BBS Interview with Tetsuya Nomura/Kingdom Hearts Mysteries Answered [SPOILERS]

Thanks to Kingdom Hearts Ultimania for translating the Interview and the twenty extra questions from the Birth By Sleep Ultimania.

So how did you start development on “KH BbS”?

Nomura:
Well I usually start by thinking about the gameplay, but for BbS I
started by writing out the plot for the scenario. The scenes on Destiny
Island with Terra and Riku speaking, and Aqua speaking to both Sora and
Riku were ideas I had written down from the first. I wanted to make
those scenes a reality so badly that I wrote out a development
proposal. I had the plot in mind from way back at the end of
development on KHII.

You had planned on having the climax scene of BbS be the secret movie of KHII FM+ from the start?

Nomura:
Yes, but I hadn’t yet decided when the scene would happen during BbS.
When we were created the secret movie for KHII FM+ we didn’t know how
big of a game we would be able to put on the PSP, and we hadn’t yet
decided how long the scenario would be. We didn’t know if we would put
that scene at the end, or if we wouldn’t be able to fit it in and not
add it at all, or maybe if there was space would we be able to show
what happened after it.

You used parts of the secret movie in the opening of the game, right?

Nomura:
I talked with Nomatsu (Takeshi Nomatsu: Cinematic Movie Director) about
the opening movie, and we decided that we wanted the movie to show what
would happen during the story. For KHII we showed what had happened in
the story so far, but we couldn’t do that with BbS because nothing had
happened before it.

How did you decided on the subtitle “Birth by Sleep”.

Nomura:
Honestly? I just wanted to use the word “by” in the title (laugh). Game
subtitles always have “of” or “is” in them, but I started to think
about how “by” just wasn’t used very much. The localization staff told
me that it isn’t used in titles very often, but our producer who is
good at English said there was no problem with it, so I didn’t think it
would be that odd to use it. Also, I thought it would be interesting to
use another “internet” word like in COM and Coded, and I wanted to make
it be shortened as BBS (electronic bulletin board) which “connects”
people. And I wanted to put the word “sleep” in the title as well, so
it became “Birth by Sleep”.

So how was it decided that the Osaka team would be working on development?

Nomura:
When I had written out the development proposal the usual KH team had
already been decided on to work on “FF Versus XIII” and so we started
thinking about leaving it to another team. That’s when the Osaka team
came up to us and said “We’ll be able to make a better game than any of
the other teams, so please let us work on it.” Then they made a test
version for us with Sora, Donald and Goofy running smoothly, so we
thought we’d leave it to them. At the time we had just started
development on “Crisis Core”, and the team was having some trouble
working on the PSP. We showed them the work the Osaka team had done on
the test version, and said “Look at how much you can do on the PSP.”

The gameplay this time specializes in Commands. Was this your idea?

Nomura:
Yes it was. The Deck Command was in the development plans from the
first. We thought if we simplified the deck system that we used in COM
we could make it a lot more exciting. We also took the Command charging
system from “The World Ends With You” (Game made for the NDS in 2007)
so that you’d have to wait after using a Command before using it again.
We wanted to put these two systems together and evolve them even more.
While the manual charging system from COM has a bit of freedom to it,
with the automatic charging system we wanted to make you sweat. You
thought it would be fun to have you run around trying to escape the
enemy while waiting for Curaga to charge thinking “Hurry hurry hurry...”

The “Command Board” was also another one of your ideas, wasn’t it?

Nomura:
I’ve always loved board games. When I was little my father would make
dice games for me, and I would copy him and make my own. Because of
that I’ve always wanted to make a board game part of the gameplay
system. In the FF series they have the Sphere Grid, which is a board
game like system for growth. But I wanted to take it even further and
make a dice game that could be played by itself, and that’s how I
thought up the “Command Board”.

You also added the Dimension Link system into the mix.

Nomura:
In both KH and KHII, Donald and Goofy fought alongside you. But with
the PSP it would have been difficult to have lots of characters moving
at once. So instead of having your friends alongside you, we decided
that you could just borrow their power from distance, which created the
Dimension Link.

