Kingdom Hearts III Maleficent in Kingdom Hearts 3

Discussion in 'General & Upcoming Kingdom Hearts' started by Misty, Feb 10, 2015.

  1. Misty gimme kiss

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    @Rik and I got into an interesting conversation about this and I thought it'd be fun to pull out for all of us to speculate on!

    I'm very hopeful that Maleficent will play a big role in Kingdom Hearts 3, despite Master Xehanort almost definitely being the main baddie for the game. She's really just the quintessential Disney villain, to me, and that's something I noticed when I recently visited Disney World. For a lot of their shows (Fantasmic, the Castle shows, parades, etc.), Maleficent was featured prominently if not made out to be the main villain. Fantasmic in particular had a very KH-esque plot, when Maleficent conspires with other famous Disney villains to turn Mickey's dreams into a nightmare. She's bonkers and over-the-top and a really nice contrast to the pure evil of Xehanort.

    Kingdom Hearts 2 left Maleficent in a position to return, of course, and she clearly still has a role in the series after Coded. Let's not forget that she would have been left to rest after the first game if not for a fan vote bringing her back in Kingdom Hearts 2!

    Finally, I think the recent Angelina Jolie flick (which I've not seen yet but I know what it's about) could make Maleficent a more sympathetic character if sourced in Kingdom Hearts 3, and end in a potential team up between her and Sora & co. to take down Xehanort; sort of an "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation.

    So basically, I want to know if others are with us! Do you think Maleficent is done in the series (or, just as importantly, do you want her done in the series)? Or does she still have a role to play, and what sort of role will that be?
     
  2. Meilin Lee RPG (Red Panda Girl)

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    I haven't seen the new Maleficent movie either, but I wouldn't be surprised if the whole sympathetic side to her is included in KH3. The more I see Maleficent's relation to Xehanort being explored, the more I see her as the Lucius Malfoy of Kingdom Hearts. So I expect her and Pete to be on Xehanort's side in KH3, but at some point, I can see her questioning her allegiance to him... which could then lead to having her fight along with Sora.
     
  3. Misty gimme kiss

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    I like the comparison to Lucius Malfoy (not just because I'm an HP fan)! After Kingdom Hearts, at least, I think Maleficent is a mostly self-serving character. She has her own, individual interests and motivations that she's loyal to and darkness is her tool of choice, but I ultimately think she's loyal first to herself and then to the darkness. That's very similar to the Malfoys, who align themselves with Voldemort as their interests overlap, but when that changes, they're going to follow first their loyalty to themselves and their families. I don't think she's setting her sights on some higher purpose, like Xehanort, and that sort of removes her as the main villain.
     
  4. Scarred Nobody Where is the justice?

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    I think that there still is a lot to explore with Maleficent as a character, but I don't think it would be possible to incorporate the live-action film portrayal into the Kingdom Hearts Universe. Now, full disclosure: I don't like the film. I think it's very pretty, Jolie does well with the material that she is given, but the story it is telling is very bland and, honestly, not that good.

    All that being said, I don't think that the film version of Maleficent would work with the one that is in the Kingdom Hearts Universe. Maleficent in the games is a very unforgiving character at times. She claims herself to be the "Mistress of all Evil". She is not all that sympathetic, especially when it comes with her brief appearance in Birth By Sleep.

    The film portrays Maleficent as someone who isn't evil but "scorned by love". She does bad things, but puts things right at the end. It's trying to do Wicked, but in a very bland way.

    Below is my biggest reason why it doesn't work, but it goes into spoiling the movie.
    Now, it can be argued that Sleeping Beauty is one person’s side of the story while Maleficent is her side of it. In Maleficent, she bonds with Auroa over the years and learns to love her. She wants to reverse the curse, meaning that she feels remorse for the actions she has done. Now, we see in Terra’s point-of-view in Birth By Sleep that Maleficent wants Auroa’s heart and forces Terra to take it. We see it all play out right there; she does not care for Aurora’s safety one bit and just wants to use her heart. Terra knows nothing about the goings on in this world, so he is a completely objective point of view in all of this; meaning, no his-side/her-side.
     
  5. . : tale_wind Ice to see you!

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    I'd bet money on Maleficent turning on Xehanort in KHIII. Yeah, she wants to cover the worlds in darkness, but I doubt she wants Xehanort in charge of it. For one thing, I don't think either of them care much for each other (especially not Xehanort, who only values her as a useful game piece), and for another, I can't see her being happy with the idea of someone being in charge of her beautiful darkness, especially not after all the work she put into bringing it about. Maleficent loves chaos too much; the entire plot of Sleeping Beauty happens pretty much because she wanted to mess things up. I can't say how sympathetic she'd be made, not having seen the movie Maleficent, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were to incorporate it in some way, given its popularity.
     
