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Παρτ 3
358/2 DAYS
Just what does the title “358/2 Days” mean?
Nomura: That’s the question that everyone has to ask in interviews. (laughs) There is an answer, but I think it’s best not to answer it. Well okay, I’ll give a little hint. “/2” is read in English as “over two”, but this isn’t the kind of over that means to “pass over” something. The 358 days are shared between two people, so “/2”, but I’d rather you imagine which two we are talking about. After you’ve finished playing it you might change your mind about who the two people are.
Xion’s appearance changes depending on the relationship of the person looking at her. It seems that when that relationship changes, she changes.
Nomura: The figure Roxas sees is the same as what the player sees, but for example, when Xigbar and Saix see her, her figure is different. At first some people thought it was unnatural she would be wearing a hood and then not in the same scene, but I think you come to understand it as you advance through the game. People connected with a certain person see Xion as ‘Xion’. In the case of Xemnas, since he is connected to various people, he basically sees ‘Xion’, however sometimes he sees ‘him’. Who ‘he’ is, I want you to confirm it on your own. Xigbar also sees ‘him’.
–Will the relationship between Sora and ‘him, Xemnas, and Xigbar be revealed in Birth by Sleep?
Nomura: Please look forward to it. In Birth by Sleep, the initial Organization members appear, but I can’t say they play an active part. At that time, they were humans. Pay attention to Xigbar in particular. Although, when you think you understand his true nature… The mystery may deepen even more. (Laughs) He has a different standing than the other Organization members, there’s speculation about his original form.
–Xigbar calls Xion ‘Puu-chan’ (poppet in English), coming from the French word meaning doll (poupée).
Nomura: I requested to Mr. Ishida, “I want him to call her by a nickname that parodied ‘doll’”, and this is what we came up with. Xigbar is hinting at Xion’s true nature from the beginning.
–At the time he met her, Riku was surprised to see Xion, even though he had a similar event happen to him in COM.
Nomura: At this time he noticed the true nature of her face, and knew what would happen, resulting in him telling her to leave the Organization.
–As for Xion loosing the ability to wield the Keyblade midway, it is because Roxas and Xion have a yo-yo effect.
Nomura: As Roxas gets stronger, Xion gets weaker. Roxas influences Sora, and Xion influences Roxas.
Taking a short break so I guess you can post if you want to. Still plenty to come.
–The initial members of the Organization abandoned their hearts intentionally? Why, now, do they collect hearts?
Nomura: The reason is to have a ‘complete existence.’ KH1’s Ansem (Xehanort, stealing this name) had a purpose, and realizing that he had transcended being a human, turned into a Heartless. Xemnas remembers that purpose, but as a Nobody, ‘an empty shell,’ collects hearts to become complete. The other members of the Organization have their own expectations, but are there mainly for the purpose of collecting hearts to complete Kingdom Hearts, as only Xemnas stared ahead and made it a priority. It is natural that Nobodies, who do not have hearts, demand hearts, though it may seem that Sora’s defeating them is unnecessary, the Organization members don’t look for their own hearts, but collect many from unspecified persons, and use them instead, placing the hearts in a situation where they cannot go back to their origin.
(For some reason I am missing the question for this one)
Nomura: It is a fact that Saix and Axel probably wanted to take over the Organization, however they didn’t understand what they were going to do or how to do it. As for Xemnas, he knew about this betrayal, but never brought it up. Generally, one’s conduct was for the sake of their purpose.
–This time there was no Secret Movie for 358/2 Days, because after the game, Kingdom Hearts 2 begins.
Nomura: Instead, there is an emphasis on the hidden characters and secret reports. As for the Secret Reports, the staff removes the names to make it more mysterious! There is only a hint to who wrote what, so use your imagination to figure it out! Here’s a list of the number of reports each member wrote!
Xemnas: 4
Xigbar: 5
Xaldin: 1
Vexen: 1
Lexaeus: 1
Saix: 9
Axel: 19
Demyx: 2
Luxord: 2
Marluxia: 1
Larxene: 1
Xion: 12
–Originally, it is Sora that gives Roxas the power of light to use the Keyblade in fencing moves. But it is because of the influence of Xion that it’s possible for him to use two at the same time.