It’s fun that you can even link to other players through wireless.

Nomura:
The Osaka team came up with the idea of linking through wireless. It
was the last thing we decided on for the Dimension Link system. The
theme of the story is “connections”, so we felt it would be proper to
allow you to “connect” to other players via Dimension Link. It was also the idea of the Osaka team to have Ventus link to Vanitas. I reallly like that they managed to incorporate part of the game system into the story line. I thought they did an excellent job.

The concept for the story was “There is no coincidence in fate”.

Did you think about the three main characters having different scenarios from the beginning of development?

Nomura:
Yes we did. When we were first writing out the plot, we had decided on
using the three main characters in separate stories. We wrote their
stories starting first with Terra, then Ventus and then Aqua. And in
the story you can see that first Terra leaves, then Ventus follows him,
and Aqua leaves last. The overall concept is, though it seems like a
catch phrase, “There is no coincidence in fate”. The reason why Riku
was chosen to wield the keyblade, or why Kairi met Sora and Riku. These
things that seemed like they were just coincidence were actually meant
to be.

Had you planned on there being a Last Episode after the first three scenarios were complete?

Nomura:
No, it wasn’t in the original scenario that we wrote. The scene at the end where Aqua is walking
through the dark realm was the original ending to Aqua’s scenario. The
scene after that with Sora and Riku talking on the beach wasn’t there
at all. But because that would mean all of their scenarios ended on a
dark note, we included Last Episode and the scene with Sora and Riku
talking.

How did you decide on the names for Terra, Ventus and Aqua?

Nomura:
When we were deciding on the names for Sora, Riku and Kairi in the
original KH, we wanted to have their names reflect three things that
made up the world. But with these three we wanted to make there names
out of the larger ideas of earth, wind and water. But that doesn’t
necessarily mean that Aqua and Kairi correspond with one another.

How did you think of Vanitas’ name?

Nomura:
I wanted to give him a name that meant “empty”, and so I looked for something that would be appropriate. When I was searching I found a word that meant “emptiness” in Latin,
“Vanitas”. It looked a lot like Ventus’ name, and in Japanese it has
the kanji for “sora” in it, so I thought it was perfect. Of course in
Vanitas’ case it doesn’t mean “sora [sky]” but “kara [empty]” [These
two words are written with the same kanji, but are said differently and
have different meanings.

Master Eraqus’ name is an anagram of “Square” right?

Nomura:
Yes, but I didn’t really think very hard on that name. Actually I gave
him that name while writing the original plot, but when I read through
it later I couldn’t remember what it was supposed to mean. I asked
around, but no one knew. Finally the producer realized that it was
supposed to be an anagram for Square and I thought “Oh yeah!” (laugh).

Was it easy to decide on the design for the three main characters?

Nomura:
No, it was actually pretty difficult. Especially since all three of
them would change into armor, when I began to work on their design I
had decided that they would hit a round device to change into the
armor. But how I could incorporate that device into their clothing was
pretty difficult to decide.

Also, since one of the secret keywords in the story is “X”, I decided
that I had to put that somewhere in the design of their clothes.

How did you decide on the design for their faces?

Nomura:
Well Terra’s look was already a decided thing, we just had to make him
look a bit younger. I knew that Ventus should look either like Sora or
Roxas, and I wasn’t sure which one to go with, but I thought Vanitas
looking like Sora would have a bigger impact so I had Ventus look like
Roxas instead. And there is a reason that Vanitas looks like Sora. As
Sora filled in Ventus’ fractured heart, the fractured part (Vanitas)
was effected by Sora and ended up with Sora’s face. So if it had been
Riku who had filled in Ventus’ heart, Vanitas would have looked like
Riku.

And what about the lone woman of the group?

Nomura:
Since she has no base to work with, unlike Terra and Ventus, I drew her
as an entirely new character. Since I had made Terra with somewhat
Japanese styled clothing, I had that in mind when I designed the belt
around her hips and gave her belled sleeves.

It seems Aqua is pretty popular.

