Editing KHWiki:Magazine/Issue 5

Known by movie fans as Count Dooku or Dracula, ''Kingdom Hearts'' fans will remember Lee for voicing the enigmatic researcher [[Ansem the Wise]], aka DiZ. It is with great sadness that we hear of Lee's passing.

|unlockingthekeyholenewusers=We have had a low number of new registrations to The Keyhole since the previous edition of the Magazines' release. However, the wiki has experienced a boost in activity as a consequence of the events of the past few weeks relating to ''Kingdom Hearts III''.

*{{Keyhole|User talk:Raging Dragon|Raging Dragon|#FFD700}} has been a great help since joining mid-June, adding information from the latest ''Kingdom Hearts III'' trailer into [[Sora|<font color=#FFD700>Sora's</font>]] article! Thanks a lot Raging Dragon!

Data-Roxas appears before Data-Sora in the Castle Oblivion Datascape world, and begins to guide a confused Data-Sora through the floors. His role? To show Data-Sora the meaning of hurt and help him understand it. In doing this, Data-Roxas will know whether the real Sora is ready to take on board the painful memories which Roxas had accumulated within himself during his short life. But this is no easy process. Data-Roxas has to be <u>absolutely</u> certain that Sora is capable of retaining the memories that the real Roxas holds within him, without giving darkness a foothold in the [[Keyblade|<font color=#472A72>Keyblade</font>]] wielder's pure heart. The floors through which Data-Roxas guides Data-Sora hold illusions of characters which the real Sora knows well from his many journeys throughout the Kingdom Hearts universe. These characters are Sora's friends, whom he should remember in an instant!

At the end of this pivotal scene, Data-Roxas attacks Sora, wanting to show the Data version of his Somebody what "real hurt feels like". Data-Roxas loses the fight, at which time he taunts Sora, telling him to finish him off. Sora, however, explains that he had felt an "intense, sharp pain" from Data-Roxas, and stipulates that if carrying some hurt around inside him brings him closer to people, then that is a price that he is willing to pay. Data-Roxas, upon hearing Data-Sora's speech, finally relaxes and ceases to be the antagonist, signifying that Sora has "passed the test".

Data-Sora's willing acceptance of Sora is deemed proof that the real Sora will be able to take on-board Roxas's memories and the memory transfer, enacted in ''Dream Drop Distance'' can go ahead without issue.  But this was not the end of things. More scenes follow, in which Data-Sora and Mickey meet with [[Data-Naminé|<font color=#A394CB>Data-Naminé</font>]]. When reconstructing Sora's memories between ''[[Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories|<font color=#A394CB>Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories</font>]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II|<font color=#A394CB>Kingdom Hearts II</font>]]'', [[Naminé|<font color=#A394CB>Naminé</font>]] stumbled upon some memories hidden deep within Sora's heart which she discovered did not belong to Sora.

This sequence of scenes brings to light much more than it appears to.  Combined with [[Ansem the Wise|<font color=#A394CB>Ansem the Wise's</font>]] speech at the end of ''Kingdom Hearts 3D'', we can most certainly assume that these events were hugely significant in the lead up to ''Kingdom Hearts III'', and perhaps even other future titles. We can potentially look forward to seeing some of the characters which many readers may associate themselves with back in the series in the future!

If you enjoyed reading this, and would like to hear more, or have a question to ask me, please do not hesitate to leave a message on the Magazine's [[Kingdom Hearts Wiki_talk:Magazine/Issue 5|<font color=#A394CB>talk page</font>]]! I look forward to further discussion!

|divetotheheartgametutorialtitle=Tips for leveling up Sora's Master Form

|divetotheheartgametutorial=This guide may seem a bit strange. Why [[Sora]]'s [[Master Form]], of all things? Let's be honest, some of us have had brain farts and have not been sure how to level Master Form. And if we ''did'' figure it out, we would often be at a loss as to what places were available to perform the actual leveling! So I, TNE, thought I'd write up this quick guide to help those of us who, like me, have been stuck levelling up Master Form. I hope it can serve as a reminder for anyone who needs it.

'''Also remember that only [[Heartless]] give out Drive Orbs, not [[Nobody|Nobodies]]!''' Okay, I'm going overboard with the reminders. Next!

The Valley of Stone is an area filled with monoliths; on the floor and in the air, all with glowing edges. It's pretty, it's elegant, and it's littered with treasure chests. Most importantly, it's crawling with Heartless that release Drive Orbs! This place has loads of [[Emerald Blues]], [[Crimson Jazz]]es and [[Fortuneteller]]s, all of which drop Drive Orbs. Just be sure to heal regularly, because those Crimson Jazzes and Emerald Blues can be an absolute pain in the you-know-where.

Pretty much all of [[Agrabah]] has enemies that drop Drive Orbs, but I find this the best place in all of Agrabah to level up Master Form, because the Drive Orb dropping enemies appear consistently, and there isn't too long of a lapse of time between Heartless waves – you just need to stand at the right place to spawn them.

Just be sure you're having a relatively lucky run where all you encounter are Heartless. The reason I say this is because, if this is your second visit to the [[Beast's Castle]] or later, you are likely to run into [[Dragoon]] Nobodies as a result of [[Xaldin]]'s interference.  