Nomura: The Keyblade can be passed under certain conditions, but a clear thing cannot be said about that. The transfer of the Keyblade from Roxas to Riku at the skyscraper is related to Xion. Although it is the origin of the name “Xion,” the flower Aster Tataricus also means “forget-me-not” and “recollection.” And Riku received that, “to pass away memories.” When Riku gets the Keyblade, such meanings are contained in a flashback carried out by Xion.
– Although it’s a subordinate of Roxas, the Samurai Nobody attacks in the end, because of the severing of the relationship with their master, Roxas.
Nomura: At the time, it was in development to have a subordinate Nobody in battles, but because of the difficulty involved in making such a thing happen, the goal did not materialize.
–To the bitter end, it is not Kingdom Heart’s intention in itself to collect hearts
Nomura: There is no difference between a “pure blood” Heartless, and the ones with the emblems, only the process of their births. But a heart does not appear from the pure blood Heartless. This is touched upon in Kingdom Hearts 1, and may be elaborated on in the future.
–With Vexen’s plan, and Roxas’s joining, Vexen’s plan took priority.
Nomura: Roxas being made from Sora and becoming a member wasn’t an intention, but it was lucky for them!
---
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Drizzy_Drizake
Posted 1/29/2011 9:32:02 AM
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–What is the meaning of the ‘x’ in the Organization member’s names? Also, was adding the ‘x’ to their original names difficult?
Nomura: it was Xemnas’s decision to add the ‘x’. I think the meaning will become clear in Birth by Sleep. Think of the circumstances of the Organization member’s names with an ‘x’ added. We came up with many name candidates the with ‘x’ added in together with the staff, we rack our brains while we consider them.
–Will the real names of Organization XIII be released publically?
Nomura: Like how Axel’s real name was revealed in 358/2 Days, I think they’ll be revealed if there is an opportunity to do so.
–Who is your favorite character?
Nomura: It’s Sora. Since he is involved with the first title I directed, I’ll always feel a close connection to him. Since I wasn’t such a good kid, I have the desire to entrust those things I didn’t to Sora.
–Please tell us how you decide on the image of the character’s clothing.
Nomura: I design them so their clothes don’t become too fantastic. Using Sora’s outfit as a base, the outfits of Kingdom Hearts are designed to suit it. The design for Roxas was made more refined than Sora. If Sora was a country child, Roxas would be the urban child. By the way, the checkers of Roxas’s clothing represent light and darkness.
–Who are the strongest ranking Organization XIII?
Nomura: Xemnas is the strongest, and Roxas is considerably strong you include his potential. Xaldin and Lexaeus are higher after that. However, when their strength is configured by preference, it’s different than how it appears in the story.
–About how old is Xemnas?
Nomura: Nobodies don’t age; they exist as they were at the time of becoming a Nobody. He seems about 30 years old?
–What is the definition of a heart in Kingdom Hearts?
Nomura: It is the theme of the series. To explain it simply, a person has a body, a soul, and a heart. As an image, the soul is the life source, without it a person would be dead. Since the heart doesn’t have a form, memories play an important part in forming a heart. Also, the heart isn’t limited to people, but to all things. I tried to explain this concept to Disney, and they merely said that it must be an Eastern way of thinking. It may be interesting how overseas players think of it.
-- The "Replica Plan" that was the key to this game, was it begun with Roxas' entry into the Organization?
Nomura: No, earlier than that. Originally Vexen was working privately to advance the research on Replicas, but for the Organization's goal of completing "Kingdom Hearts of people's hearts" they needed to use the Keyblade to recover hearts, so they switched to this plan of copying the Keyblade hero. As for who was or wasn't told about the "Replica Plan", that depended only on their different missions.
-- Xigbar wasn't told about it, but he seems to have found out on his own.
Nomura: Even in Final Mix+, Xigbar was probing Zexion about the "Room of Awakening" - he was investigating various things on his own. He will be talked about again in Birth by Sleep.
-- Xion looked like "him" in Xigbar's eyes, so why did he also treat her as a girl?
Nomura: First of all, Xigbar didn't always see Xion as "him", it's more like he appeared just at that moment. He always sees Roxas treating her as a girl, so he just goes along with that. There's no need to give Roxas doubts, and the way he called her "Puu-chan (Poppet) (Doll)" from the start was just joking around, typical for a guy like him.
