To Endure the Endless Winter-An Analysis of Kingdom Hearts 3
Arendelle marks a turning point in the narrative of Kingdom Hearts 3, when the looming darkness truly begins to infect Sora’s journey, and when the Second Keyblade War becomes inevitable. The signs were always there of course, from Thebes’s destruction, To more powerful heartless like the Demon Tide showing up in Twilight town, and of course the Organization's more active presence in the Disney worlds. And yet they never got in the way of Sora’s fun. After all, Sora was able to save Buzz from darkness, play games with Rapunzel, and Keep Boo Smiling in spite of the Unversed. But with Arendelle things are different, for the first time Sora’s fairy tale whimsy is challenged by the influence of Xehanort and is forced to endure. For you see Winter is the season where the nights become longer and the darkness grows all the more stronger
This growing sense of strife and danger can be first found in the aesthetics and gameplay of Arendelle. It is a cold harsh world in the mitts of an eternal winter. Every level is covered in snow and ice with Sora even remarking on how cold it is at the beginning, begging Donald to give him a Coat. Much of the world is spent on top of a mountain that the player must climb up. It pushes them to use all their movement abilities throughout the world from using flowmotion to run up the sides of the mountain to using Air Step to grab on the icicles for leverage. The mountain even becomes more dangerous and complicated the closer Sora gets to the top . The path becomes covered in spikes of ice or harsh vortexes of frost that the player must manipulate in order to move forward. Even the very act of having to climb the mountain again ties into this struggle
Enemies are also more dangerous. Large Bodies are replaced with their more powerful brother’s the Helmed Bodies who are far more aggressive, almost always opening with an enraged body attack in order to mow down sora. Parasol Beauties and Satyrs, the most dangerous enemies of previous worlds, now fight side by side. The Rock Troll even shows up at the beginning of the world no longer being just a mid boss but a starting enemies. And let us not forget the new enemies this world has to spare. The Frost serpents are for more than just standard enemies, they are a trial in their own right. When the Frost serpents first appear they take over the game. Unleashing an avalanche of death upon The Half Pint Trio they force the 3 musketeers on to the defense as they have no choice but to flee from the cruelty of nature on Goofy’s makeshift sled of a shield. Control is taken away from the player as they have no choice but follow the rules of the Frost Serpents who act more like dragons as they breathe flames of frostbite down on the heroes in what is perhaps the most difficult challenge in the whole game. Lastly there are the ninja nobodies. The Nobody enemies have always been presented as a more daunting challenge than the heartless. Though their numbers are smaller they make up for it with greater power. Posing abilities akin to that of fantasy heroes, as if to mock Sora and his allies. They give the player a taste of what's to come from the True Organization XIII . And the Ninjas are no different. Mirroring their master the Ninja Nobodies fight with a flurry of cruelty. They move as fast as lighting and hitting as hard as thunder bringing Sora, Donald, and Goofy to their knees with their own DM move, Reverse Thunder
The Most daunting challenge of Arendelle though would have to be the Labyrinth of ice. Created by Larxene this monstrosity exists solely to be a prison of sadism. Unlike Elsa’s castle it does not reflect the beauty of a winter paradise but instead the terrors of the season. It is a cold and lifeless maze with no real exit, designed to trap its victims until they become food for the Forces of Darkness or give in to their own madness. Even bearing the Nobody’s and the Larxene’s symbols to remind its vitamins of who really controls this world. The Only way The Half Pint Trio can escape is if they fight back. They must break the chains of helplessness and destroy the maze from within, melting the walls that keep them trapped and manipulate the very pillars of the maze to create their own freedom.
Things don’t let up in the story either. Throughout their visit to Arendelle Sora constantly tries to befriend Elsa and Anna but he is constantly impeded by Larxene. She does not wish for Sora to connect with Elsa. Instead Larxene wants to test the blooming princess of heart, to see if she is truly worthy of possessing one of the 7 pure lights. So she allows Elsa to descend into loneliness, letting her fear consume her in hopes of seeing the queen fall to darkness. And thus Sora is not allowed to act as the hero. He is constantly kept apart from Elsa, to keep him from showing her the beauty of her world and save her from her own doubts. Even Sora’s time spent with Anna, Kristoff, and Olaff is cut short by the heartless. Through Xehanort’s ever growing will the fairy tale whimsy that defines Sora’s journey begins to melt away
And yet Sora and The player are still able to endure. They overcome every challenge laid throughout their path by Larxene. And it is through these acts of endurance and defiance that both the player and Sora are able to reclaim the joy of this world. Upon conquering Larxene’s cruelty and escaping the Labyrinth The Half Pint Trio is greeted with a beautiful sight, the northern lights that illuminated the chilling winter sky. For the first time they are able to indulge in the wonder of winter. And this is where Sora begins to fall in love with the snow as he learns to play with the snowball. Using them as an instrument of his will, Sora takes the simple and joyous act of creating a giant snowball and uses it against the heartless, one shooting them as he rolls them into his snowball. Creating not only the perfect strategy against Heartless like the Helmed bodies, but a new reward for sora since the bigger the snowball the greater the synthesis item it drops. Even the player gets to join in on the winter fun with the sledding mini game. After the bone chilling chase with the Frost Serpents ends the player is rewarded with a delightful sled ride down the rest of the mountain where they not only get to have fun but are given tons of free HP Orbs and Munney.
