that's no longer available was still made with Square's blessing, before they decided they wanted to tackle mobile KH games themselves.

[@darkstarplays6315]

The comment above mine is basically correct. If a split did happen, it is likely we get a COD situation with two timelines but that is unlikely as Disney will probably walk away with it, due to them owning it on paper (the only thing that matters)

[@Jenkinsc37]

While this is true, I should point out that Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura have what are called "First Refusal Rights". Basically it means that while Disney owns the copyright, Square Enix and Nomura both have to give their approval for KH characters appearing in other forms of media. It's the reason why Sora wasn't in Smash until recently and why KH characters don't usually appear in Disney Parks.

[@hasnayaya]

@@Jenkinsc37 awww what? i'd kill to see a kh disney park

[@rainbowphoenix1363]

Unironically it makes way more sense that Nomura is the one who thinks sora in smash would be weird and complicated

[@zacharyhawley1693]

😂💯

[@noyoucantnoicantnowecantsostop]

He had to make another convoluted gibberish plotline with more plotholes on how Smash universe is related to KH and why he got sent there first

[@jadend1241]

knowing nomura he might try to make his smash appearance canon 💀

[@phantom-X2086]

​@jadend1241 Might reference it in KH4, who knows? My headcanon is that on his way to Quadratum, he somehow got lost between the world of reality and unreality and ended up in Smash but some time later, something realized he wasn't supposed to be there, so now he ended up in Quadratum. Either that, or a video game Sora plays in Shibuya shows him playing Smash with him in it. 😂

[@zacharyhawley1693]

@phantom-X2086 smash started as character figures but slowly moved into own separate canon. So with all the reality warping going on its plausible.

[@isaiahjordan1019]

Just my guess, but maybe Sora in smash isn’t actually Sora, but Data Sora from Coded. 😜

[@rieiid5867]

Don't worry we'll get a mobile gacha game that's just a remix of candy crush and you have to play 5,000 levels of it and you'll get a 2 minute cutscene explaining how Sora being in Smash is integral to the story of Kingdom Hearts 4.

[@isaiahjordan1019]

@@rieiid5867 Hahaha! That won't surprise me. xD

[@_Chessa_]

Either “Fictional” Sora or Data Sora. I’m game to hear other fan theories as well! But I love the lore here. 😂 Can’t wait for February 16th!

[@AnotherGeek....]

Nah its the data version of data sora

[@sypheur27]

Aren't most of his voice lines from Dream Drop though?

[@TotallyRealAlphaCrimsonWeaver]

SO YOU’RE TELLING ME BRO JUST CHANGES THE KEYCHAIN EACH WORLD HE GOES IN LIKE “Oh I’m feeling kinda ULTIMATE BLADE-ISH.”

[@AzureKyle]

I mean, yeah, as the player we're literally like this.

[@jiraiya0698]

Nomura wanted to include in the Lore Sora's apparency in Smash. What a mad man.

[@ms.pirate]

square enix dose own kingdom hearts! Its not misconception!

[@chicanalex4529]

@@ms.pirateno they simply developed the game. You can see this for yourself

[@Mattznick]

worst game director ever

[@bullshark7888]

Adding Sora as the final character to Smash was also a genius move in every single way possible and if anything, worked immensely in Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney's favor; it boosted the sales of all Kingdom Hearts games especially amongst the Smash player base, it made people fall in love with Sora all over again, and not to mention, I can still recall the countless number of people crying hysterically and losing their absolute minds seeing "Sora in Smash" actually turn from an inside joke within the community to actual reality

[@Konpekikaminari]

Fun fact about the keychain: KHuχ confirmed it by showing the protagonists keyblade change on screen upon swapping keychains It was the Moogle keyblade

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Well kingdom hearts 1 confirmed it by outright saying it.

[@drdca8263]

@@brotbrotsen1100”The truth is what you see with your eyes, not what you hear.” -MoM ? :P

[@starspeculation]

The idea that Mickey's silly ass voice is saying those haunting things in the Dive into the Heart is killing me.

[@omegahaxors9-11]

"He was worried about the lore implications" Smash community the day of the announcement trailer: MARIO TOUCHED THE KEYBLADE!!!

[@Xahnel]

I just realized Smash is a Dive. Hey, let's clear up one more misconception, in Sora's first dive to the heart, he's not diving into his own heart, he's diving into the hearts of the three captured princesses of light.

[@luckyinugirl1816]

I never thought of that before!

[@PervertedNovaxc3]

Hearing that Nomura was worried about lore implications got a chuckle out of me. I think the guy needs to realize not everything needs to connect together.

[@benlarson6031]

Yeah like does he really think smash is cannon? Tf are the implications of solid snake in smash?

[@BaconNuke]

@@benlarson6031 Sometime we'll get a line about how Sora was in a "land of fantasy" or whatever and he fought "Cloud and Sephiroth.. but they weren't the ones we know.. oh and other odd people were there" since.. now imagining Mario and Minecraft Steve as canon to KH in some way is amusing

[@poliorice3600]

​@@benlarson6031I mean, smash is canon to Kid Icarus, and you see things like Playstation Allstars being canon to God of War, it's one of those situations where it's canon to some series and not others

[@NoctLightCloud]

​@@BaconNukehonestly a FF × Nintendo in the same way as KH would be interesting!

[@lpfan4491]

@@poliorice3600 I still want to know what the implications of all of that is. I'm fairy sure Smash and Kirby are canon to each other too. It initially seemed like Smash Ultimate was retconning it by changing Crazy Hand's strongly implied origin, but then the hands just showed up referencing Smash 64 in a Kirby spinoff later and idk what is going on anymore.