---
Formerly known as Darkmagic3
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Drizzy_Drizake
Posted 1/29/2011 9:36:35 AM
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-- Roxas and Xion collapse several times in the story, is this because of Sora's influence?
Nomura: Roxas has been existing closely with Sora from the start, and directly feels the influence of Sora's present conditions. Afterwards that tendency appears in Xion too. The two of them are sharing Sora's power, so if on the one hand one of them gains a lot of power, the other's body weakens and they collapse. It's a relationship that is only practical if kept perfectly in balance.
Roxas and Xion's incidents
Day 26: Roxas faints-- In order for the changes in Sora's memories to progress.
Day 74: Xion becomes unable to use the Keyblade-- As a counterbalance to the power absorbed when Roxas awakens.
Day 193: Xion, having been defeated by Heartless and gone to sleep, wakes up, then during a mission collapses, but soon gets up again.-- While she was asleep Sora's memories continued to flow into Roxas. Due to the memories being reconnected.
Day 297: Roxas faints-- A result of going to Castle Oblivion, where Sora is sleeping, and getting too close to his "true form".
-- Why does Xion become able to use the Keyblade again on day 96?
Nomura: This was less due to her doing missions together with Roxas every day, and more due to using his Keyblade. She was able to once again copy his power. At this moment, the two of them were perfectly in balance.
-- Xion is in a similar position to the Riku Replica of Chain of Memories, but unlike him, she is unaware that she was artificially created, and the path she finally chooses is completely different.
Nomura: The Riku Replica was modelled on Riku. With Xion, she becomes like the Kairi of Sora's memories. But rather than saying she was initially created to imitate something, it's more like she was a special case, born primarily to absorb Roxas' powers and evolve. It was intended right from the beginning of development that Xion and Roxas would eventually fight, but we had wondered about how to depict the conflict with Xion that would lead to this. At first I came up with the plot that would go like that of the Riku Replica, where Xion would insist that she was the real person and fight with Roxas. But many of the staff were of the opinion that Xion should stay as a nice girl, so when we were changing the scenario I rewrote it into its current form.
-- On day 356, after Axel brought Xion back, Xemnas took her away. Did something happen to her that caused her to attack Roxas the next day?
Nomura: No, because of what she had learned, she already knew what Xemnas expected of her. But because she had no choice but to go along with his plans, she knew she had no choice but to be defeated by Roxas. The reason why Xemnas took her away was so that he could give her a more powerful “body”.
-- On day 322 Saix says, “In a few days the three machines will be in operation.” Was he talking about the machines that appear in the fight with Xion?
Nomura: Yes. They used them to absorb the memories from the places Sora had visited. These memories were sent to the “body” that Xemnas gave Xion, and amplified her power.
---
Formerly known as Darkmagic3
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Darkmagic_3
Posted 1/29/2011 9:38:43 AM
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-- The last thing that Xion asked Roxas was to “Set free Kingdom Hearts.” Was this due to Sora and Kairi’s memories?
Nomura: Yes. At Xion’s core are Sora’s memories. And so what he felt, that the world’s order should be maintained, she also felt. But Sora doesn’t know anything about the Organization’s plans yet, so strictly speaking this is not exactly Sora’s feelings. The hearts freed from Heartless must return to where they came from, but if they are captured by the Organization they will not return to the body they are supposed to, so it is the same as if the Heartless took them. And that is what we saw in Kingdom Hearts II. Xion knew this, but she didn’t have time to explain it to Roxas.
-- When Roxas tries to do what Xion has asked of him, Riku hears Xion’s voice asking him to stop Roxas. Why?
Nomura: First he have to look at things in order. First, the reason why Roxas throws a keyblade to Riku, and we then see a vision of Xion, is that there is a small remaining part of Xion in Roxas that wants to stop him, and makes him take those actions. The name of the keyblade that is given to Riku suggests that it has something to do with Xion. Xion wants Roxas to set Kingdom Hearts free, but doesn’t want him to face Xemnas right now. She sees that he would most likely lose. So she begs Riku to stop him.
-- She also had asked Axel to protect Roxas. What was her aim in doing that?
