10 Most Confusing Kingdom Hearts III Moments

It's almost felt like a lifetime since Kingdom Hearts 3 was released, and while the game offered some closure in wrapping up Xehanort's story, it also left us with plenty of loose threads that have only left us more confused over time.

It's been over seven years since we last saw Sora and the gang, which means all our speculation has slowly been gestating while we wait for director Tetsuya Nomura to give us an update on when we can expect the next game.

Between Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3, we had countless spin-off games on other consoles to tide us over and build towards the series' third numbered entry. Outside of a rhythm game and a bundle of remakes, we've been experiencing a drought of Kingdom Hearts content, presumably due to Nomura directing most of his attention towards the Final Fantasy 7 Remakes.

I don't think it's controversial to say Kingdom Hearts 3 was also a bit of a mess, and featured one of the messiest stories throughout the entire saga, and was far from a satisfying wrap-up to Xehanort. Frustratingly, it felt like the game was a reboot for the Kingdom Hearts universe, setting up future plot points which are expected to pay off in the next game (if it hopefully releases this decade).

With all that in mind, here are 10 Kingdom Hearts 3 plot threads we're hoping will be answered in the sequel.

10 Why We Even Visited Frozen's World To Begin With

This World Could Have Been An Email

Usually in Kingdom Hearts, we'd drop into a world based on a Disney movie to face off against a goon tied to a villainous organization, or discover something to help push the story along. Kingdom Hearts 3 changed this for the worse, as it felt as though we were dropping down to planets just to relive parts of famous Disney movies as an OC who'd make comments off to the side.

No planet encapsulates this issue more than the Frozen planet, which does little to move the greater plot forward. It doesn't help that the game stops in its tracks to have you sit through a complete remake of Elsa's song 'Let it Go' while Sora, Donald, and Goofy look on from the side.

What's left is a messy experience that feels like Disney told the developers they weren't allowed to take any creative liberties with the story or involve the player in any of the major decisions.

9 What's Up With Young Xehanort?

As if Time Travel Could Get Any More Convoluted

Kingdom Hearts 3 is already an immensely complicated game, and it introduces several new concepts to players right from the get-go. So, of course, writer and director Tetsuya Nomura had to add time travel just in case our brains weren't hurting enough.

The ability to time-travel is introduced with Young Xehanort, another member of the new Organization XIII, also known as the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. Given that we fight so many different versions of Xehanort in this game alone, throwing in a version of himself from the past feels a bit excessive.

As we come to learn in Dream Drop Distance, Ansem (Xehanort's Heartless and Kingdom Hearts 1 antagonist), traveled back in time to teach the Young Xehanort how to travel. To do so, he must cast aside his physical body and only exist as a heart. As instructed by Ansem, he travels throughout time to assemble different versions of himself to form the real Organisation XIII.

While many were hoping we'd get a more thorough explanation on how this power works in Kingdom Hearts 3, we were still left scratching our heads as to what the drawback of such a power could be. It doesn't help that Sora travels through time via the power of waking to restore the parties' lost hearts, and is apparently punished at the end of the game for it. But why is Sora punished if Xehanort can get away with it scot-free? Is it the same power, or something completely different

8 Where is Sora Now?

Is Sora Lost in Shibuya?

Speaking of Sora, Kingdom Hearts 3 ends on a major cliffhanger, which sees our protagonist transported to a new reality seemingly as punishment for breaking the laws of reality with the Power of Waking.

Like an inverse of the opening 'Sanctuary' cinematic from Kingdom Hearts 2, Sora is last seen in reality with Kairi on the paopu fruit tree, only to fade away and leave Kairi alone.

Sora only later re-awakens in the mysterious Shibuya-like city shown earlier in the game during the Toy Story sequence, and would have a tough fight against Yozura in Quadratum in the Re Mind DLC. After beating "Definitely not Noctis", he fades away after saying his powers aren't ready yet. He then awakens in the backseat of a car, similar to Final Fantasy 13 Versus trailers, and echoes Sora's lines, saying that he can't tell what is real or what's not.

We also see Riku appear in the city later on, which foreshadows the two's reunion in the next game. It's hard to know how Riku got to the city, or what it even is. Why is this the world Sora ends up in, and why does it also exist as a video game in the Toy Story world? It's tough to say now, but we're hoping this will all be revealed in Kingdom Hearts 4.

7 Who is the Master of Masters?

Should Have Played That Mobile Spin-Off Game

After collecting all 90 Mickey Emblems in the game, players will be treated to a secret ending where we see Sora face off against Yozura in a surreal re-imagining of Shibuya. We also see a brief glimpse of the Master of Masters, who is seemingly observing from afar.

But who is this odd man, once again wearing the Organization's cloak? Well, no one knows! To learn more about the character, you had to have played the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Union X, which establishes the character and the Keyblade War.

It's here we learn that he's the creator of the very first Keyblade, and deliberately instigated the original Keyblade War, whose remnants serve as the final location in the game. He can also see into the future, which is a bit more forgiving than time travel, I suppose.

The character is surprisingly very eccentric, and doesn't boast the ominous presence a character like his usually commands. We do know that Nomura intends to have the character be the overarching antagonist for the next era of Kingdom Hearts, so we're sure to learn more about him in the future.

6 Who Was Xigbar the Entire Time?

More Important Than We Realize

Xigbar is a fan favorite Organization XIII member, and why wouldn't he be? He's got a badass appearance, a likeable personality, and his boss battle in Kingdom Hearts 2 is among the best in the entire franchise.

After beating him at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3, the character supposedly throws himself off a ledge to fake his death. It's only in the epilogue that it's revealed he's actually the ancient Keyblade Master, Luxu, and has the Gazing Eye under his eyepatch, which has enabled him to inhabit different bodies.