  6. Misty gimme kiss

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    Maleficent went apeshit in Sleeping Beauty mostly because she wasn't invited to Aurora's Christening and felt that was bad manners. If that isn't some badass villain camp, I don't know what is. I love it.
     
  7. Sebax Avatar by Xerona

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    Now, hold on a minute here. Incorporation. What happens to Maleficent in Jolie's admittedly bland version that betrays the Walt Disney Classic version? She is used and her wings are severed. In Kingdom Hearts she is... used. By Xehanort. He makes for a much better place-setter for the "Stefan" character than this guy screwing this guy over.

    There was already a parallel from the time Xehanort/Ansem/Whater Riku called her a puppet. She was Jolie's Maleficent before there was "Maleficent". Just... please don't do what Infinity did and remodel the character for KH3. I can't see this happening, but the Infinity thing was just... The only possible perk is if Jennifer Aniston does a Disney movie and gets an Infinity character modeled after her. That would be interesting; like a rehash of Celebrity Death Match, but tossing a tiny Buzz Lightyear around while riding Elephant Abu.

    EDIT: I glanced over the point. The parallel exists. It's within reason for Maleficent to help Sora out. Either out of political interest (You can't rule the world; she's gonna) or by sheer revenge on the individual who used her. Maleficent is not one to be used, understood Mistress of All Evil or misunderstood, vindicated magical warrior.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2015
  8. kevz2kool Twilight Town Denizen

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    Perfect comparison. Couldn't have explained it much better than referencing that character arc.
     
  9. Krowley Moderator

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    I think Maleficent needs to be kept going, yes. And here's why;

    Kingdom Hearts has always shown a balance between Disney and Square Enix. With Disney, KH has been able to show us exotic worlds, heart-filled moments, and fairy tale fantasy, while Square Enix has shown us the more darker, saddening, and plot twisting side of things. Xehanort has been an excellent villain, carefully planning out each step of the way according to his grande design, while Maleficent; not wishing to be left out of the scheme of things, is also finding new, and undiscovered ways of obtaining the almighty Kingdom Hearts.

    Both are manipulative, cunning and just love to wield that yummy, yummy darkness. So having her in Kingdom Hearts 3 as another major threat is always welcomed in my book. Her role however, will be taking a bit of a back seat compared to all we've seen thus far though. She could have such a role in the first game because there were only FOUR characters that Nomura developed for the game, (Sora, Riku, Kairi, Ansem) which left her a lot of room to scheme with fellow Disney villains. In CoM and KH2 however, Organization XIII was introduced, and with them, a bigger KH universe and overall plot.

    So if she is introduced into the game, I want her to have less contact with Sora, but always seen plotting in the shadows.
    Maybe have a redux version with her more prominently fighting Mickey like it was a side gam- *SHOT*

    I don't want her to be like the 2014 film version though. I don't want to sympathize her. I want her to be the mistress of all evil and flat out conquer. I want her to seem insignificant to whoever's playing for most of the game, as they travel world to world, fighting off Xehanort's 13 darknesses and whatnot. Heck, maybe she actually helps Sora out here and there as a temporary allegiance.

    And then. Right as Sora and Xehanort prepare to face off for the final Showdown- BAM! Maleficent shows up with a devilishly coy smirk on her face. Like in Sleeping Beauty, she'll just wander about, bantering about how she was almost left out of this grand occasion... So with 3 factions now in play, she can summon her rebuilt army of darkness and show what she's learned as an even more BAMF boss version of the KH1 battles.
     
  10. MasterJoshua7 Merlin's Housekeeper

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    I think Maleficent will be in KH3 because they kind of foreshadowed that in DDD.

    I would be very disappointed if they tried to incorporate the Angelina Jolie movie. I kind of liked the overall movie myself, but it just was not Maleficent. They changed too much about the oirignal character and as a character, I prefer the original version.
     
  11. . : tale_wind Ice to see you!

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    Maleficent definitely has big plans for KHIII. How do I know this? I am Tetsuya Nomura in disguise ohohoho It's evidenced by one thing that everybody loves to hate and overlook:

    Re:coded.


    "Wait a second, tale! You mean that game with the 'unimportant' plot? The recycled Disney worlds? That game?" That's the one. Dream Drop Distance showed how important Re:coded was, not only in foreshadowing that hearts could be grown, but also in revealing the close link between the Datascape and the real world. If one were to be thrown into darkness, Maleficent claimed, the other would follow suit.

