It is, then, little surprise to see young Sora and Riku in the press shots and demo version at E3. The game is looking superb even at this early stage. But what could the reason be for young Sora's presence?
Above: Young Sora and Riku. Fresh of face and... grey of hair? Hmmm...
The game's director, Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the game is not a remake of the original, so that's ruled out. This leaves only a couple of logical reasons.
I've been having these weird thoughts lately...
Could the game be set in a dream? One of the dreams Sora had on Destiny Islands? This would allow the plot to intertwine with the existing games at any and every point. Memories of the first game could keep the action familiar, more focused in a simple story and keep development costs down as existing assets could be re-used. It would also allow a new plot to be added in with new locations.
Above: It all looks familiar, but only because the world listisn't final
Alternatively, it really could just be set immediately after the events of the first game. If Riku and Sora are definitely in, could the '3D' that features in the forthcoming game name refer to 'three destinies'?Imagine aco-op adventure with three players controlling Riku, Sora and Kairi. That would undoubtedly pursuade many parents to buy a second system for their addicted offspring. The gameplay would easily work with drop-in/drop-out control.
The final possibility would be a set-up similar to Chain of Memories, which handily left the plot virtually the same at the end of the game as it was at the start. You can make as many of those as you like and still not dramatically affect canon.
Above: Let's hope themusic for Traverse Townhas been redone. Please!
The bottom line is, Kingdom Hearts on Nintendo 3DS is a mouthwatering prospect - one look at the press shots scattered around this page will tell you it's going to be great. As long as it keeps the pace up and maintains Riku and Sora as the lead characters (along with Donald Duck, of course), we'll be happy. Confused, but happy.
18 Jun, 2010
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