[@B3LiiZ32]

I was today years old when I found out that it was Mickey talking to Sora the whole time.

[@flyinryan1459]

I kind of liked it better to be an unknown kind of force. It just didn't need to be explained

[@B3LiiZ32]

@@flyinryan1459 nah I was dying to know ever since I was a kid

[@flyinryan1459]

@B3LiiZ32 fair enough, that's just always something that felt omnipotent, something only Sora could know about. Personally I thought the voice had something to do with the keyblade, since apparently they choose masters, but we were just never meant to know

[@munairmarrow5534]

I was today years old when I realized that all key blades are technically a reskin of the kingdom key

[@glitchy000]

@@flyinryan1459 I did too. Like it was the deepest part of Sora's heart talking to himself.

[@Big-boned_Pikachu]

I wish Disney would do more with Kingdom hearts in their theme parks. I want to explore traverse town and twilight town!

[@rangerarion6937]

Personally I want Traverse Town theme before Twilight Town but I think it's because I have a personal connection to the music, legit listened to it when I was younger to help calm me down

[@andrescastillo7328]

THat would have been awesome!!!!

[@Manueltion15]

If universal owned kingdom hearts then this would’ve been done by now

[@arcadiansounds2850]

How amazing would that be!?!?!

[@andrescastillo7328]

@@arcadiansounds2850 It would be epic!!!

[@shaya200]

Disney refused to openly acknowledge KH as part of Disney for years. Not until around KH3 did Disney start to acknowledge it was a thing. In one of the Disney World's (the real life place) one of the shops had a key chain with Mickey in Org XIII robes (as in the official KH2 art) and when a fan went to ask about it because it was the first time he'd seen any KH merch in a Disney store, the workers denied it was anything to do with KH (despite it being the official KH artwork) and claimed it was Mickey in Jedi robes.

[@Dark_Lynx55]

I have that pin, legit has Kingdom Hearts on the back lol

[@jish55]

Much like how they initially refused to acknowledge Nightmare Before Christmas as Disney (which is why when Nightmare first released, it wasn't under Disney, but Touchstone, one of Disney's side studios).

[@J-Vasa]

But i saw kingdom hearts stuff at Disneyland Paris around kh2 and birth by sleep

[@legg8866]

they had sora and kh goofy and donald in disney world (maybe disney land i don't remember) in the early 2000s once or twice

[@UncleNuggets]

The workers who denied it had anything to do with KH obviously did not know what KH was. Not a lot of people do, unfortunately.

[@thegreenthunder5416]

Namora being concerned about KH lore by letting him in Smash is so Namora

[@seguuro]

Namora, as in Namora the cousin of Namor from Atlantis?

[@Mattznick]

so stupid

[@RhyperiorRanger]

Biggest misconception is people seriously think Mickey left Aqua in the realm of darkness for over 10 years and still demonize him for it when that’s not true

[@benlarson6031]

Is that not true??? I mean they try to explain why they didn't go save her but the reasons they give are extremely weak

[@poliorice3600]

​@benlarson6031 from what I recall, Mickey didn't even know Aqua was in the realm of darkness until KH1, and Mickey didn't really have the time or help to go back until after DDD, at most he left her for a couple years but that wasn't really his fault

[@Alduinhead]

Right, the DtD isn't exactly easy to locate. That and Mickey is king of his own world and the only active keyblade wielder left in all the worlds after the events of BBS. Aqua is aware of all these things and still tells Mickey to leave. It's not his fault

[@lpfan4491]

The thing is, it WAS well-justified in both directions. But KH3 makes the entire plotpoint look dumb because: Mickey: It is written in that entering and exiting is actually easy. Since he obtained the KKD, he can do that on command. Aqua: She didn't turn to darkness because of her time spent there, but rather because of Ansem's attack accidentially corrupting her. This is never cleared up between the characters. And I don't know why she would even twist the knive on him to begin with, after prior games establishing that darkness alone does not actually turn you evil. If anything, if you can't handle it, it just takes your free will away, but that's not the case here.

[@legendarycryptid2629]

Mickey ended up leaving her for over 1 year. That's it. They literally tell us Mickey saw Aqua after 10 years passed, and it was only by chance since his main mission was getting into the ROD, get its Keyblade and get out, though being Mickey, he spent so much time planning a way in, he forgot to plan a way out, not helped by the fact the DtD only lets beings of pure darkness in or out. He got separated due to the Demon Tide and the door it went through disappearing, and even after that, he ended up not only needing to seal the door with Sora and Riku, but also ends up dragged into the Organization plot thanks to DiZ (I know Mickey claims he had strong feelings of wanting to see Riku again and ended up in Castle Oblivion, but I'm convinced -Ansem- DiZ had a hand in getting him out of the Dark World), and didn't tell the boys because they are known, especially in KH1, for being reckless and impulsive, and he didn't need them going in keys akimbo and losing their hearts in 5 minutes flat. But what exacerbates the issue is that _3 has Mickey just take full blame when he knows himself it's not his fault she was there for a decade._

[@primepikachu5]

My favorite part about sora being in smash is that everyone was saying how Nomura would get hung up on making sora canon to the crossover game and then it was true lmao

[@zanderlaitinen7109]

It isn't about canonicity. It's about things like Kirby copying Sora's abilities, but not being able to wield a Keyblade.

