(January 19, 2012 02:48:15 PM)Chloe Wrote:  I agree with it sounding like they might be killing characters off... However, there's NO WAY IN HELL that Disney would ever let them kill one of the Disney characters. That just wouldn't happen. So it'd have to be one of the KH alumni.

Well... I wouldn't say that. In KH2, there's one moment where Goofy gets clocked in the head by a very large boulder, and Sora and Donald actually believe that he's dead. Of course, he didn't die, but it raises a question: Is Disney truly willing to let Square kill off one of their beloved characters?

Personally, I'm going to have to say yes on that. I think the fake Goofy death scene was proof enough. If Disney lets Square even fake a death, I'm pretty sure they'd be willing to let them actually go through with an actual Disney character death. And like said previously, it's only going to matter to the story if it's a major Disney character such as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, or others.

If they're going to kill off a Disney character, I have no doubt it will be Mickey. Donald and Goofy have been major Disney characters since the very start of the franchise, but Mickey plays a bigger role to the story than both of them. For one thing, he's the only other "living" Keyblade Master besides Sora and Riku. Also, he's already passed his Mark of Mastery, whereas Sora and Riku are just about to do it in this game.

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"We are ancient, forgotten warriors in a modern world."- Ben Yoshira, protagonist of my KH fanfiction, Twilight's Call.

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Has an original Disney character EVER died in the history of anything ever before? (I'm not talking about film property characters like Mufasa, for example)

No.

Why would Disney relinquish control and let Square Enix do it?

Mickey Mouse has been around for 80 years. If your only exposure to him has been via KH then I understand why people might only see him as another property of the series (much like some do for FF characters), but his legacy is much much MUCH larger than that.

I'm not arguing about how amazing it could be in KH itself, I don't know the franchise well enough to judge that, but I believe that people's opinions on that to be pretty correct (though I don't have much faith in Square Enix anymore). But in the real business world, where Disney is making a tonne of money from its characters, like Mickey, Goofy & Donald, I very much doubt that they'd take a risk this huge.

I'm fully prepared to eat my words on this, and while I have no doubt that this could be something that Nomura/SE would want to do, I doubt Disney would go with it.

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I agree, I don't think Disney would be up for it either. But who knows, if there was a Disney character to be killed off, I agree that it would be Mickey. But, I don't think it would be a tragic death, maybe more of a sacrifice, to save someone else?

EDIT: Actually the more I thought about it (read: While I was trying to fall asleep ;p) Disney would never kill off Mickey, mainly for the reason that he is the mascot for Disney. Killing him off would mean that Disney has less of a role in KH. So I think that it could be possible to kill off Yen Sid. He's not a main character in the story, and it's likely, considering they offed Master Eraqus and (in the future) getting rid of Xehanort. So I assume it would make sense to get rid of all the old keyblade masters. Anyways that is my theory.

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The first time I played through the scene were you think Goofy died, I was completely dumbfounded, and at a complete loss. I became so wrapped up in the game that I was actually saddened at the thought that one of my companions could have been gone. Then, when I saw Goofy bounce back in the next scene, I was overjoyed. It's amazing how one can become so consumed that true emotion comes out in a time of sorrow within the game itself.

Now, would Disney actually allow a main character in the Disney family to be killed in a KH game? I have to say that if Disney actually wants the story to progress to a brand new level, then this is a necessary step. There has to be a tragic loss in order for a triumphant ending to take place. Riku was lost within Kingdom Hearts for a short time, but at that point we weren't sure what that meant. In FF VII: Crisis Core, Zach dies; he actually dies. Zach was a major character; heck, you play as him through an entire game - he was the character. However, in order for Cloud to rise up within himself to be the hero that he had lied about being all this time, literally taking on and living in the persona of Zach, that sacrifice had to be made. Yes, the plot was already set in place way before Crisis Core was ever released, but I think it makes my point. If not, you can look in just about any bit of written fiction on shelves today. Major characters die, in order for others to rise up to the occasion.

