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 is meant to introduce and hint at the later released 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. While Vanitas strikes Terra with Thunder, and is immediately pursued by Aqua and Ventus, Terra chases after Xehanort, who creates a Keyblade infused 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 gets hit by the cyclone, crashing to the ground, obliterating her helmet completely. Ventus comes to her aid as she casts Reflect magic on Terra to protect him from the cyclone. The spell protects him from the cyclone until the he is pushed up to where Xehanort is, at which point 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, beginning to crush it. Terra stumbles forward, probably in an attempt to help Ven, until Vanitas and the Keyblade infused cyclone inexplicably reappear below Terra's feet, hurling him off the cliff as countless keyblades batter his body. Xehanort and Vanitas stand at the top of the cliff, still holding Ven, presumably so Aqua could see him. When she does, Xehanort first burns and then freezes Ventus. As Aqua looks on in horror, Xehanort throws him off the cliff, and his keyblade shatters on a rock. Aqua catches his body and he 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 is changed 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 unexplained. 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 looking at the battlefield from a distance, holding the Star Seeker Keyblade and on the verge of stepping in to fight Xehanort and Vanitas.

Conditions to unlock this video
The conditions to unlock the video "Birth by sleep" vary according with the difficulty level 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 and defeat the Lingering Sentiment;
 * 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 the video was the non-playable ending of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and took place ten years before Kingdom Hearts.

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 was "a little bit longer" (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.

Video
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Trivia
Birth by sleep (fin secrète)
 * In the video, the following Keyblades on the graveyard are shown: Follow the Wind, a recolored version of Sleeping Lion, Fenrir, Circle of Life, Wishing Lamp, and Gull Wing.
 * 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.
 * In the video, Vanitas appears to be spawned from the essence of Master Xehanort, yet in the game itself, he appears from behind Xehanort. Xehanort's brief speech about the Keyblade War and his true intentions are omitted from the video, leaving it ambiguous as to why Terra, Aqua and Ven attack Xehanort and Vanitas.
 * There are scenes here that were not included in the actual game:
 * 1) Vanitas jumping from the cliff and using a Thunder spell on Terra.
 * 2) Vanitas shooting Blizzard-like magic at Aqua, and Ventus attacking Vanitas from above.
 * 3) Terra attacking Master Xehanort when he falls from the explosion, followed by Master Xehanort casting a Blizzard-like spell on Terra's left arm.
 * 4) Master Xehanort cracking Ventus' helmet after he picks him up.
 * 5) Part of Ven's visor falling out of his helmet while he's struggling to get out of Master Xehanort's grasp.
 * 6) Instead of Ven's Keyblade shattering, it is his helmet.
 * 7) Terra's eyes turning yellow just after he removes his helmet.
 * In both the Birth By Sleep and The Gathering videos, the protagonists are wearing capes. However, in the actual game to this video, the characters' armor do not include capes. This is due to frame rate issues.
 * In the video, King Mickey appears far from the cliffs that Master Xehanort created. But in the actual game, King Mickey appears just near the area where Ven, Aqua, Braig and Vanitas are.
 * In the game, Ventus holds his Keyblade with his right hand, but in the video when he attempts to strike Master Xehanort from behind, he holds his Keyblade with his left hand. On the same note, contrary to the actual game, Ventus' Keyblade is designed differently. The guard and teeth of the blade are on opposite sides of the Keyblade, unlike in the game where they are on the same side.