Nomura: Even though in the end both of their fates was to return Sora’s memories and disappear forever, on day 356 she said to Namine “I think things will soon be difficult for Roxas.” Until that time came, she wanted Axel to protect him from Xemnas.
-- Namine tells Riku that in order for Sora’s memories to be restored, both Sora’s Nobody and Xion must no longer exist. So he takes it on himself to defeat them, but when he and Roxas fought, was that the first time he had realized that Roxas was that Nobody?
Nomura: Riku only realizes it when Roxas takes off his hood and he can see his face, and he responds to his call. Until then he only half believed. When he first met Xion, he didn’t think that she was Sora or Kairi’s Nobody, and it was the same with Roxas. When he first saw Roxas, he had no proof of who he was. So that’s why he lost to Roxas, he was surprised at him using a real keyblade rather than an imitation like Xion's, and he called out to him. Part of Riku didn’t really want to believe that his best friend really had a Nobody.
-- So at the start of the Replica Project they didn’t have plans to get rid of Roxas?
Nomura: That's right. Originally the plan was to keep their power in balance. If it had been maintained, there would have been no need to get rid of one of them. But in the end Xion began absorbing too much power, and so they no longer needed Roxas. Xemnas had nothing to do with the plan, however, and only the people below him were concerned with it. Xemnas only cared that Kingdom Hearts be completed. Originally the Castle Oblivion plan was to use both Roxas and Sora, but since that changed it would be equally convenient to wait until Sora woke up in Kingdom Hearts II and use him then.
---
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Drizzy_Drizake
Posted 1/29/2011 9:43:46 AM
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-- In the end Roxas is able use two keyblades. Is this because he now has Xion’s?
Nomura: Well, it isn’t that Roxas has physically inherited Xion’s keyblade, but more that Xion has awakened it within Roxas. In the KH series there are a lot of complex reasons why someone can use a keyblade, but basically you need a “heart” to be able to wield one. So strictly speaking, they are being influenced by Sora. At the present I can’t say more than that, since it would go into whether or not Roxas has a heart. And there is also a part that has to do with Xehanort’s memories. This time there were connections to the Kingdom Hearts I secret movie, and the time will come when this will have a clear connection as well. You’ll just have to ask me then.
Just what does the title “358/2 Days” mean?
Nomura: That’s the question that everyone has to ask in interviews. (laughs) There is an answer, but I think it’s best not to answer it. Well okay, I’ll give a little hint. “/2” is read in English as “over two”, but this isn’t the kind of over that means to “pass over” something. The 358 days are shared between two people, so “/2”, but I’d rather you imagine which two we are talking about. After you’ve finished playing it you might change your mind about who the two people are.
Xion’s appearance changes depending on the relationship of the person looking at her. It seems that when that relationship changes, she changes.
Nomura: The figure Roxas sees is the same as what the player sees, but for example, when Xigbar and Saix see her, her figure is different. At first some people thought it was unnatural she would be wearing a hood and then not in the same scene, but I think you come to understand it as you advance through the game. People connected with a certain person see Xion as ‘Xion’. In the case of Xemnas, since he is connected to various people, he basically sees ‘Xion’, however sometimes he sees ‘him’. Who ‘he’ is, I want you to confirm it on your own. Xigbar also sees ‘him’.
–Will the relationship between Sora and ‘him, Xemnas, and Xigbar be revealed in Birth by Sleep?
Nomura: Please look forward to it. In Birth by Sleep, the initial Organization members appear, but I can’t say they play an active part. At that time, they were humans. Pay attention to Xigbar in particular. Although, when you think you understand his true nature… The mystery may deepen even more. (Laughs) He has a different standing than the other Organization members, there’s speculation about his original form.
–Xigbar calls Xion ‘Puu-chan’ (poppet in English), coming from the French word meaning doll (poupée).
Nomura: I requested to Mr. Ishida, “I want him to call her by a nickname that parodied ‘doll’”, and this is what we came up with. Xigbar is hinting at Xion’s true nature from the beginning.
–At the time he met her, Riku was surprised to see Xion, even though he had a similar event happen to him in COM.
Nomura: At this time he noticed the true nature of her face, and knew what would happen, resulting in him telling her to leave the Organization.
–As for Xion loosing the ability to wield the Keyblade midway, it is because Roxas and Xion have a yo-yo effect.
