Another side, Another story...

Another side, Another story... is the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts, and the first one of the series. It was later expanded in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix ' s secret ending, Another Side, Another Story [deep dive].

Another side, Another story...
A hooded Roxas walks through the Dark City in the pouring rain. He stops, feet away from the base of Memory's Skyscraper. Roxas looks up at the screens; shortly after, his head shifts down as many Neoshadows rise up from the ground and surround him. A blindfolded Riku, wearing a Black Coat, stands on top of Memory's Skyscraper and stares down at Roxas. Roxas draws the Oathkeeper in his left hand and Oblivion in his right. He spins the Keyblades above his head, yielding sparks, and holds them out to his sides. Riku tilts his head up to the sky and holds his arms out; the clouds above the Skyscraper part to reveal a meteor shower. A white-purple outline of the Heartless emblem surrounds Roxas. Riku takes off his blindfold and throws his head back. Roxas mouths something.

"Where's Sora?"

"We'll go together."

KINGDOM HEARTS

On a beach, an older Kairi runs to the edge of the sand and puts her hands behind her back, watching a single meteor fall.

Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]
Sora stands in the middle of the Crossroads, looking up at the night sky.

Utter silence

A message in a bottle arrives on the shore of the Dark Margin, as the wave recedes.

A fragmented tale A world without you The eyes will close

A white Heartless emblem appears on a boulder for a split second, before Roxas passes through it. One of his eyes - golden yellow - is briefly shown, and he walks forward.

Something so natural

In the Dark City, Roxas walks towards the Memory's Skyscraper in the pouring rain. Clashing blades sound, and in an instant, he is surrounded by numerous Neoshadows, now holding Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Roxas engages the Heartless and easily destroys three.

The memory beyond

He continues, slashing them with his Keyblades, not hesitating to resort to kicking two of them. Three Neoshadows jump high in the air. Roxas looks up at them and follows suit, doing a backflip. The three Neoshadows land on the ground, one on top of the other, and dissolve into darkness. More Neoshadows leap into the air, and Roxas proceeds to slash at them as he rises; with Oathkeeper in hand, he throws the Keyblade and eliminates four of the airborne Heartless. The Oathkeeper returns seconds before Roxas lands on the ground, and he backflips up to the porch of Memory's Skyscraper. As other Neoshadows beginning to crawl up the structure's gargoyle statues, he looks out at the horde of Heartless. He looks up at the screens of the Skyscraper.

Something so simple

Riku stands atop the screens, looking down at Roxas. He smirks; Roxas mimics the action and jumps onto a post, leaps to an extrusion on the wall, and begins running up the side of the Skyscraper, Oathkeeper and Oblivion held out at his sides. Neoshadows begin to chase after him, as new ones emerge from above, which Roxas promptly cut down. Riku walks up to the very edge of the Skyscraper's screens.

XIII "Where's Sora?" "We must find him..."

Roxas hurls Oblivion upward in another Strike Raid-like move, eliminating several more Neoshadows. Riku jumps off the edge, body parallel with the ground, with his arms outstretched.

12 [Ansem's other report] "A creation born of ignorance."

The Oblivion slices through one more Neoshadow before Riku catches it; his body turns, now parallel to the Skyscraper as three more of the Heartless leap down after him.

11 Behind the darkness ≠ Door to the light

The two approach the Skyscraper's largest screen; Roxas, now wielding the Kingdom Key in his right hand, runs past the bottom of the central screen while Riku falls.

X The secret place "His voice... It's left me." "This time... I'll fight."

The two pass each other, turning their head to the other before continuing on their way. Faint images of Kairi flash on the video screen as Riku falls. The clouds above Memory's Skyscraper clear, revealing three rays of light.

9 A world between = A forgotten world The gathering

Roxas mouths something as he and Riku continue on their paths.

VIII The third enemy = Nobody "Who is Nobody, you ask? They are the nonexistent ones."

Roxas has flashing images of Sora during his Dive to the Heart.

VII ENDLESS "What took you so long, Kairi?" "Can we do it? Against that?"

More flashes of Sora's memory. Roxas walks up to the hooded figure sitting on a rock.

