Birth by Sleep (video)



"Birth by Sleep" is the secret ending video to Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and a follow-up to "The Gathering", the secret ending video to the original Kingdom Hearts II. The video centers around three armored warriors wielding Keyblades and an unnamed foe. It was meant to introduce and hint at the future game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Synopsis
Picking up where "The Gathering" left off, the three Keyblade knights, Terra, Aqua and Ven are approached by an old man, Master Xehanort, and his apprentice, Vanitas.

The two are charged by Terra, and Xehanort responds by shifting the earth beneath them to create a rising plateau that carries Terra above the rest. Xehanort then lifts the ground beneath himself as well, creating a cliff much higher than the surrounding terrain. It becomes apparent that Xehanort and Vanitas have great power. While Vanitas strikes Terra with Thunder, and is immediately pursued by Aqua and Ventus, Terra chases after Xehanort, who creates a Keyblade cyclone to aid Vanitas against Aqua and Ventus.

Vanitas chases and battles Aqua and Ventus on the cyclone, and neither are able to overcome him. Noticing that Terra is getting closer to Xehanort, Vanitas directs the cyclone towards Terra, knocking him off the cliff. Aqua and Ventus watch in horror, and Aqua is hit by the cyclone, crashing to the ground, obliterating her helmet completely. Ventus comes to her aid and she unleashes Reflect magic on Terra to protect him from the cyclone, which protects him from the cyclone until the cyclone pushes him up to the cliff where Xehanort is where it explodes, blasting the cyclone to pieces. Terra is dropped to where Xehanort is. Terra briefly duels Xehanort until the old man freezes his left arm. Ventus attempts to attack Xehanort from behind, but Xehanort teleports himself behind Ven and grabs him by the helmet, crushing it and freezing him. Terra tries to stop him, but Vanitas reappears and hits him off the cliff with the cyclone's remains. As Aqua looks on in horror, Xehanort freezes Ventus's body solid and throws him off the cliff, shattering his keyblade and helmet. Aqua catches his body and his face is revealed to have a striking resemblance to Roxas. Though frozen, he moves his eyes to indicate that he is still alive.

Xehanort's Keyblade reverts into a purple and blue ball of flame-like energy, which he shoots upwards to part the gathering dark clouds, revealing what appears to be Kingdom Hearts by means not fully explained. Terra, barely able to stand, tears off what remains of his helmet to look up at Kingdom Hearts and begins to succumb to the darkness, shown by his eyes turning yellow.

The video ends with Mickey Mouse, wearing similar garments to Sora's outfit from Kingdom Hearts II, looking at Kingdom Hearts in the same area but from a distance, holding the Star Seeker Keyblade and on the verge of stepping in.

Characters

 * Terra
 * Aqua
 * Ventus
 * Master Xehanort
 * Vanitas
 * Mickey Mouse

Condition to unlock this video
The condition to unlock the video "Birth by sleep" varies according with the difficulty that you chosen:


 * For Beginner Mode the video is not available;
 * For Standard Mode you must complete the Jiminy's Journal and all Gummi Missions;
 * For Proud Mode you need to complete the game;
 * For Critical Mode you need the Gold Crown.

Commentary by Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura, the head storyline designer for the Kingdom Hearts series, originally gave very few details about the secret ending. Originally, the only information he disclosed was that all the characters in the video were new to the series, despite any physical resemblances. The time and place of the video were all left ambiguous as well. However, Nomura stated in a Famitsu interview that this video is the non-playable ending of the PSP game, and that the game might take place ten years before the first Kingdom Hearts game.

In a May 2007 interview dubbed the "Scenario Mysteries Interview", Nomura revealed more insights into the video and its implications for the series. He confirmed the names of Aqua and Ven and introduced the name of the third Keyblade knight, Terra; however, he also stated that Ven was only a nickname for the young male knight, and that the full name is "a little bit longer" (his full name is Ventus).

Nomura had this to say of Ven's resemblance to Roxas:

He also gave no details regarding the change in color of Terra's eyes from blue to yellow, saying "I think everyone's imaginations are pretty capable so please try and anticipate a lot of things." His final comments regarding the three warriors' names were that the names of Sora, Riku, and Kairi are meant to signify Sky, Land, and Sea, while the names of Ven, Terra, and Aqua represent three different properties of the world: Wind, Earth, and Water.

Trivia

 * In the video, the following Keyblades are shown: Follow the Wind, a recolored version of Sleeping Lion, Fenrir, Circle of Life, Wishing Lamp, Gull Wing and Star Seeker, held by King Mickey.
 * Interestingly, in "The Gathering," Terra, Ven, and Aqua picked up the Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key D, and Way to the Dawn. However they do not seem to have these Keyblades in "Birth by sleep" at all.

Differences between teaser and game

 * In the video, Vanitas appears to be spawned from the essence of Master Xehanort, yet in the game itself, he appears himself from behind Xehanort. *Xehanort's brief speech about the Keyblade War and his true intentions are omitted from the teaser, leaving it ambiguous as to why Terra, Aqua and Ven attack Xehanort and Vanitas.
 * In the video, Ven's keyblade is shattered while he is falling after being frozen, yet in the game it remains intact. This may, however, have more symbolic than literal meaning in regards to Ventus' fate.
 * The video begins with Terra, Aqua and Ven in their armour, but in the game, they don't don their armour until just after Xehanort's speech.
 * In the game, Terra, Aqua and Ven often call out to each other and groan, but in the video, they remain silent.
 * In the game, Xehanort does not freeze Terra's arm.
 * In the game, Vanitas does not strike Terra with thunder.

Video
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