Nomura: As Roxas gets stronger, Xion gets weaker. Roxas influences Sora, and Xion influences Roxas.
Taking a short break so I guess you can post if you want to. Still plenty to come.
–The initial members of the Organization abandoned their hearts intentionally? Why, now, do they collect hearts?
Nomura: The reason is to have a ‘complete existence.’ KH1’s Ansem (Xehanort, stealing this name) had a purpose, and realizing that he had transcended being a human, turned into a Heartless. Xemnas remembers that purpose, but as a Nobody, ‘an empty shell,’ collects hearts to become complete. The other members of the Organization have their own expectations, but are there mainly for the purpose of collecting hearts to complete Kingdom Hearts, as only Xemnas stared ahead and made it a priority. It is natural that Nobodies, who do not have hearts, demand hearts, though it may seem that Sora’s defeating them is unnecessary, the Organization members don’t look for their own hearts, but collect many from unspecified persons, and use them instead, placing the hearts in a situation where they cannot go back to their origin.
(For some reason I am missing the question for this one)
Nomura: It is a fact that Saix and Axel probably wanted to take over the Organization, however they didn’t understand what they were going to do or how to do it. As for Xemnas, he knew about this betrayal, but never brought it up. Generally, one’s conduct was for the sake of their purpose.
–This time there was no Secret Movie for 358/2 Days, because after the game, Kingdom Hearts 2 begins.
Nomura: Instead, there is an emphasis on the hidden characters and secret reports. As for the Secret Reports, the staff removes the names to make it more mysterious! There is only a hint to who wrote what, so use your imagination to figure it out! Here’s a list of the number of reports each member wrote!
Xemnas: 4
Xigbar: 5
Xaldin: 1
Vexen: 1
Lexaeus: 1
Saix: 9
Axel: 19
Demyx: 2
Luxord: 2
Marluxia: 1
Larxene: 1
Xion: 12
–Originally, it is Sora that gives Roxas the power of light to use the Keyblade in fencing moves. But it is because of the influence of Xion that it’s possible for him to use two at the same time.
Nomura: The Keyblade can be passed under certain conditions, but a clear thing cannot be said about that. The transfer of the Keyblade from Roxas to Riku at the skyscraper is related to Xion. Although it is the origin of the name “Xion,” the flower Aster Tataricus also means “forget-me-not” and “recollection.” And Riku received that, “to pass away memories.” When Riku gets the Keyblade, such meanings are contained in a flashback carried out by Xion.
– Although it’s a subordinate of Roxas, the Samurai Nobody attacks in the end, because of the severing of the relationship with their master, Roxas.
Nomura: At the time, it was in development to have a subordinate Nobody in battles, but because of the difficulty involved in making such a thing happen, the goal did not materialize.
–To the bitter end, it is not Kingdom Heart’s intention in itself to collect hearts
Nomura: There is no difference between a “pure blood” Heartless, and the ones with the emblems, only the process of their births. But a heart does not appear from the pure blood Heartless. This is touched upon in Kingdom Hearts 1, and may be elaborated on in the future.
–With Vexen’s plan, and Roxas’s joining, Vexen’s plan took priority.
Nomura: Roxas being made from Sora and becoming a member wasn’t an intention, but it was lucky for them!
---
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Drizzy_Drizake
Posted 1/29/2011 9:32:02 AM
message detail
–What is the meaning of the ‘x’ in the Organization member’s names? Also, was adding the ‘x’ to their original names difficult?
Nomura: it was Xemnas’s decision to add the ‘x’. I think the meaning will become clear in Birth by Sleep. Think of the circumstances of the Organization member’s names with an ‘x’ added. We came up with many name candidates the with ‘x’ added in together with the staff, we rack our brains while we consider them.
–Will the real names of Organization XIII be released publically?
Nomura: Like how Axel’s real name was revealed in 358/2 Days, I think they’ll be revealed if there is an opportunity to do so.
–Who is your favorite character?
Nomura: It’s Sora. Since he is involved with the first title I directed, I’ll always feel a close connection to him. Since I wasn’t such a good kid, I have the desire to entrust those things I didn’t to Sora.
–Please tell us how you decide on the image of the character’s clothing.