Nomura:
I had no idea that was going to happen actually. When I was drawing her
I kept worrying that since she has no connection to existing characters
that no one would care about her. I made Xion from Days a “short-lived
and pure girl”, but I wanted Aqua to be a strong girl. But, instead of
making her a “strong girl who can beat the guys” I wanted to make her
“feminine and strong”. I didn’t know how people would take her, but I
think it’s all thanks to Megumi Toyoguchi. When she did the voice for
Paine in FFX-2, it was lower than her normal voice. But this time she
performed closer to normal voice. I think she was able to express the
strength that I wanted Aqua to have.

What was your reasoning for choosing Ryotaro Okiayu as Terra?

Nomura:
Chikao Otsuka, who plays Master Xehanort, has a dry sort of voice. The
actor for Terra-Xehanort, Akio Otsuka, has a deep resonating sort of
voice. We wanted something that would have elements of both in it, and
ended up choosing him. Of course we chose Chikao Otsuka for Xehanort as
he is the real father of Akio Otsuka.

Of course the reason you chose Miyu Irino for Vanitas’ voice is because they have the same face?

Nomura:
Of course. Except he doesn’t sound anything like Sora, does he? Irino
has kept saying from long before that he wanted to play an evil guy, so
he got sort of carried away with it (laugh).

Why Zack is the only FF character

How did you choose which worlds they would visit?

Nomura:
The first worlds we decided on were the three worlds that the
princesses were on. The princesses themselves appeared in the first KH,
but their worlds didn’t, and I wanted to show them at some point. And
it was perfect since we would also be able to show how Maleficent
started going after the seven princesses. The other worlds were chosen
by how fun they looked when we drew them out.

There are a few worlds that we have seen before.

Nomura:
Olympus Coliseum has been in every game so far, but since this time we
would be able to talk about their past we really wanted to have it in.
In the original movie there are scenes that show young Hercules growing
up, and we really wanted to show that, so we had them go to Olympus
Coliseum.

Zack appears at the Coliseum, but was there a reason why he is the only FF character this time around?

Nomura:
We wanted to have Cid and the gang in Radiant Garden, but that would
have made the story go too far off track. The main story of BbS is
complicated enough as it is, so instead of making a lot of side roads,
we concentrated on the main story. Which resulted in having no other FF
character but Zack make an appearance. The reason we chose him was, as
this is a story set in the past of the first game, we wanted to have a
character from the past of an FF game. As Zack was a character from the
past in FFVII, he fit the role just perfectly. There were other
characters we wanted to show, but since they’ll be appearing in a
different game we didn’t put them in this one. As it isn’t a game we’ve
announced yet, I can’t tell you who it is (laugh).

There was a new enemy this time called the Unversed, how did you think them up?

Nomura:
Since they couldn’t be around during KH, we needed to have an enemy
that could no longer exist during that time. So we connected them to
Vanitas, so that when he disappeared they will have disappeared as
well. Their design concept was “emotions”, so we see them with smiling
faces, angry faces, crying faces... they were designed with many
different expressions. The Unversed mark is also meant to be a heart
that expresses emotions.

Speaking of enemies, the hidden boss that is Vanitas’ sentiment was quite strong.

Nomura:
Everyone liked Lingering Sentiment, the hidden boss from KHII FM, so we
wanted to make him equal to that. The thing fans wanted most in a
hidden boss was “demonic strength”. So if our debuggers could find a
way to beat him, we tossed that idea, and that’s how he became as
strong as he is. While they were making it I went to Osaka and fought
him myself. But I couldn’t beat him (laugh). If I can beat him, he
can’t be that strong, so having him so strong that I can’t beat him is
ideal.

The secrets of the secret event

The KH series always has a secret movie at the end, but this time there
was a secret event called “Blank Points”. Does the name express the
empty parts of the story?

Nomura:
It does have that meaning, but usually I give the secret movie a title
that reflects the meaning of the movie. For example, the KH secret
movie was “Another side, Another story”, and that was about Roxas. An
of course the KHII FM secret movie was “Birth by Sleep”. But this time,
“Blank Points” isn’t necessarily the title. Even though the meaning
fits.