[@CassiusStelar]

​​@@zanderlaitinen7109which makes no fucking sense because if anyone has a strong fucking heart in the smash cast, its Kirby, the puffball has a whole game where the player doesnt control him, but his disembodied, star shaped, "Heroic Heart" and directs 10 mini kirbies

[@Lord_Sunqu]

@@CassiusStelarYeah, also in Star Allies, we learn that Kirby is pure innocence and positivity. If you want a warrior of light 100% made of light, there’s no better candidate in smash than Kirby.

[@xStrife1997x]

Fair to note that, although the IP is owned by Disney, IP laws put KH in a little bit of a gray area. Many of the KH games feature Final Fantasy characters, some of whom are pivotal in the stories that unfold. Because SE is the Developer and Publisher of KH, the implementation of the FF characters is NOT licensed to Disney, despite those character IPs being totally owned by SE. This means a legal battle (hypothetically) could lead to a ruling that quite literally does split the KH IP between both SE and Disney. This is likely why KH3 nixed the FF characters in KH3, and KH4 is in the air until we know what's going on with Nomura and the Verum Rex stuff. Also fair to note the likelihood that SE would prevail in a hypothetical IP battle isn't overwhelming, and probably small. Still, we could technically just assume KH is owned by both in some level of collaborative effort, as it's far more unlikely that Disney would ever pull it's license.

[@starblossom05]

Most fans also said if Disney may fail or bankruptcy they whould sell it to SE because they the only company who is allow the make the games and are the only one who literly the reason it become big and nobody see them sell it to other Company

[@efrenarevalo2025]

That's why KH3 tried its best to push FF characters away.

[@h3industrialcomplex220]

Does Nomura realize non of the characters in Smash are actually canon lol

[@christophermarsh1580]

Yoshi is canon, but its only because that's how he avoids paying taxes

[@spindash64]

​@@christophermarsh1580Captain falcon lives at smash bros now

[@DarkOverlord96]

The Kid Icarus characters are canon.

[@Mattznick]

no because he's a moron who can't understand games can exist without lore

[@josephdavis3472]

@@DarkOverlord96 I think you guys are missing the point, the "characters" are shown in ALL opening cutscenes as animated from toys, so it's easy to argue it's just a Sora action figure, it didn't matter to the lore of KH in any way. In the same way that MGS doesn't have to explain Snake's appearance in Smash.

[@V0idedOut-E33]

I still am blown away by the fact that Sora's inclusion in smash is the result of the same accident that created kingdom hearts. The poetic irony is gold

[@DarkestElemental616]

Meanwhile me, every time I open KH1: *starts talking in Mickey voice until I start laughing and my dad leaves the room*

[@xblade149]

I knew all of this. But i still find it bullshit disney entirely owns the series

[@glitchboy1750]

I once asked ai the same question on instagram cuz u can actually use ai in instagram but anyway ai says that the kingdom hearts series and the original characters are own by square enix and disney just license there own characters

[@sonic_genesis]

Square practically gave disney the KH series so Square can use their Disney characters. Disney was like sure, no problem,✍️📝 more money for them and no effort.

[@jish55]

Why? If you know Disney's practices, you know that when they attach their name to anything, they want complete ownership of it. If Square didn't accept that, KH would have never been greenlit.

[@kissmeimcontagious57]

You knew we collected key charms not key blades are you rere

[@weirdotzero7065]

They have produced merch and one mobile game without Square's involvement. They own it.

[@CristianLopez-qh9sg]

Thank you for bringing up the key chain misconception

[@bryzantine1571]

I think it's cuz kh2 states u collect key blades. Cuz kh1 states it's keychains

[@glitchy000]

I'm still confused why Sora can have two Keyblades in KH2/KH3, or why Roxas has two and one is Oathkeeper that he shouldn't have.

[@bryzantine1571]

@@glitchy000 yeah. That doesn't make sense. In KH2 it makes sense. Roxas is inside him. But In kh3 it shouldn't b possible

[@BaconNuke]

@@bryzantine1571 If Roxas can learn to dual wield then so can Sora, also rule of cool

[@bryzantine1571]

@@BaconNuke that's basically Roxas. Cuz his canon reason was, he's using sora and ven keyblades. Since he has vens heart he is able to summon 2 at a time. Once ven wakes up and sora is up he shouldn't be able to. One theory is, he's using fake keyblades like xion

[@bonezilla4109]

The reason why people say it's the last square soft game is because it was basically entirely developed by square soft but didn't release until they had just become square enix.

[@ms.pirate]

Square enix dose own kingdom hearts! Its not misconception!

[@bonezilla4109]

@@ms.pirate I totally agree that they own the game. Square soft was the one who almost entirely made the game without any help from Enix then the game released soon after the merge.

[@AlexKsToonZone]

I personally find that last one hard to believe. If Disney REALLY had no problem with Sora being in smash, Then how come Donald & Goofy are no where to be seen on the KH stage?

[@lowkeymatt]

Look up the story of Dissidia Final Fantasy and you’ll see why, original KH characters are fair game

[@JojokerStupid]

Disney is fine with kingdom hearts characters in smash but not disney characters. Also smash only allows videogame characters to make appearances.