    The II.5 HD ReMIX of Re:coded expounded even more significantly: Maleficent realized that the Datascape and Jiminy's Journal were connected to The Book of Prophecies held by the Foretellers of χ [chi]. The Book of Prophecies could transcribe and even conjure events yet to take place, creating entire worlds filled with beings and powers of those future events.


    Given the last page of the Book contains the prophecy heard in the E3 2014 KHIII teaser--"On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire"--Maleficent is definitely going to want her hands on it, or at the very least Jiminy's Journal (as she attempted in 3D).
     
  12. Misty gimme kiss

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    That was really my thinking, yeah! Even though Xehanort and her are theoretically on the same side, they obviously have very different goals and Maleficent isn't one to let someone else take control. I like the idea of revenge for Maleficent, too.
    This alone is a great point. As the larger plot of the series grows stronger in preparation for its conclusion, I do feel Disney has, and will continue to, fall to the way side, despite it being a big part and draw of the games. Maintaining the pre-established, strong Disney presences like Maleficent keeps Disney alive and relevant in the games.
    As I think I mentioned in the OP, I haven't seen the new Maleficent film, so I can't say with complete conviction that I want it adapted in Kingdom Hearts 3. I'm always one for giving characters tragic backstories and making villains more rounded, but perhaps you guys are right -- Maleficent is a strong character as her usual bonkers, straight up evil, original incarnation. Not to mention it would be a big turnaround, I imagine, to write all of this new material into the series given her big presence in past titles.
    This is an interesting connection! Perhaps it's the key to the Sora & Maleficent team-up we've been discussing -- they join forces to find the Book of Prophecies before Xehanort can. When Sora & co. secure it, Maleficent will inevitably want it for herself and try to run off with it, but Xehanort stops her / takes her out before she can make her grand escape.
     
  13. Rik Merlin's Housekeeper

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    Ha! You're being very generous to describe my ramblings as 'an interesting conversation'.

    I think there's been enough foreshadowing in the latest two games to be pretty sure she'll come back. I just hope she's been written in from the beginning this time, and not hastily added with nothing to do like in KH2.

    Every time she shows up in the game and does her crazy cackling I'm super happy and it always reminds me of how much more fun a villain she is than the dozens of bland spiky haired men we're constantly getting offered. I hope she gets to camp it up in KH3.
     
  14. Meilin Lee RPG (Red Panda Girl)

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    If this happens, I will be very disappointed, as I find it really anticlimactic considering how the entire series has been hyping up the one big battle with Xehanort, not Maleficent. As I said, I wouldn't be opposed to having Maleficent have some temporary alliance with Sora against Xehanort, and I also wouldn't be opposed to having her be the last major boss before the final battle with Xehanort. But as far as final boss goes, it has to be Xehanort (and no one else, well, 'cept maybe other Xehanorts in addition too) considering KH3 is meant to be the final chapter in the Xehanort saga.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2015
  15. Krowley Moderator

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    I don't think I was fully clear in my last post.
    I don't want her to be part of the last battle, but definitely prior to it. Being one of the few surviving Disney baddies from previous games, I'd like an appropriate "end all" Disney Boss that wasn't just a part of the world you visited. (Chernabog made me so happy)

    After Maleficent was defeated as Final Boss runner up, then Sora could take the fight to Xehanort.
     
  16. Meilin Lee RPG (Red Panda Girl)

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    Fair enough. That certainly would be a very interesting situation to see unfold.
     
  17. 61 No. B

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    She'll totally be in 3. Remember that awesome setup at the end of 2 where she starts planning to take the nobody castle?
    wait what was the status of that in DDD? Did they totally forget that or has that just not been addressed yet? I don't remember what was real and what wasn't.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2015
  18. . : tale_wind Ice to see you!

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    I don't believe it was addressed in 3D. Perhaps it'll come into play in III.
     
  19. KeybearerofSea Merlin's Housekeeper

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    I personally hope that she has as big a role, if not bigger, then the one she had in the original Kingdom Hearts. I've wanted that since the sad role she was relegated to in Kingdom Hearts II. I mean guys, come on, those TNBC scenes... painful, painful... painful, to watch! "shudders" It's time she made her move. We know she seeks the BOP and I think she will need more then just "Dear Pete" to get her hands on it. So I am thinking a re-gathering of the Disney Villains, countering Sora and Xehanort for the end goal of obtaining the BOP. Or heck, maybe working with good old Xehanort. I mean, she does speak well of him...
     
  20. MasterJoshua7 Merlin's Housekeeper

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    I think that was just Maleficent being Maleficent and saying something very Maleficent-y. I think her real goal was just to stop the wave of Heartless and allow Sora and co. to take out Xemnas. If DDD sheds any light on the matter, I'd say it confirms that TWTNW is Xehanort and the New Organization's territory. At least for now.