In the secret event Xehanort says “The heart that resides within Terra’s heart.” Who’s heart is it?

Nomura:
I can’t say just yet, but I’ve set it so that you’ll know who it is.
Listen to Xehanort’s words closely, and read his reports carefully. I
think you’ll know who it is then.

Ansem the Wise says to Aqua “Everything is born from sleep.” What does this mean?

Nomura:
In that scene the ones who are calling for “Sora” are the ones who have
already disappeared from the world. But in the world of KH there is no
concept of death, that for example they are just sleeping within Sora’s
heart. If you can just wake them up, they’ll be able to return to the
world, they would be “born from sleep”. That there would be a
possibility of this, is what Ansem the Wise is saying. Even Aqua, who
isn’t in the realm of light, would be born from sleep.

In that case, do the characters we see in that scene have a chance of returning?

Nomura:
Yes. The data that Ansem has hidden within Sora is the secret to that
revival. When Ansem had become DiZ, and studied the heart and emotions,
the results he found he hid within Sora. There are a lot of people who
thought that Coded was about finding those results, but that’s not
true. The ending of Coded was about finding out that DiZ had done
something to Sora, as Namine said, finding out about the data that
Ansem hid. What that data is will be revealed in the next game.

Two more games aside from KHIII are in the works

So how do you feel about Days, Coded and BbS having all been released?

Nomura:
It was hard work, but fun. I got to try a lot of different things, and
found things I’d like to keep on using. I’ve learned about what sort of
gameplay can be used with each system. For example, the PSP can have a
game that plays similarly to the original KH games, so I was able to
make them exciting to play. Or the DS has no analog stick, so we went
more for customization. We also used cell phones, which are not really
a game console. It was a challenge to see how much we could make it a
KH game with only simple controls. Based on this experience I think
I’ve gained a lot that I will be able to use in the future.

We hear that the international release of BbS is coming along, how will it differ from the domestic version?

Nomura:
The scenario hasn’t changed much, but we’ve put in extra things. We’ve
added Critical Mode, an extra difficult about Proud, a few extra scenes
that I had wanted to put in but couldn’t, and added a few more songs
for “Rhythmic Ice”. There are also more keyblade and enemy types as
well. The battles are balanced better, and we’ve tweaked some of the
things that bothered us.

Are you going to release the international version in Japan as you have with KH and KHII?

Nomura:
Well, if I say “we don’t plan on it yet”, people will take that as
“no”, so I can’t really say anything. Since the voice acting is done so
well it wouldn’t be so bad releasing a Final Mix... but people only got
so excited about KHII FM+ because it was sold with Re:COM. We’re not
going to put that much into it a second time (laugh).

Now that BbS is finished, we can’t help but think about the next game in the KH series...

Nomura:
For now while FF Versus XIII is still being worked on, there isn’t much
I can do on KHIII, but we’ve already begun work on the next game in the
series. There is one that we are hoping to be able to release within
this year. Then the next year there is one more game we are planning on
releasing. I think it will probably make the main character[s?] more
complicated. Also, the end of “Blank Points” with Sora leaving on a new adventure connects to KHIII.

KHIII will be the continuation of the story we’ve seen up until now, right?

Nomura:
Yes that’s right. Though fans probably think that the series will end
with KHIII, the KH series we are developing right now, including KHIII,
is just the first part of a bigger series. The main character of the KH
series is Sora, but right now the first part could be considered “The
Xehanort Chronicles”, since after all the enemy has always been
Xehanort right from the first game.

I see, so KHIII will complete The Xehanort Chronicles?

Nomura:
Yes, that’s sort of how we’re thinking. So even if Xehanort’s story ends, Sora will still have other adventures to go on.

So it’s not “Once Sora’s story is finished, another hero’s story will begin”, the hero is always Sora.