[@saxophonebuizel2458]

Goofy and Donald are tv characters so that's a possibility

[@jjgarcia156]

​@@lowkeymattwhy

[@cheyenneismyname4279]

Because donald and goofy are original Disney IPs. Sora was a colab with square. Disney know how popular KH is now... so I'm sure they jumped at the chance to put sora in smash because smash is popular... Disney likes money

[@SoulMetalAlchemist15]

This is just a little theory I've thought up in my head, especially with how Disney is nowadays. I feel like with a lot of Disney's old properties for the Kingdom Hearts games. They were OK with them being lax with them, especially like considering how they felt about the direct to video sequels, and even how Disney reacted to going to VHS for the first time. So that's why you get a lot of really good integration with the characters. Great integration with the outside characters like Sora, Donald, and Goofy coming into the Disney World and actually like you know, involved with the story and what's going on. However, things change once you get to games like recoded, DDD and, even Birth By Sleep and especially with Kingdom, hearts 3. Where the games are getting more popular, and they wanted to do more popular IPs as time went on, but you start to see them not sure how to integrate the KH characters in the stories/world. This HEAVILY effected KH3 where they either just take the characters away, and you don't get to play with them, or you're just playing the story but as a backseat driver witnessing the movie happening around you. Case in point with frozen, which even Game Theory did a whole theory about how it felt like the Frozen level was done a little differently and then changed in haste in order to make it compiable with what Disney might have demanded. At this point in time, especially with how Disney has become in the past 5 or 10 years, I would not be surprised if Disney had meddled with Kingdom Hearts 3 or even some of the other Kingdom Hearts games before 3 came out, but this is just my own little conspiracy theory, but I would not be surprised is true. Especially now, knowing that Disney does technically own Kingdom Hearts series.

[@mookapar1]

Definitely should've kept the focus on more square themes IMO. I just remember picking it up as a kid and seeing all the square characters with Disney and that was even the main highlight of it in commercials from what i remember. Felt like a blow to my heart when they took out square characters 😢😂😂

[@alwaysabiggafish3305]

Yeah, tidus and wakka at the beginning was the best

[@Kirito843]

The FF characters appearing at first was only to reel in the FF fanbase to play the game, nothing more than that. As much as it’s unfortunate to say, KH is first and foremost a Disney game that merely FEATURES Square properties. It was only developed and published by Square.

[@mookapar1]

@@Kirito843 well they shouldn't be like that lol. I realize now more than ever, but never forget, that without the collab, there is no kingdom hearts. It took square's rpg development style to PRODUCE the actual product, so yes, i do in fact still believe it should be more levelled out. Don't get me wrong i still enjoy the games and i dont mind disney much, but i also don't agree wjth a lot of stuff disney does these days to the new generations of kids and how it affects the mind and psyche. But, still a fun game lol. I mainly enjoy the gameplay, almost exclusively i play it just to bash shit with a keyblade lol. I watch cutscenes in the new ones i havent seen but damn.

[@commenteroftruth9790]

@@Kirito843 your take sucks, and no one who cares about kingdom hearts agrees with you.

[@NerdsterStein]

i literally had no idea it was keychains! that makes so much sense

[@isaiahblackbeard]

If you didn’t know sora collected keychains you never played the games…

[@Jeezes718]

Nomura: what about the lore? Ne: Kingdom Hearts is LITERALLY a crossover between Ff and Disney. How is another crossover such a big deal?

[@VanitasTheBest]

Not in his mind anymore. He wants Kingdom Hearts be its own thing without Final Fantasy.

[@futurewarriorhero123]

oh, i'm kinda worried that Disney 100% owns the KH ip.

[@deficharliegosseTK]

Well see this is another thing that honestly makes this whole situation stranger cuz In the entertainment business Let’s say for example in a hip hop song 🎶 if one artist wants and another artist to be featured on one of their songs they pay them for a verse right, so technically let’s say for example: if it’s 36mafia featuring lil flip 36mafia pays lil flip for to do a track with them for an album. Right, so it’s funny in this case it’s like KH is more or less FF with Disney characters…. Lol 😂 most folks would see that and say “ahh so square space paid Disney.” Lol 😂 na Disney being Disney was like “nah we gotta own the rights to all this shit” so they must have bought the FF templates from Squarespace like the whole thing stinks like shit business wise as an entertainment industry insider like it’s so obvious Disney just wrote a blank check and said “you’ll be hearing from our lawyer chow smooch 😘great doing business with you, we’ll see you for the next one!”

[@futurewarriorhero123]

@@deficharliegosseTK i can only hope that they don't tamper with it to make it more "accessible" for audiences.

[@mayleelove4332]

Why, they've always owned the IP.

[@aoto8897]

@@mayleelove4332 Current Disney is horrendous woke, that’s why.

[@futurewarriorhero123]

@@aoto8897 yup

[@mila_78846]

I think its cool that instead of collecting keyblades you collect key chains and the kingdom key just changes its appearance I actually learned that recently 😅😂

[@komaytoprime]

I wonder what a keychainless keyblade looks like...

[@j.c8390]

I'd like to think that some keys have a "true form", like a stock version.

[@BaconNuke]

I think the implication is the Kingdom Key is the default for Sora at least and the keychain is just... there.. it resembling Mickey is totally coincidence.. maybe.. Like when we play as others like the Wayfinder Trio their defaults are.. well what we see.. and Riku for awhile has the "Way to Dawn" thing.. until he gets a modern car key as the default.. so if we stuck like.. the Oblivion keychain on Riku's he'd probably get a version of Oblivion that is just thicker like a car key but not the same as Sora's... at least that I what I assume

[@michealforguson5317]

When you get the Jungle King in KH1, the game explicitly tells you that it's the keychain that Sora gets. He attached the keychain to the Kingdom Key to transform it. This is even further reinforced when players get the Pumpkinhead from Jack Skellington, as we see Sora pocketing something. So my theory is that the Keychain exists forever, but the blade can be lost.