Nomura: I design them so their clothes don’t become too fantastic. Using Sora’s outfit as a base, the outfits of Kingdom Hearts are designed to suit it. The design for Roxas was made more refined than Sora. If Sora was a country child, Roxas would be the urban child. By the way, the checkers of Roxas’s clothing represent light and darkness.
–Who are the strongest ranking Organization XIII?
Nomura: Xemnas is the strongest, and Roxas is considerably strong you include his potential. Xaldin and Lexaeus are higher after that. However, when their strength is configured by preference, it’s different than how it appears in the story.
–About how old is Xemnas?
Nomura: Nobodies don’t age; they exist as they were at the time of becoming a Nobody. He seems about 30 years old?
–What is the definition of a heart in Kingdom Hearts?
Nomura: It is the theme of the series. To explain it simply, a person has a body, a soul, and a heart. As an image, the soul is the life source, without it a person would be dead. Since the heart doesn’t have a form, memories play an important part in forming a heart. Also, the heart isn’t limited to people, but to all things. I tried to explain this concept to Disney, and they merely said that it must be an Eastern way of thinking. It may be interesting how overseas players think of it.
-- The "Replica Plan" that was the key to this game, was it begun with Roxas' entry into the Organization?
Nomura: No, earlier than that. Originally Vexen was working privately to advance the research on Replicas, but for the Organization's goal of completing "Kingdom Hearts of people's hearts" they needed to use the Keyblade to recover hearts, so they switched to this plan of copying the Keyblade hero. As for who was or wasn't told about the "Replica Plan", that depended only on their different missions.
-- Xigbar wasn't told about it, but he seems to have found out on his own.
Nomura: Even in Final Mix+, Xigbar was probing Zexion about the "Room of Awakening" - he was investigating various things on his own. He will be talked about again in Birth by Sleep.
-- Xion looked like "him" in Xigbar's eyes, so why did he also treat her as a girl?
Nomura: First of all, Xigbar didn't always see Xion as "him", it's more like he appeared just at that moment. He always sees Roxas treating her as a girl, so he just goes along with that. There's no need to give Roxas doubts, and the way he called her "Puu-chan (Poppet) (Doll)" from the start was just joking around, typical for a guy like him.
---
Formerly known as Darkmagic3
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Drizzy_Drizake
Posted 1/29/2011 9:36:35 AM
message detail
-- Roxas and Xion collapse several times in the story, is this because of Sora's influence?
Nomura: Roxas has been existing closely with Sora from the start, and directly feels the influence of Sora's present conditions. Afterwards that tendency appears in Xion too. The two of them are sharing Sora's power, so if on the one hand one of them gains a lot of power, the other's body weakens and they collapse. It's a relationship that is only practical if kept perfectly in balance.
Roxas and Xion's incidents
Day 26: Roxas faints-- In order for the changes in Sora's memories to progress.
Day 74: Xion becomes unable to use the Keyblade-- As a counterbalance to the power absorbed when Roxas awakens.
Day 193: Xion, having been defeated by Heartless and gone to sleep, wakes up, then during a mission collapses, but soon gets up again.-- While she was asleep Sora's memories continued to flow into Roxas. Due to the memories being reconnected.
Day 297: Roxas faints-- A result of going to Castle Oblivion, where Sora is sleeping, and getting too close to his "true form".
-- Why does Xion become able to use the Keyblade again on day 96?
Nomura: This was less due to her doing missions together with Roxas every day, and more due to using his Keyblade. She was able to once again copy his power. At this moment, the two of them were perfectly in balance.
-- Xion is in a similar position to the Riku Replica of Chain of Memories, but unlike him, she is unaware that she was artificially created, and the path she finally chooses is completely different.
Nomura: The Riku Replica was modelled on Riku. With Xion, she becomes like the Kairi of Sora's memories. But rather than saying she was initially created to imitate something, it's more like she was a special case, born primarily to absorb Roxas' powers and evolve. It was intended right from the beginning of development that Xion and Roxas would eventually fight, but we had wondered about how to depict the conflict with Xion that would lead to this. At first I came up with the plot that would go like that of the Riku Replica, where Xion would insist that she was the real person and fight with Roxas. But many of the staff were of the opinion that Xion should stay as a nice girl, so when we were changing the scenario I rewrote it into its current form.