For Kingdom Hearts to continue moving in the direction that I see it going, to move along with its original audience, sacrifices will have to be made, and someone important to the series will have to let go. I can't see Yensid as being a great sacrifice. Yes, he's the man that taught Mickey everything he knows, but I don't feel that as a character within the KH universe, we're very close to him. In order for the story to progress further, something tragic will have to happen; Disney Castle will have to be destroyed, possibly taking Minnie, Daisy, and Chip and Dale with it; Radiant Gardens could be wiped off the map, destroying Merlin and the beloved characters of Winnie the Pooh.

A move will have to be made, and Disney needs to see this to keep the Kingdom Hearts franchise moving in the right direction.

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(February 08, 2012 10:28:46 AM)1sky1destiny Wrote:  There has to be a tragic loss in order for a triumphant ending to take place. Riku was lost within Kingdom Hearts for a short time, but at that point we weren't sure what that meant. In FF VII: Crisis Core, Zach dies; he actually dies. Zach was a major character; heck, you play as him through an entire game - he was the character. However, in order for Cloud to rise up within himself to be the hero that he had lied about being all this time, literally taking on and living in the persona of Zach, that sacrifice had to be made. Yes, the plot was already set in place way before Crisis Core was ever released, but I think it makes my point. If not, you can look in just about any bit of written fiction on shelves today. Major characters die, in order for others to rise up to the occasion.

You make a very good point here, and I agree something tragic needs to happen for the story to continue on. Not only to keep the story interesting, but for others to rise up to the occasion and finish this. We also should think past KH 3, it is said (though not confirmed) that there are plans to continue past the Xehanort saga. I honestly can't see it going on for much longer without a big change or tragedy. And agreed Yen Sid is not a great loss, you don't have an emotional connection to him like you do with Mickey, Donald, Goofy or even Sora.

(February 08, 2012 10:28:46 AM)1sky1destiny Wrote:  Now, would Disney actually allow a main character in the Disney family to be killed in a KH game?

Which brings me to my point, I do believe that they will kill a character off. Square has never been afraid of that. But Disney, to my knowledge, has not killed off a main character (although I could be wrong but I don't remember it happening). I (and probably others) have noticed lately KH games have been focusing less on Disney and more on original KH characters. With that being said, I think that square will have a original KH character kick the bucket. It would be something that completely changes the game and even Sora's focus and goals. And Sora wasn't effected by the Org. XIII's deaths (he didn't know they are coming back) so it would have to be something closer to home.

But all this is speculation and ideas. Which is cool because I love thinking about this stuff!

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(February 09, 2012 02:40:56 AM)Simone Wrote:  Which brings me to my point, I do believe that they will kill a character off. Square has never been afraid of that. But Disney, to my knowledge, has not killed off a main character (although I could be wrong but I don't remember it happening). I (and probably others) have noticed lately KH games have been focusing less on Disney and more on original KH characters. With that being said, I think that square will have a original KH character kick the bucket. It would be something that completely changes the game and even Sora's focus and goals. And Sora wasn't effected by the Org. XIII's deaths (he didn't know they are coming back) so it would have to be something closer to home.

If Nomura would give me a say, I would vote Kairi off the island. All she does is run around like a helpless little girl, unless Riku hands her a keyblade of flowers, and then she runs around like a helpless little girl swinging a flowery keyblade.

Yes, I'm not a huge fan of Kairi, although I was throughout KH1 when I felt that she and Sora had an actual connection, but I feel that the connection they shared has faded out significantly between 1 & 2. If Square was to kill off a character, I feel like the loss of Kairi would be a big impact on the characters, without hurting me as much.

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Haha, yea. I don't dislike Kairi, but it wouldn't affect me much if she was gone. I'm not sure how the 7 princesses of pure light thing would work with her gone. I was actually trying to refer to Riku, aside from Sora himself, he would be the biggest loss. And I feel like Sora is closer to Riku, the 'romantic' element of Sora and Kairi kind of fizzled out after KH 1 and it didn't seem like they were as close after.

But yes, Kairi would be a fairly painless loss.

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