[@yderga8707]

A lot of people want Disney to acknowledge KH more. All i can say is, thank god Disney doesnt care that much about KH. Could you imagine the type of fuckery theyd get up to in stifling creativity and its unique style to appeal to a "general audience"( i mean more so than Square tries to do already). Could you imagine Disneys live action interpretation of KH? I could see it now, with Timothy Chamalet as Sora and Michael B Jordan as Riku (since modern producers seem to think he belongs in every edgy role). KH is perfect being the niche little IP that it is. Its one of those things where you either love it or hate it which is fine. I miss the old days where not every IP strived to be more than itself, and would rather be super loved by a small audience than liked by a large one. KH is one of the last few stories that has that kind of wacky off the wall creativity and i hope that never changes.

[@AspieGamer1986]

Off the wall creativity my ass. Kingdom Hearts has a cluster fuck story. Those stupidass side games like Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days sucks and nobody cares for Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. Now Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep is the shit.

[@yderga8707]

@AspieGamer1986 I feel like as somebody presumably born in *1986* you're being way too critical smh. Either that or you're actually super young trying to compare KH to your modern gaming experience like RDR2 or TLOU. Kingdom Hearts is a cluster fuck, it doesn't always make sense, the characters are disproportionate and don't act realistically, however thats what makes it creative and inventive. These qualities represents gaming at its core and something I feel has been lost in the past decade. Video games are supposed to be an escape from reality and transport you into a new world, whether you like it or not Kingdom Hearts takes the risks that modern devs simply dont want to take anymore, much like the early generation of 3D gaming did so well. On a side note 358/2 days did have a good story, maybe you just didn't have the patience for it.

[@hasnayaya]

where did michael b jordan come from im crying

[@lpfan4491]

@@AspieGamer1986 Birth by sleep is just a major contributer to the beginning of the story going off the rails, and its gameplay is getting left in the dust by Re:coded and you would be surprised by how many people agree with that.

[@velvetbutterfly]

Look up Kingdom Hearts V-Cast for a story on what happens when Disney tries to care about the series

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

When I was a kid growing up I always thought Sora was a kid with an unrealistically overactive imagination and that the entirety of Kingdom hearts was just going on in his mind as he was dying at sea because I believed that he really just died when the game started. And the entirety of all of this is just happening in his head as he is dying in the middle of the sea after he had to eat his friends. I was a morbid child.

[@treddox5880]

I know the official mysterious voice is Mickey, but I don’t care. I prefer to think it’s Ventus. But I won’t spread that around or anything.

[@noda420]

The infamous "fanon"

[@WarriorKid_77]

Good that you atleast don't spread false information.

[@six-stringphantom1402]

Disney being "lax" with their KH IP is an understatement. They for the most part, dont care one bit about KH. There is no KH merchandise at Disney stores, no KH rides/mascots at parks, no Movie/Shows.

[@safehouse432]

We all know Nomura is making it canon some where. It will probably in an easter egg where Sora recalls a dream where he met a man with a M on his hat that seemed so real.

[@heartyknight]

So youre saying we can get a whole new kh store where all the worlds are nintendo worlds with nintendo character? Because disney doesn't care?

[@MicahMane]

Yeah I like how we all kind of just assumed the mouse was the villain like he’s not literally one of the main protagonists of the series 😂

[@omegahaxors9-11]

Nintendo would DMCA that shit so fast you wouldn't believe it.

[@CoffeeBrainzz]

In MY Headcannon it’s Aqua that’s the voice for Sora in KH1 ! I just like it better❤

[@Lashor_]

The real issue is that Sora being in Smash is extremely possibly canon because of the World of Fiction shit that’s happening; if that’s canon then oh boy, multiverse is a bitch

[@StarCatcher525]

OMG Thank you for talking about the Keychains!!!

[@edwardgamerx9061]

If Disney owns 100% of Kingdom Hearts, why don't they use the characters whenever they want? Probably because this little thing known as "Usage and distribution rights" exists which spoiler might be under Nomura's belt instead of Disney's. My dad is a photographer and whenever he sells a picture, the picture belongs to him. Whoever has it can't do any advertising with it, unless they pay my dad a license to allow such a thing. I don't fully know, but copyright law is complex as hell. If Disney can do anything with Sora and his pals, Nomura should be useless and unnecessary to add Sora into Smash Brothers. For what other reason did they need him? Something does NOT add up.

[@loopy183]

To make faithful adaptations of characters for Smash, they work closely with the designers of said characters. I’m sure Nomura, who is obsessed with lorecrafting for KH, would have reservations on the whats, whys, and hows, of intergalactic traveller Sora, entering Smash. And how it opens the gates on other crossovers, with said crossovers threatening the worldbuilding of KH. I could definitely see that, plus the larger issue of translating a frenetic 3D combat system that focuses on movement and combos into a 2D fighting game that NEEDS some semblance of balance to cause it to take longer. Plus, in Sora’s case, magic is an important part of his playstyle in game, another thing which needed consideration. Smash Flash solved the issue by making him a spellsword, but even that has issues. While typing this out, I thought of a third probable reason he was delayed. Sora was voted in during 3DS/U. You know what was in 3DS/U? Custom movesets. Try to solve the problem above while giving him 12 additional potential specials that neither feel awful to use nor break the game.

[@kissmeimcontagious57]

Whose your dad I bet I can get his picture as my default pic

[@nikiardo]

Because they wanted to respect his decision since he's the creator. Nomura doesn't own anything himself, he works for these companies and his contract probably states that anything he makes while working for Square belongs to them, or to Disney in this particular situation, which is standard practice in these cases. If Nomura got fired tomorrow Square could still continue making KH games no problem.