-- On day 356, after Axel brought Xion back, Xemnas took her away. Did something happen to her that caused her to attack Roxas the next day?
Nomura: No, because of what she had learned, she already knew what Xemnas expected of her. But because she had no choice but to go along with his plans, she knew she had no choice but to be defeated by Roxas. The reason why Xemnas took her away was so that he could give her a more powerful “body”.
-- On day 322 Saix says, “In a few days the three machines will be in operation.” Was he talking about the machines that appear in the fight with Xion?
Nomura: Yes. They used them to absorb the memories from the places Sora had visited. These memories were sent to the “body” that Xemnas gave Xion, and amplified her power.
---
Formerly known as Darkmagic3
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Darkmagic_3
Posted 1/29/2011 9:38:43 AM
message detail
-- The last thing that Xion asked Roxas was to “Set free Kingdom Hearts.” Was this due to Sora and Kairi’s memories?
Nomura: Yes. At Xion’s core are Sora’s memories. And so what he felt, that the world’s order should be maintained, she also felt. But Sora doesn’t know anything about the Organization’s plans yet, so strictly speaking this is not exactly Sora’s feelings. The hearts freed from Heartless must return to where they came from, but if they are captured by the Organization they will not return to the body they are supposed to, so it is the same as if the Heartless took them. And that is what we saw in Kingdom Hearts II. Xion knew this, but she didn’t have time to explain it to Roxas.
-- When Roxas tries to do what Xion has asked of him, Riku hears Xion’s voice asking him to stop Roxas. Why?
Nomura: First he have to look at things in order. First, the reason why Roxas throws a keyblade to Riku, and we then see a vision of Xion, is that there is a small remaining part of Xion in Roxas that wants to stop him, and makes him take those actions. The name of the keyblade that is given to Riku suggests that it has something to do with Xion. Xion wants Roxas to set Kingdom Hearts free, but doesn’t want him to face Xemnas right now. She sees that he would most likely lose. So she begs Riku to stop him.
-- She also had asked Axel to protect Roxas. What was her aim in doing that?
Nomura: Even though in the end both of their fates was to return Sora’s memories and disappear forever, on day 356 she said to Namine “I think things will soon be difficult for Roxas.” Until that time came, she wanted Axel to protect him from Xemnas.
-- Namine tells Riku that in order for Sora’s memories to be restored, both Sora’s Nobody and Xion must no longer exist. So he takes it on himself to defeat them, but when he and Roxas fought, was that the first time he had realized that Roxas was that Nobody?
Nomura: Riku only realizes it when Roxas takes off his hood and he can see his face, and he responds to his call. Until then he only half believed. When he first met Xion, he didn’t think that she was Sora or Kairi’s Nobody, and it was the same with Roxas. When he first saw Roxas, he had no proof of who he was. So that’s why he lost to Roxas, he was surprised at him using a real keyblade rather than an imitation like Xion's, and he called out to him. Part of Riku didn’t really want to believe that his best friend really had a Nobody.
-- So at the start of the Replica Project they didn’t have plans to get rid of Roxas?
Nomura: That's right. Originally the plan was to keep their power in balance. If it had been maintained, there would have been no need to get rid of one of them. But in the end Xion began absorbing too much power, and so they no longer needed Roxas. Xemnas had nothing to do with the plan, however, and only the people below him were concerned with it. Xemnas only cared that Kingdom Hearts be completed. Originally the Castle Oblivion plan was to use both Roxas and Sora, but since that changed it would be equally convenient to wait until Sora woke up in Kingdom Hearts II and use him then.
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In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.~Zapp
Drizzy_Drizake
Posted 1/29/2011 9:43:46 AM
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-- In the end Roxas is able use two keyblades. Is this because he now has Xion’s?
Nomura: Well, it isn’t that Roxas has physically inherited Xion’s keyblade, but more that Xion has awakened it within Roxas. In the KH series there are a lot of complex reasons why someone can use a keyblade, but basically you need a “heart” to be able to wield one. So strictly speaking, they are being influenced by Sora. At the present I can’t say more than that, since it would go into whether or not Roxas has a heart. And there is also a part that has to do with Xehanort’s memories. This time there were connections to the Kingdom Hearts I secret movie, and the time will come when this will have a clear connection as well. You’ll just have to ask me then.
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