Nomura:
Yes. One of the concepts behind the KH series is that the main
character Sora isn’t special, he’s just a normal boy. Yes he does have
connections with Ventus’ heart, among others, but he hasn’t inherited
anything from them. He’s just a normal boy you could find anywhere. I
wanted to make Sora a character that the player could take onto
themselves and feel that you don’t have to be special. But connect to
many people and you will realize your secret potential. With BbS I want
to make fans excited to see Sora’s return. The secret event is a symbol
of that, so I hope everyone will get to see it and wait for Sora’s next
adventure.

Mysteries concerning Sora (Roxas), Riku and Kairi

Q1: Why do Roxas and Ventus look alike?

A: Because inside Sora, which is Roxas’ body, is Ventus’ heart.

As was shown in the opening to BbS and the ending to Last Episode, Sora
and Ventus’ heart are linked (P.646). And so Roxas, who is a part of
Sora, was affected by that and looks just like Ventus.

Ven: “Can I become one with your heart again?”

When he was born into the world, he linked with Ventus filling his
fractured heart. Many years later, when Ventus was on the verge of
disappearing after his fight with Vanitas, Sora took him into his own
heart.

Q2: Why did Roxas faint in Castle Oblivion on Day 297?

A: Because he had gotten to close to both Sora and Ventus, his “real self”.

Before Day 297 in Days Sora had been to Castle Oblivion, as well as the
fact that Ventus is asleep somewhere in the Room of Awakening. Both
Sora and Ventus can be called Roxas’ “real selves”, and when he felt
their presence it made him faint.

When Roxas went to Castle Oblivion the memories of his “real selves” made him confused.

Q3: Is it possible that Roxas has a heart?

A: It is thought that it could be Ventus’ heart.

In KHII FM there were clues to him having a heart, and in Days we saw
Roxas crying--proof that he could have a heart. As was said in Q1, he
has taken a lot of himself from Ventus. But perhaps when Sora and Roxas
were separated, Ventus’ heart stayed in Roxas?

Q4: Why can Roxas dual-wield?

A: Because he can use both Sora’s and Ventus’ keyblades.

Sora can wield two keyblades at once because he has Ventus’ as well as
his own. As Roxas is a part of Sora, he also can use two. In Days Roxas
awakened his ability to dual wield after fighting Xion. In KHII once
Sora absorbs him, he can also dual-wield.

Q5: Why was Riku chosen as the original wielder of the keyblade?

A: Because he was chosen by Terra to inherit.

To use a keyblade you must have been chosen to inherit as well as been
chosen by the keyblade itself. In BbS you could see that Terra
performed the ceremony with Riku, and that is why Riku was able to take
the keyblade that Sora used.

Q6: Why did Kairi end up with Sora and Riku?

A: It has to do with Aqua’s “magic”.

Nine years before KH, Kairi was thrust into the outside world, and
found herself on Sora and Riku’s world. Ansem Seeker of Darkness
thought that she had been able to search for a keyblade wielder, but
what actually saved her was the magic spell Aqua had put on her.

Aqua: “Someday your light will lead you to a light that will protect you from the darkness.”

Ansem Seeker of Darkness felt a special power within Kairi and tried to use her to find the keyblade.

Q7: Why can Kairi use a keyblade?

A: Because she was touched by Aqua’s keyblade.

The keyblade inheritance ceremony is performed with a keyblade master
touches someone using a keyblade. When Kairi was running away from the
Unversed in BbS she grabbed Aqua’s keyblade, which performed the
ceremony. That is why she is able to use a keyblade in KHII to help
Sora.

Mysteries concerning “Xehanort” and Organization XIII


Q8: Who is Apprentice Xehanort really?

A: Master Xehanort commandeering Terra’s body

Master Xehanort wishes to bring back the Keyblade War and see what
happens afterward with his own eyes, but once he found a way to
accomplish this he was already an old man with only a few years left to
him. Wishing to become young again, he finds Terra, and defeats him
with darkness so he can take his body. That is the Xehanort that Ansem
the Wise picks up, and makes his number one apprentice.

Q9: Where did the Organization’s coat and mark come from?

A: Xemnas remembering his human years.