[@velvetbutterfly]

@@loopy183no DLC character in Smash 4 had custom moves though, so that was never a concern

[@NSUDemon14]

I don’t know who I expected to be the Voice, but I sure wasn’t expecting THAT answer! 😂

[@FateburnXVII]

welp, that kinda ruined my childhood memories that disney owns kingdom hearts, there are dark times ahead of us indeed

[@decayedphoenix8865]

Dw they aint gonna woke it up, mostly cause they don't care about it

[@ZariLutus]

@@decayedphoenix8865 y'all crying about "woke" always sound so stupid

[@decayedphoenix8865]

@@ZariLutus I wasnt crying about nothing hello?

[@SpiritusVulpis]

The ones about the Keychains, Sora in Smash, and Squaresoft were never misconceptions in my mind

[@Co_olimaginationvods]

I love how Namora is always thinking of the lore like all us deep fans

[@Laughy-Flaaffy]

Yeah he’s concerned with every part of the lore except making the lore make sense.

[@ntrg3248]

The Japanese dialogue makes it more clear that the voice talking to you in KH1 is Mickey, if you've beaten the game before. I don't think the translators even realised it was Mickey.

[@thecherry6849]

Knowing Disney 100 percent owns the IP is still knowledge that scares me especially nowadays

[@DarkOverlord96]

Man, I can't believe Disney owns a Disney series that Disney made. They can't keep getting away with this!

[@catdust]

Dammit now I need to read the intro sequence in micky's voice

[@benreed6987]

Bruh Disney owns it 100%?! After what they did to star wars I’m scared.

[@chanwalk161]

If you look back on recent years, they haven’t done much with the series or barely prompt it. They pretty much leave it up to Nomura and Square unless there’s something to do with one of their film IP, so there really isn’t anything to worry about

[@jessielsanchez5079]

I understand that fear, but tbh, they haven’t really done much with the series, and if they did, it would cause heavy repercussions on the stablished lore by Nomura.

[@jish55]

Why are you scared when Disney owned 100% of KH since the first game? It's not like their ownership over the franchise has hurt it. As for Star Wars, that's not Disney's fault, that's Kennedy who, much like Marvel being fully ran by Kevin, Disney gave her full reign to run Lucasfilm.

[@Kirito843]

As others have said, Disney is much more hands off when it comes to KH. That doesn’t mean they don’t poke their head in every now and then (KHIII Arendelle…) but compared to Marvel and Star Wars, KH is relatively more free. Hell, Disney is beholden to Nomura if anything if it comes to KH, which is why Sora wasn’t in Smash for so long. Disney Execs already made it clear that they were down for Sora to be in Smash, and it’s recently been revealed that yeah, that was because of Nomura, not Disney. KH makes them a lot of money and uses Disney’s older IPs much more than Disney themselves uses them now, and Disney recognizes that, so they kinda just leave it alone and occasionally peak in. Hell, the head of Disney’s gaming division straight up said in a recent interview that Square Enix’s collaboration on KH was one of the best deals they ever made, and are excited for more to come.

[@legg8866]

the current star wars state is arguably based on kingdom hearts' spinoff release strategy

[@RandoDoodlz]

I literally was just about to text my friend about the key chains lol

[@poggerwhite]

I loved when people speculated that Disney was leaving Kingdom Hearts in 4. I dont think a lot of people realize that Disney OWNS Kingdom Hearts as well as Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, all the Organization members, the Foretellers, Xehanort and all the other major characters except for those explicitly from Final Fantasy games. There is no Kingdom Hearts without Disney

[@Kirito843]

Which is also why I kind of also chuckle at the ‘KH is a Disney x FF crossover’ when it really isn’t. It’s first and foremost a Disney game that FEATURES Final Fantasy characters. I don’t think a lot of people realize that FF characters were at first only in the game to boost sales and reel in the FF fanbase for their new game. FF by comparison to Disney had way less presence in KH, and thus could easier be removed for room for the KH original characters to have their plot lines ironed out and finished by KHIII. FF being removed from KH is not on the same caliber as Disney being removed from KH, as Disney being removed from KH literally means that KH won’t exist anymore because KH is DISNEY.

[@trapmatrix5942]

⁠​⁠@@Kirito843 I find the whole removing FF for KH3 specifically to be a load of crap PERSONALLY considering how little of the original cast actually got spotlight.

[@lpfan4491]

@@Kirito843 Cap. Disney worlds(and characters save for like a handful) are so irrelevant to the story that you can remove them just as easily as the FF content. Heck, if we just talk gameplay and leave the story alone, you have a major issue removing FF because the entire magic system at play IS from FF. An entire part of the core system is suddenly gone.

[@Kirito843]

⁠​⁠@@lpfan4491 That’s why I said Final Fantasy CHARACTERS. No matter how it’s turned, FF is still in KH’s DNA, via the gameplay style and other such things like the convoluted story style. Technically it wouldn’t even be FF primarily because KH came around a time before FF really took up the Action RPG style, so if anything, it’s more of just a Square thing than an FF only thing. Some terminologies are used of course like some spells and items, but not entirely. So you’re just going to disregard all of the games that actually have Disney well implanted into the lore? Like KHI? KHIII? BBS and DDD? ANY of the mobile titles? Again, FF is not on the same level as the ENTIRETY of Disney. FF is more comparable to a singular IP, more than it is the entirety of the Disney franchise. If you remove ALL of Disney, then Kingdom Hearts simply doesn’t exist anymore because Kingdom Hearts is first and foremost, a DISNEY PROPERTY. KH is not a Disney x FF crossover. It’s a Disney game with FF elements. And the FF characters are simply one IP from Square out of the many other possible IPs that COULD appear in the future, basically the equivalent to TWEWY characters appearing in DDD. So more accurately, KH is a Disney and Square collaboration, NOT a Disney x FF crossover, and thus, FF can be removed from KH, just like how any one specific Disney world can be removed from KH, but not the entirety of Disney.