We learn in a spin-off game that Luxu is one of the many apprentices to the Master of Master's, and is one of the main survivors of the Keyblade War. In fact, Luxu would be an instrumental character in starting the Keyblade War, making his involvement here all the more interesting.

Unless you're a die-hard Kingdom Hearts fan, this reveal was sure to be a complete head scratcher. Even knowing some of the more important points of the lore, it raises several questions as to how no one noticed the character wasn't a Nobody this entire time, and was, in fact, a Keyblade Master. Throw in the convoluted time travel shenanigans of Young Xehanort travelling in time to enlist everyone into the new Organization XIII, and it becomes a headache trying to unravel how this plan fell into place.

5 Why Could The Demon Tide Kill Everyone?

The Most Successful Villain In Any Kingdom Hearts Game

The Demon Tide is a recurring boss throughout Kingdom Hearts 3, which boasts terrifying powers, and at one point, kills everyone in the game. Which is mighty impressive, given that it looks like a bunch of shadows lumped together, and we've killed thousands of these easily.

It was only through Sora using the Power of Waking to break the laws of reality that he was able to travel through time, rejoin everyone's hearts and defeat the terrifying heartless once and for all.

When you think about it, it's by far the most effective villain in the franchise, as it's able to defeat our heroes on multiple occasions, and requires 300 powerful Keyblade wielders to eventually put it down. It does raise questions on how a Heartless like this became so powerful, though. Despite the narrative weight given to it, there isn't really much of an explanation for its existence and why it's so much stronger than any other heartless we've faced.

Whether we come to later learn more about the Demon Tide in future games or if we'll have to face off against more remains to be seen.

4 What's Up With Luxord's Card?

Does This Gift Card Have an Expiration Date?

Luxord is a favorite character of mine, mostly because he looks like a nu-metal musician from 2005. Thankfully, he also has a few impressive feats to his name and goes down as one of the more competent opponents in Kingdom Hearts 3.

During your final confrontation with the card-dealing foe in the Keyblade Graveyard, he gives Sora a card after his defeat. Luxord explains that he should save the "Wild Card" to help him turn the tables and that he'll need it to help him defy fate later on. We don't see this card appear for the remainder of the game, which has some fans wondering if this power will be what helps save Sora from Quadratum after disappearing there at the end of the game.

It's also important to remember that Luxord is somewhat responsible for the events of Chain of Memories and that the character has the ability to seal anything inside his cards. Knowing that, the power could literally be anything, and we're hoping we'll get to see it used sometime soon.

3 What is Going on with Maleficent and Pete?

"What's in the Box???"

Maleficent and Pete are some of Disney's oldest villains, which makes their role in Kingdom Hearts 3 slightly disappointing. After facing off against them several times throughout the series, they're relegated to background fluff, who are in search of a MacGuffin and entirely disinterested in whatever we're doing.

In other words, they're essentially Kingdom Hearts 3's version of Team Rocket, just popping up to be a slight nuisance and remind the player that there's a mysterious black box that's important for some reason. Given that this is the end of the series saga and these two characters were so important at the start of it, it's genuinely disappointing to see them play no role in the game, and their involvement honestly could have been cut.

While it's possible Maleficent could come back as a major villain in the next game, I honestly wouldn't hate if Nomura decides to shelve them to spare them from even more Flanderization.

2 Who Are the Four Remaining Organization XIII Members?

They Can't Be Nobody

Kingdom Hearts 3 saw the return of beloved Organization XIII members Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene, who once again take on an antagonistic role in the game.

Unlike the other members, we've yet to meet their original human forms, making this one of the series's remaining plot threads.

In Kingdom Hearts Union X, we do learn of Marluxia and Larxene's human forms, Lauriam and Elrena. This spin-off mobile game (which is way too important for how little people know about it) reveals that the two were once Keyblade Warriors chosen by the Master of Masters to lead a Union and that they are both Keyblade warriors chosen by the Master of Master to lead a Union after the Keyblade War.

The Unions are effectively guilds in this game, which are made to defend different worlds from Heartless. It's unclear how both Lauriam and Elrena eventually became Heartless and left behind a Nobody, but it does explain why they're so powerful. Still, until more is revealed about their original forms in a mainline game, it's tough to know if this lore will be consistent in Kingdom Hearts 4.

Sadly, there isn't a similar amount of lore regarding Luxord or Demyx. Fans speculate that Demyx could be the Master of Masters in disguise, given their similar jovial disposition. With the reveal that Xigbar is Luxu, it's possible that Luxord is similarly important, as he's able to pass off a powerful trump card to Sora, which may reveal his origins.

1 Who are the Foretellers and What Do They Want?

Yet Another Mysterious Group with Hidden Motives

At the end of Kingdom Hearts 3, we see the Foretellers make their debut in the mainline games, appearing as a group of fox-mask-wearing keyblade wielders. The group includes five main members: Aced, Ava, Gula, Invi, and Ira. However, Ava is nowhere to be seen in the game.

The group is aligned with the Master of Masters, and with his disappearance, the group dedicates their time trying to prevent the next oncoming Keyblade War. After Xehanort's defeat, Luxu summons the Foretellers to the Keyblade Graveyard, revealing that he was Xigbar the entire time and that he has the mysterious Black Box in his possession.

Frustratingly, Tetsuya Nomura claimed that it's unlikely we'll see them again in Kingdom Hearts 4, which is a bit of a head scratcher, given that it seemed like Kingdom Hearts 3 was entirely setting them up as important characters in the next game.

Whether they'll become mentors to Sora in the future, or another organization we'll need to battle, remains to be seen.