One year after BbS, Xehanort as well as five other apprentices toss
aside their hearts. Then the Nobody Xemnas was born, and the
Organization which he creates take a lot of things from his memories as
a human. But as Xemnas had two people who he was, Terra and Master
Xehanort, he takes from both of their memories.coat]

Q10: What is the origin of Castle Oblivion?

A: It is the transformed version of Land of Departure after it was sealed.

Castle Oblivion's original form was Land of Departure, where they were
in training. It is a special place between the realms of darkness and
light, and has been protected for generations so that it is not used
for evil. A device was set in place just in case of such an event, and
after Master Eraqus was killed and Aqua closed the keyhole of the
world, it put this device in action. It turned it into a castle which
would draw anyone who goes there into oblivion.

Q11: Why is Aqua’s armor in The Chamber of Repose?

A: Because Aqua tried to save Terra.

When she tried to retrieve Terra’s heart from Terra-Xehanort, they both
fell into the realm of darkness, and she gave him both her armor and
keyblade which allowed him to escape. Because of this when Ansem the
Wise picked up Xehanort, he still had the armor and keyblade, which
Xemnas then put in The Chamber of Repose.

Q12: Why is Xemnas searching for The Chamber of Awakening?

A: To find Ventus.

The Chamber of Awakening is the room where Aqua leaves Ventus sleeping
in Last Episode, and is a part of Castle Oblivion. As you can see from
Xemnas calling Aqua’s armor “friend”, it seems Xemnas has Terra’s
memories and so is searching for Ventus, and is making the other
Organization members look for The Chamber of Awakening.

Q13: What is the true form of Lingering Sentiment?

A: After Terra lost his body, his thoughts gathered into his armor.

At the end of Terra’s scenario, Master Xehanort had commandeered his
body, so his thoughts took control of his armor. Afterward, the armor
stayed in the keyblade graveyard, until KHII FM where “Lingering
Sentiment” went against Sora. Because he saw that it was not his chosen
one Riku using a keyblade, but Sora, he grew suspicious and thought he
had something to do with Master Xehanort and attacked him.

Q14: Did something happen in Xigbar’s past?

A: He was Master Xehanort's accomplice.

The number two member in the Organization Xigbar conspired with Master
Xehanort when he was a human named Braig. Because of this, he knows
more about Xemnas, who is the Nobody of Xehanort, than anyone else.
That is why he often says strange things, and can speak up against
Xemnas.

Where he got his eye patch and scar

As Master Xehanort was trying to get Terra’s body as a vessel for
himself, Braig tried to lure Terra into the darkness by fighting him.
But the power of darkness that Terra released was stronger than he
would have imagined, and he ended up losing his right eye and getting a
wound along his cheek. Afterwards Braig’s ears become sharper, and his
brown eyes change to gold. This is because he was influenced by
Xehanort who he was working with.

Things Xigbar has said in the past

“Why are you always looking at me like that?”

(Days, Day 353: When he sees Xion as Ventus.)

“Oh yeah, he looked at me like that too!”

(KHII: Facing off against Sora in Hollow Bastion.)

At the end of Ventus and Aqua’s scenarios, they went against him in the
Keyblade Graveyard, and Ventus glared at him while frozen. This is
Xigbar remembering that scene.

“How many years ago was that.... when those guys with the key shaped
swords appeared here and fought. After they disappeared, a man who lost
his memories fell.”

(KHII FM Xigbar talked with Zexion about Xemnas’ secrets.)

This is pointing to when Aqua fought Terra-Xehanort in Last Episode.

“So you are one who has been chosen by the keyblade. Though you’re nothing compared to the ones I’ve seen before.”

(KHII: Facing against Sora.)

“The ones I’ve seen before” is referring to Terra and Aqua, who he has
fought against before, as well as Ventus, Master Xehanort and Vanitas.

Q15: What sort of people were Organization members 3-8 as humans?

A: We know now that they had ordinary lives in Radiant Garden.

In BbS we’ve seen one part of Xigbar’s past, as well as members 3-8.
3-6 were apprentices under Ansem the Wise and did things like act as
guardsmen, but Axel and Saix were just young boys who were friends.