[@silverunlucky]

Note that while yes the voice is the king the reason many probably think it's ven is cause the scene with riku is only in the final mix version of KH1 and many people don't go back to KH1 sadly (it's a great game), so they probably just played the original and never saw that part

[@Jdudushs]

Sora isnt straight, he after that Riku booty.

[@stampoulisrafael5262]

No he ain't, soriku will never be Canon and thank god for that its such an ass ship lmao

[@Buffbuffrules]

So the thing with KH1 is that I already knew Mickey was the one talking in the dive to the heart section, but since there was no voice acting for the voice in that section I still read it as Ven talking. People see (or in this case, hear) what they want to…

[@TheMutantCreeper]

With the lore implications I always thought it was his portrayal. Like he wanted Sora to be as accurate as possible and maybe find a lore accurate way of how he got into smash.

[@Skyler3253]

Wait, Normura is the one who is worried about Sora in Smash Bros over lore implications? Why I'm not surprised? 🤔

[@cemeek89]

I gotta debunk the last point. Yes, in the first game, you only collect the chains, but in later games, it’s revealed to be individual key blades. How else do you explain the key blade graveyard, or Sora’s dual wield?

[@girlwithtehface5880]

Sora's dual wielding is a result of Ventus' heart. It was semi-awakened by Sora having become a Heartless and creating Roxas.

[@cemeek89]

@@girlwithtehface5880 ok…but that fact has what to do with key blades being unique blades vs just one with new keychains?

[@ImfernusRizen]

1.) It was NOT revealed to be Keyblades. It's always been Keychains from the beginning. 2.) The keyblades in the Keyblade Graveyard are the default forms of deceased Keyblade wielders. It has nothing to do with Sora himself. 3.) Dual wielding was because of Ventus' heart resting in him.

[@DataHayseed]

I thought his dual weilding was a result of Roxas' heart

[@cemeek89]

@@DataHayseed as an ability to wield two simultaneously yes. But my point is that the key blades aren’t just one that changes with a chain (excluding the first game), they are all unique

[@Niosai]

Disney owns the Final Fantasy characters??? Keychains are actually Keyblades? The mysterious voice was MERLIN?!?

[@bvdf84]

Disney does own kh but they don't see it as such which why they quite literally don't care where it gets used and let nomura decide

[@ilicia_08]

THANK YOU because omg I can’t count how many times I’ve had to tell people Kingdom Hearts is a Disney game. 100% owned by DISNEY. Nothing is done without Disney’s approval and permission. If Disney says no to something, that’s it, it’s a no. On every piece of KH merch it’s says “©️ Disney”. How do people not know this?!

[@FaLaN69]

WHY DID KH3 LACK FF CHARACTERS???

[@parriswho]

because it lacks any narrative sense, they wouldn’t have been able to add anything to the game outside of being nice cameos and seeing them in a better looking engine

[@Half_Bl00d_H3R0]

@@parriswhothey had a whole ass story in 2

[@parriswho]

@@Half_Bl00d_H3R0 but what does that add to the MAIN narrative with the 13 Xehanorts ? have any of the ff characters had ever even had more than 10min with one of them ? not really

[@Half_Bl00d_H3R0]

@@parriswho same thing with the Disney characters. It’s not like they join you in the final fight. I just want them included cause that got ME into the games. Just have a FF world with the Death Star and make a story. Idk

[@Half_Bl00d_H3R0]

@@parriswho like do you hate FF or something?

[@The412Lol]

Was shocked about the Dive into the Heart voice was King Mickey. Love it tho

[@8hant0m]

I don’t know why Nomura would be worried about lore implications. It’s Smash Bros, how would there be lore implications?

[@hugh9615]

Just typical Nomura shit. Like no gives a shit but him. He always pegged me as out of touch on things

[@cheyenneismyname4279]

I feel like ot works with the lore because sora is missing at the end of 3...

[@aoto8897]

@@hugh9615 It’s also annoying how he keeps making a reason to why Sora resets In level. Like wtf? It’s a game, he should be at level 1 in every new game.

[@alwaysabiggafish3305]

​@@aoto8897he is level 1 at the start of each game tho

[@lazyvoid7107]

​@@aoto8897Get lost anti-SJW

[@JacktheLightningRipper]

I saw the thumbnail for this and the first thing I thought of was that one KH meme that had “Doubt” as an option in the command menu.

[@bigTBoss]

Disney owns it 100%? I think I'm gonna be sick...

[@Kirito843]

It was always the case.

[@mikeknight6556]

Lore implications of sora is smash, who's lore is getting effected. Cuz smash is canonically a bunch of toys being played with, through the filter of imagination.

[@birdquest8695]

I never suspected the voice in the dive to the heart had an identity to begin with, I thought it was just a mysterious voice that tells one their destiny.

[@jackluffy7914]

Trying to fit lore into a character being a cameo in a game sounds like something Nomura would do😂😂😂

[@bestmandouarnynneyiii8193]

I really didn't know about the keychain thing but it really starts to make sense now 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@Spooknight]

I’m pretty sure Disney made the decision to have the FF characters have little to no involvement with KH3, and probably any future KH titles going forward, cuz of course they would.

