Twilight Town

Twilight Town is a world that appears in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts III. It is the "birthplace" of Roxas, and one of the only two real worlds that appears in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. It has recently been infested with Nobodies; however, Heartless were known to have been in the city during Roxas's time in Organization XIII.

Despite its subtle atmosphere, Twilight Town is one of the largest worlds known. It is located in between light and darkness, similar to Castle Oblivion and The World That Never Was. As its name implies, Twilight Town is stuck in endless sunset, with its sun always in the same position in the sky, never rising nor setting. Much like Traverse Town in the previous game, it is divided into several distinct districts, Market Street, Sunset Terrace, and Yen Sid's Tower. The Tower is not truly part of the town; it is merely reached by a train from this world.

Kingdom Hearts II
Twilight Town is composed of two districts. The first, Shōten Machi (商店街), is the largest area of Twilight Town, and is what is most commonly referred to as Twilight Town itself. It is a long, winding, steeply-sloped road that leads from the lower areas of the city to the top. The upper portion of the street is known as Ekimaedōri (駅前通り), which features a few shops such as an item shop run by Wantz. At the summit of Market Street is the Ekimae Hiroba (駅前広場), a large, open terrace presided over by the town's distinctive Clock Tower, which, though a twelve-hour clock, has "I" at the top instead of "XII". Just past the Station Plaza is Sentoraru Sutēshon (セントラルステーション), a train station whose trains lead all over the world, including other districts of the city and beach; there is also a magic train that travels to the Mysterious Tower nearby.

The lower portion of Market Street is the Toramu Hiroba (トラム広場), an open-market area with a free tram circling around. Many shops are found here, including the accessory shop run by Jessie and armor shop run by Biggs, and a synthesis shop owned by Elmina the Moogle; in the simulated Twilight Town, the synthesis shop is a candy shop instead. It appears to be the location of many homes as well. Both parts of Market Street connect to the Akichi (空き地), the area where the infamous Struggle battles take place, and to the Rojiura (路地裏), which itself leads to Hayner's gang's hideout, Itsumo no Basho (いつもの場所). Rokusasu no Heya (ロワサスの部屋) in the simulated Twilight Town lies above The Usual Spot.

The other district of the town is Sansetto Jūtakugai (サンセット住宅街), which can be reached by taking the train at Central Station to Sansetto Sutēshon (サンセットステーション). Connecting to Sunset Terrace is Sansetto Hiru (サンセットヒル), where Roxas spots the mysterious Ghost Train on the fifth day.

The town is surrounded by Machihazure no Mori (町はずれの森), a large forest that also hides DiZ's headquarters, the Old Mansion. The Woods can only be accessed through a crack in the walls of Tram Common. Underneath the town is a vast Chika Renraku Tsūro (地下連絡通路), which has several entrances in Market Street. One exit leads to the Tonneru (トンネル), which in turn leads to Sunset Terrace. Sunset Terrace is eventually joined to the Market Street areas through the Underground Concourse, which finally opens the last time Sora and his party visit Twilight Town.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Twilight Town's layout in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is identical to how it is presented in Kingdom Hearts II, with the main differences being that Central Station, Sunset Terrace, Sunset Hill, the Mysterious Tower, and the interior of the Old Mansion are all unaccessible. In addition, various sections of the city are renamed or retranslated: the Back Alley is localized as as '; the Usual Spot is called Kōka-ka (高架下); the Underground Concourse is localized as the '; and the Tunnelway retains its original name as the .

Kingdom Hearts III
In comparison to previous installments, the sections of Twilight Town that Sora and his party can visit are reduced to three preestablished locations—Tram Common, The Woods, and The Old Mansion—all grouped within a single area called Machi no Ikkaku (街の一角), with the entrance to Station Heights serving instead as an exit from the world, and the Sandlot entryway closed off by a large door. However, the world has received a visual overhaul, particularly Tram Common, which is populated with more people, greenery, and other signs of habitation. The armor shop has been replaced by Le Grand Bistrot, where Merlin can be found dining in the terrace out front, allowing access to the 100 Acre Wood, while the tram lot has been repurposed into an outdoor movie theater. The hole in the wall leading to The Woods has been sealed, with a new passageway by the Sandlot entrance called the Chika Suidō (地下水道) connecting the two areas instead. The Woods themselves are also more hilly than before, and feature a more pronounced pathway towards the mansion.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Roxas is first "born" in Twilight Town in front of the Old Mansion and is given his name by Xemnas. Roxas at first turned down Xemnas's offer to join Organization XIII and wandered the city streets. After seeing a trio of friends (Hayner, Pence, and Olette), Axel sees Roxas's apparent sadness over not having friends here, appears, and gives him sea-salt ice cream, convincing him to join atop the Clock Tower.