HEARTLESS "We have come for you, my liege." "You are the source of all Heartless."

6 The Thirteenth Order Metamorphosis "Sora?" "Sora...Why?" "Your Highness! But why?"

An older Kairi watches the meteor shower on Destiny Islands.

5 Change — The third key

Riku plummets to the ground.

4 End of the world "What is this place?" "Is this the answer you've been looking for?" "This is the world in its true form." "Maybe our journey meant nothing after all."

3 Paradise

Kairi reaches toward Sora.

"We'll go together."

II

A Black Coated King Mickey flips through the air, landing on the rooftop of the Memory's Skyscraper with the Kingdom Key D held behind him.

KINGDOM HEARTS

Back at the Dark Margin, Roxas approaches Xemnas again; he turns to Roxas and speaks to him.

"He looks just like you."

Sora then flies over a vast expanse of ocean, seemingly asleep, under a cloudy sky.

"Everything is coming back to me, the true..."

Unlock criteria
Another side, Another story... Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]
 * Normal Difficulty
 * Complete the Hades Cup; find all 99 Puppies; seal every Keyhole
 * Expert Difficulty
 * Seal every Keyhole
 * Normal Difficulty
 * Complete the Hades Cup; find all 99 Puppies; seal every Keyhole; complete Jiminy's Journal
 * Expert Difficulty
 * Seal every Keyhole; complete Jiminy's Journal

Application to subsequent games
"Another side, Another story..." was meant as more of a concept trailer, showing whatever ideas Tetsuya Nomura had for a sequel at the time; it was not meant to be taken as an actual part of the storyline for the games. Kazushige Nojima, the scenario writer, explained that, after the story for Kingdom Hearts II was written, he had to go back and find places to put in the seemingly random quotes found in both "Another side, Another story..." and "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]". The idea of the Keyblade wielder was affixed to Roxas, and the blindfolded male to Riku.

"The third enemy = Nobody" implies that the Unversed and the Heartless are the First and Second Enemies; however, a flashback in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep depicts several Neoshadows and Darksides before the appearance of the Unversed, even though the Heartless did not begin attacking the Realm of Light until Kingdom Hearts. Therefore, it is unclear whether the Heartless are considered the First or Second Enemy. According to Nomura, however, the first two enemies are the Heartless and the Disney Villians. "A world between = A forgotten world; The gathering" is a possible reference to the secret ending of the same name found at the end of Kingdom Hearts II, the teaser for Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. It is also possibly a reference to Castle Oblivion, a world set between light and darkness, and ultimately forgotten by Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Another quote, "Change — The third key ", may reference the change of heart Riku takes in Kingdom Hearts II, or the metamorphosis his Soul Eater goes through to become the Way to the Dawn. This would make either Mickey and Sora or their Keyblades as the first two keys.

Ansem's other report could refer to the Secret Ansem Reports. Kairi says "His voice...It's left me" to Selphie toward the start of the game, and says "This time...I'll fight!" when obtaining her Keyblade at the Castle That Never Was. Sora states "Maybe our journey meant nothing after all" when he is fighting Heartless after learning that defeating them only sends captive hearts to the Organization. Axel says, "What took you so long, Kairi?" before taking Kairi away from The Usual Spot in Twilight Town. A Dusk says, "We have come for you, my liege," upon Roxas encountering it in the Simulated Twilight Town. Xemnas tells Ansem the Wise, "You are the source of all Heartless," while the latter struggles to bring the Kingdom Hearts Encoder back under control. The Thirteenth Order is the Japanese name for Organization XIII. "We'll go together," is the last line spoken by Sora to Riku on the Dark Margin before the Door to Light takes them back home to Destiny Islands in Kingdom Hearts II.

Except for some minor differences, such as Mickey's appearance, both Another side, Another story... and Another Side, Another Story [deep dive] were replicated for the final cutscenes of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, as well as flashback scenes in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.

Trivia

 * The countdown from XIII stops at II (2) instead of 1. This mimics the style of old movie intro sequences. Also, 2, 7, 8, 10 and 13 are represented as II, VII, VIII, X, XIII, respectively, their Roman Numerals, while the others are shown by their numeric values.

Video
Another side, Another story...