[@aidinexmachina4232]

Honestly I'm surprised Nomura was hesitant about it. Sora debuted in Smash a little under 2 years after the Re:Mind DLC came out. It would be so easy to weave in Smash lore. Seeing as Wreck-It-Ralph has featured a few Smash characters in the movie. Also the concepts of Light & Dark, both have their own "Badlands" that look literally identical. Also a small thing but Master Hand does the Xehanort Dolphin Finger Wave. I'm JS it wouldn't be hard to do, and it'd fit the theme of Kingdom Hearts perfectly that a feature in Smash is important to KH lore.

[@Lord_Sunqu]

So basically Nomura was debating whether to make Smash canon in KH or not… Yeah makes sense. He’s probably extremely pissed he didn’t get to do it. …Or maybe he actually did it and KH4 will have some references… God damn you Nomura.

[@thetruebluestarj4746]

The keychain thing cleared a lot up for me. I had suspected that was going on about midway through but never confirmed it. Seemed weird to me that others seemed to possess keyblades as well and was wondering why i didnt seem to be getting 'keychains'

[@DeadskyAg]

There’s also Sora finding the picture of the castle in deep jungle “familiar,” and some people thought it was Ventus, when it was actually Kairi, as for why it was, it’s because BBS wasn’t conceptualized when KH1 came out

[@VGInterviews]

6. People say that Sora being called a "Keyblade Master" in KH1 presents a plot whole in future games, however the term is not used in the original JP dialogue and its use in KH was a translation error

[@AceGamingMusicIllistrati-de1kf]

Whenever I play sora in smash, I threatened my friends by saying "YOU WILL FALL AT THE HANDS OF CORPORATE DISNEY"

[@jckulewsky]

Technically, Sora doesn't collect keychains either. He collects charms that he puts on the chain..

[@zanderlaitinen7109]

...no, he collects whole chains. Go look at the different chains used for the different keys. The chain doesn't change because of the charm, the charm and the chain together change the key.

[@jckulewsky]

@@zanderlaitinen7109 completely false. Half of the charms he collects don't even have chains. For example, way finder is handmade from kairi out of shells from Destiny Island, yet Oathkeeper CLEARLY has a chain. The chain is attached to the kingdom key. It may transform to match the motif of the blade, but very clearly not all the charms have chains.

[@laststrike4411]

​@@jckulewskyDo you have even one example besides Kairi's lucky charm?

[@many_lives4925]

I always thought the voice in the Dive to the Heart was just Sora's heart speaking to him.

[@Dommbuscus]

Something to note is that despite Disney completely owning the rights, they still go to Tetsuya Nomura/Square Enix about doing stuff like putting Sora into Smash. They don't have to do this, but it's one of the few nice things Disney does (or maybe it's some weird legal thing, I don't know)

[@xaviersejour9183]

See I always thought the mysterious voice was Ansam. He seems to be a master of that talking without a voice

[@krakelwok]

Maybe Disney could force a story editor on Nomura to rein in the unneccessary convolution a little?

[@HatKidPeck]

The Keyblade and keychain is such a common misconception that I see a lot

[@peachreniade4485]

The keychain one is so cute I never knew that 😭

[@nobody3582]

I suspected the first one. Already knew the Keychain and smash facts. No idea about the square soft and ownership stuff.

[@keithsauve1222]

I am embarrassed to not k ow that my boi was wielding different key chains, not different keyblades

[@svenbtb]

Lore wise, it makes the MOST sense for Sora to be in Smash out of everyone. Dude's just doing his thing going from world to world. Almost wouldn't be surprised if they have a throwaway line about it in KH4 where Donald says "How was your big tournament, Sora?" and he replies with "I got beat up by a box-guy and a plumber" lol

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

The Keychains part is something that makes sense when you think about it, but its wierd that its only mentioned in a few instances, I feel like while it explains why Sora and some characters change Keyblades (player chabging Sora's, Mickey swapping the Kingdom Key D for i forgot the name haven't gotten thr chance to play a KH game in a while Because i had to borrow a PS4 from a friend to play KH reasonably because I ain't playing the switch 1.5-2.5 cloud BS) I feel like it'd make sense to bring up a bit more, also it's cool that some characters still got their OG Keychains equipped but it'd also be cool if they could have new ones also, at least the option to, like imagine Mickey switch mid combat which keychain he's using like Sora in KH3

[@goofychihuahua5091]

Honestly I never really knew who owned kingdom hearts so I’m glad this cleared that up and honestly I think I remember in the first game somewhere upon unlocking the first keyblade it says new keychain unlocked or something

[@andrescastillo7328]

I have learned so much about kingdom hearts, I actually played the GBA game "chained memories" I think it was called, I absolutely loved it!!!

[@ThunderGenesis]

I remember telling my brothers and friends that the voice at the beginning of KH1 was Walt Disney.

[@barathrum3107]

I always pictured the voice in Dive into the Heart to be Ansem the Wise, so I imagined a deep voice.

[@gfyGoogle]

The argument that Disney wouldn’t allow Sora in Smash never made sense considering how many Disney IPs are in Fortnite.

[@Dark-kz2bq]

I always thought the mysterious voice was the keyblade itself because it has been shown to occasionally move on its own.

[@HexBubbins]

Now all they have to do is make ffxiv x kingdom hearts crossover outfits for sale on the mog store. I wanna look like Axel while playing Dancer

[@kylelangdon6724]

I always forget that technicality of the key chains.

[@millenialfalcon1694]

Keychains changing the appearance makes so much sense...

[@12ozz]

Nomura worried about lore implications is a riot