Throughout Roxas's life as a Nobody, he, Axel, and Xion used the Clock Tower as a meeting place after their missions, where they would sit and talk about their missions, or discuss whatever came to mind. It is also here that Roxas and Xion have their final battle and where he absorbs her afterwards.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Meanwhile, Sora, Donald, and Goofy access a memory-based Twilight Town via a card on the eleventh floor of Castle Oblivion. A confused Sora wonders why Vexen mentions the words "my Riku" and "the other side of Sora's heart". After Sora defeats Vexen, Vexen nearly reveals Marluxia's plans (and, by extension, Roxas's existence) to Sora and company before Axel suddenly arrives and kills Vexen.

At a later point, Riku, also in Castle Oblivion, enters a memory version of Twilight Town with help from King Mickey. There, Riku meets DiZ and defeats Riku Replica once more, causing the Replica to fade out of existence. Riku later meets Naminé before confronting Ansem, Seeker of Darkness one last time, to conquer his darkness.

Kingdom Hearts II
DiZ, unknown to Organization XIII, began using the Old Mansion as a headquarters for his revenge. Along with Naminé and Riku, he set up computer systems and Memory Pods in the basement levels of the manor, and monitored Sora's progression as he regained his memories while Roxas lived in a virtual simulation of Twilight Town.

The restoration process finishes exactly one year from the day that Sora created Roxas, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy awaken from their sleep with their memories restored up to the point that they entered Castle Oblivion, but do not know how long they were asleep, or how they got to Twilight Town. Sora says that the surroundings are rather familiar, and the group wonders if they had ever been there before.

They wander the streets, looking for answers, and ultimately meet Hayner, Pence, Olette, Seifer, and the other residents of Twilight Town. In the Sandlot, the Struggle tournament organizer will explain how they end up doing Struggle battles. In the Market Street, the tram has stopped running and the Moogle shop is closed, sporting a sign that says "Synthesis Workshop - coming soon!"

Eventually, they encounter King Mickey, when he saves them from a group of attacking Nobodies and tells them to board a magic train to the Mysterious Tower. Sora and the party return to Twilight Town twice during their adventures. The first time, he learns that Kairi fled Destiny Islands and was kidnapped by Axel. As he leaves town, he is stopped by Saïx, who taunts him into defeating more Heartless for Organization XIII. The second time, the party, along with Mickey, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, go to the manor where Sora and the party awakened, and find the digital Twilight Town, which leads them to The World That Never Was.

Blank Points
In one scene, Naminé is shown drawing in the White Room, and saying Sora's name. In the next, Roxas, Axel and Xion are shown sitting atop the clock tower eating sea salt ice cream as they did during their Organization days. The trio look out towards the setting sun and Roxas and Xion say in unison "Sora".

A fragmentary passage
Twilight Town is seen at several points during the ending montage. First, Kairi, Hayner, Pence and Olette are shown looking up at the Old Mansion, followed by a scene of DiZ watching over a sleeping Sora in the basement, and finally Roxas and Xion walking through Tram Common as a cloaked and blindfolded Riku watches from above a nearby shop.

Characters

 *  is mentioned on a poster for Giantland as the creator of the cartoons that Scrooge is airing in town, but does not make a physical appearance.

Trivia

 * Roxas's room can be accessed using cheat codes. However, it doesn't seem to have enough leg room for Sora and company.
 * If the player equips either Kingdom Key, Oathkeeper, or Oblivion and enters Betwixt and Between, the animations for the summoning of those Keyblades will not be shown and the Keyblade will appear out of nowhere, just like they did in the first game.

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