Q16: What happened to Ansem the Wise?

A: He is wandering in the realm of darkness.

Ansem the Wise, who banished to the realm of nothingness by his six
apprentices. In KHII, he wanted to release the Kingdom Hearts made from
people’s hearts that the Nobodies of his apprentices had created. The
machine that he used for that end exploded, taking him with it. It
looked as though he disappeared, but we know from the secret event in
BbS that he was sent into the realm of darkness.

Q17: What made Maleficent want to take over the world?

A: Because of what she learned from Master Xehanort.

In KH Maleficent tried to steal the hearts of the princesses of light
by using Heartless soldiers. The reason she decided to do this was
because Master Xehanort had told her “If you gather the hearts of the
princesses you will be able to control the world.”

Q18: Why was Pete put in prison?

A: It was a punishment for stepping on the hearts of others.

In KHII Pete tells us he was saved from prison by Maleficent. The
reason he was put there was because during the Dream Festival he said
things that showed he cared little for the hearts of others.

Q19: Why did Merlin have Winnie the Pooh’s book?

A: Terra picked it up and gave it to him.

In KH he tells us that it’s not really his book, it had just been in
his bag. In BbS we see that it had fallen there as if drawn to him, and
Terra had picked it up and given it to him.

Q20: Why was Scrooge so interested in ice cream?

A: He’s always been interested in ice cream.

In Ventus’ scenario we find out that the ice cream machine that Huey
and the boys were using was original Scrooges machine. As he has always
been interesting in making ice cream, that is why he was so interested
in it in KHII.

Continuing mysteries

(?) Did Apprentice Xehanort really lose his memories?

Master Xehanort commandeered Terra’s body, and became Ansem the Wise’s
apprentice. According to Secret Ansem Report 1 From KHII, the young man
asked to become a test subject for Ansem’s research so he could get his
memories back, After that they began the study of darkness, but did he
really lose his memories? And are those memories Terra’s or Master
Xehanort’s?

(?) Where is Master Xehanort’s keyblade?

As was stated in Secret Ansem Report 13 in KHII, while studying
darkness the young Xehanort opened the door to the heart of Radiant
Garden. This would have been possible if he had a keyblade, but
according to the Ansem Reports 4-8 in KH, he did not yet know about the
keyblade at the time. In Last Episode Master Xehanort used his keyblade
up until going to the world of darkness, but what happened to it after
that...?

(?) What are the “seeds” that Xehanort has planted?

In the secret event, Master Xehanort tells Terra that he has already
laid many plans, and that the seeds have been sown. Telling Braig and
Maleficent about the “Kingdom Hearts” was one part of his plans, but
what other plans have Braig and Master Xehanort laid? What other
measures have been taken?

(?) What are the details of Ansem’s apprentices fall into darkness?

Most of what had happened with Ansem’s apprentices before their fall
into darkness is unknown, aside from what was touched upon in Secret
Ansem Reports. And the mystery of “the plan that was decided on after
Axel and Saix entered the Organization” that was talked about in the
Secret Reports in Days still remains. According to Nomura there is
still much about the Organization’s humans that has yet to be said

(?) What happened to his heart and memories after separation?

One year after BbS, Apprentice Xehanort was separated into his
Heartless (Ansem Seeker of Darkness) and his Nobody (Xemnas). The
former took actions that were more like Master Xehanort, while the
latter has said things that seem more like Terra, so how were Terra and
Master Xehanort’s hearts and wills separated, and what sort of
influences do they have over each?

(?) Did they meet in the realm of darkness?

In the secret event we see Aqua and Ansem the Wise talking in the realm
of darkness after the events of KHII. Over one year before Mickey
traveled to the realm of darkness to search for the keyblade, but
during that time did they really not see each other? If they did, then
how does that relate to the story afterward?​

 

Ah. Insanity/Moogle told me about you. What're your thoughts on Namine and Roxas being in love? I for one think that it's just fanboys/girls being absolutely ridiculous.