[[File:Magazine Issue 5 GameTutorial3.png|left|250px]]Various Heartless in this world release Drive Orbs upon defeat –  Crimson Jazzes, [[Morning Star]]s, [[Gargoyle Knight]]s and Statues, and even [[Lance Soldier]]s. These Heartless appear almost everywhere in the Beast's Castle – in the main hall, in the East Wing, in the West Hall, in the West Wing... pretty much every conceivable area of Beast's Castle has enemies dropping Drive Orbs.

The best place to train in all of Beast's Castle is the Undercroft – you know, the place leading to the Dungeon where the [[Beast]]'s friends were all locked up. There are many Gargoyle Knights and [[Gargoyle Warrior]]s there, and all of them drop (you guessed it) Drive Orbs. Just be careful not to take too much damage, because you're going to be pretty much ambushed once you get in there. You'll be surrounded pretty easily.

The only place in all of the Beast's Castle that does not have enemies that drop Drive Orbs consistently is the Bridge, where Mushroom #3 appears. But even that enemy drops Drive Orbs if you fulfil its objective!

[[File:Magazine Issue 5 GameTutorial4.png|right]]The Drive Orb bonus here may be seen as not great compared to the previous two examples, but if you're the kind that believes that every little bit helps, then you'd best be sure not to overlook the [[Land of Dragons]].

You're entering a warzone, so there will be ammunition and fireworks scattered everywhere. Destroying these will net you prizes. Some of these things, when destroyed, leave Drive Orbs! Be sure to never miss the ammo carts!

As is the case with the Beast's Castle, be sure that the waves of enemies you are fighting are Heartless. Nobodies occasionally appear at the summit of Tung-Shao (the mountain where Shan-Yu was first spotted) due to [[Xigbar]]'s interference.

If you have any more places to recommend for leveling Sora's Master Form, please be sure to leave it in the comments section, or, if it's not already on the wiki's [[Master Form]] page, feel free to add it in!

In all seriousness though, being a musician myself (read: singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist), I find a lot of joy in the various music pieces of this series. What's more, the music of the Kingdom Hearts games was what really drove me to write background music pieces of my own.

Though my appreciation for the plethora of ''Kingdom Hearts'' music is clear, I'll ultimately be narrowing my preferences down to a list of just five of my personal favourite tracks. For this top five list, several factors will be considered:

There have been many world map themes, and nearly all of them have truly moved me. Most of them have given me surges of joy, so, in my mind, spotlighting a single world map theme was quite hard. It is especially hard when you have ''Precious Stars in the Sky'' from the first ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'', and ''A Twinkle in the Sky'' from ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]'' to keep in mind; both pieces stick in your head and I am partial to both. I, however, eventually found a winner for the best world map theme: it is that of ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance''.

There isn't much of a melody, but rather a harmonious ambience with (what sounds like)  

The musically trained ear might also recognise VI – VII – I chord progressions ending the sequence. Shimomura has been known to use VI – VII – I progressions a number of times in the games' soundtrack (''Hau'oli, Hau'oli'', the field theme of [[Deep Space]], comes to mind when I talk about this progression). VI – VII – I is a progression used by ''a lot'' of composers, and can be cliché unless there is some sort of quality that changes that progression. Here, the overall magical feel of the piece makes this ending progression pleasant to my ears, and not just simply tolerable.

The setting is simple; it's just a world map. The world map of ''Dream Drop Distance'' is considerably simpler than that of most other games, because there are no gummi ship mechanics and the map doesn't involve you flying to one world from another. You simply pick a world and dive.

I'm aware that this makes the setting relatively simple and, perhaps, lacklustre compared to a good many other world maps. And maybe the vast majority of people aren't going to stay on the world map for hours on end listening to this theme... unless the vast majority of ''Kingdom Hearts'' fans are actually the kind of music buffs who would stay on the world map for hours listening to the world map theme and I am just unaware of it. I mean, ''I've'' done this in a lot of other ''Kingdom Hearts'' games.

''The World of Dream Drops'', however, adds a specific magical quality to the map screen that otherwise wouldn't be there. Taking everything into context, Sora and Riku are not going through their ordinary journey, travelling from world to world  on a ship or by some other external means. They are diving into worlds by themselves; ''they themselves'' are undertaking a very magical act that perhaps no one else ever has.

As I mentioned before, every map theme gives me a sense of elation, a rush of joy as the piece progresses. ''The World of Dream Drops'' is no different. There is a sufficient variation in the music – there are high points and low points, points of lush orchestration and points of calm – that ensure I don't feel fed up after listening to this piece for hours on end. This is a reaction I didn't have with any other ''Kingdom Hearts'' map themes.

If you're a lazy person, who listens to something on the simple basis that it sounds good, there are chances that you may remember this composition... or you ''may'' have forgotten it. We remember melodies far better than accompaniments, which is simply natural. I could see this piece as being forgettable in many minds.

|flickrushgametask1=Defeat [[Sephiroth]] using the [[Kingdom Key]] Keychain in ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''.