Even though Sora’s time spent with Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf is cut short he still manages to make the moment worth it. He connects with Anna learning not only more about Elsa but manages to cement a bond between himself and Anna by relating his experiences with Riku to the relationship of Anna and Elsa. Then of course there is the time spent Fixing Olaf. Helping establish a bond with not only Kristoff and Olaf But allowing Sora to partake in the most beloved of winter traditions, Building a snowman.
Though perhaps the greatest boom Sora receives for his willingness to hold on to his ideals in the face of a looming darkness would be none other than the party member of this world, Marshmallow. Marshmallow started off as another obstacle for Sora to overcome. Born from the guilt and fear forced upon her by Larxene’s actions, Marshmallow represented all Elsa saw herself as, a monster that only pushes people away. And yet not only were the Half Pint Trio able to defeat him with their special brand of slap stick fighting BUT they grew to befriend him. By not giving up on Elsa and keeping faith in her even in her darkest moments they were able to reveal who Marshmallow and by an extension, Elsa truly were. Not monsters that hurt those close to them, but a guardian who protects others. Marshmallow becomes one of Sora’s most powerful allies possessing the raw strength equal to Beast and magical fire power on par with Jack Skeleton as he quietly literally endures the full force of a blizzard in order to forge a path for Sora,Donald, and Goofy.
Larxene acting as Xehanort’s hands works to poison the fairy tale beauty of Arendelle. She isolates Elsa for her own self interest, fills the worlds with heartless and Nobodies to spread fear, mocks Elsa’s powers through the creation of the Ice Labrinth, and most importantly of all She tries all she can to keep sora from making friends with the people of Arendelle. And yet all her attempts at roadblocking Sora fail as he endures the pain and keeps moving forward, spreading Disney joy to Anna And Elsa in spite of her actions. And it’s plain to see why Larxene fails despite being the one with all the power. Larxene and Xehanort by an extent are not willing to accept pain. They are cowards who hide in the back and let others do all the work for them. Xehanort has always manipulated people to get what he wants, makes his allies do all the dirty work while he reaps the rewards. Where As Larxene loves to lord over other people. Using whatever authority she can get her hand on to torment the weak, to make herself feel better without ever having to work on improving. And this unwillingness to bear the hardships of life is reflected in the Heartless and Nobodies they employ.
The ninja nobodies may present themselves as strong but once they begin to lose they panic. Their Desperation Move of Reverse Thunder is not like that of the nobodies Sora fought before. The previous Desperation Moves were a strong act of resolve and defiance as they used all they had to try and strike down Sora whereas the Ninja’s just sliver into themselves and create a bubble of electricity to avoid anymore pain. They’re unwilling to risk it all and fight back, choosing instead to only prolong their fate. The Ice Serpents masquerade as mighty monsters using their wings and chilly breath to present themselves as something kin to the Proud Dragons of Old but once they lose their wings they reveal their true nature. No longer fighting with pride, these frozen wretches start to live up to their namesake of serpents as they slither into the ground, attempting to attack their prey from behind like a coward. For there is no nobility in those that can not stand strong when the going gets tough. And lastly there is the Beast of the Blizzard, Skoll. The Heartless Skoll was spawned from the Darkness of a man named Han. Born the 13th son of a Royal Family, Hans was the runt of the litter. The one who was always picked on and the one without an inheritage. Since birth his life has been met with obstacles but he did not have the resolve to face it. Rather than face the hardships of life like a man he chose to cheat by stealing the two sister's kingdom from them using manipulation and force. And so his pathetic nature was reflected in his Heartless. Just like the Ninjas and Ice Sepernats beforehand Skoll gives off the impression of strength through his large body, great speed, and sharp claws. And just like the other 2 monsters from before Skoll’s strength is revealed to be nothing more than an illusion. Throughout the fight Skoll summons weaker pups, depending on others to fight for him while spends most of the battle running away, acting more like a frightened dog than a hardened hunter. Even Skoll’s design reflects his deception. Skoll does not have the complete body of a wolf instead his is nothing more than a head, a pair of claws and a tail. He has all it takes to cast the shadow of a wolf but nothing more. Most importantly of all there is Skoll’s Desperation Move, Dark Sun. When Skoll uses Dark Sun he chooses to give up. He no longer wishes to fight for himself, to pursue life in the face of pain. No he just wishes to end it all, Transforming his very body into a pale imitation of the sun. He becomes a celestial body of darkness raining down his tears of Dark Firaga and Pups upon the battlefield, buying time until he can unless a catastrophic collision, killing everyone. Of course such a cowardly attack like that would never work against those who choose to endure. Marshmallow puts his life on the line using just his bare hands to keep the Dark Sun from crashing down while Sora pushes past his limits to break it.
Despite all of Sora’s victories over Larxene in Arrendale the world ultimately ends on a bittersweet note. Anna, Elsa, and The Kingdom are saved but said safety is only temporary as Sora now knows that they are still a target for the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. If he wishes to protect their happily ever after then Sora has no choice but to face Xehanort himself. And worst of all Sora is forced to accept a heartbreaking truth, The Keyblade war is unavoidable, The True Organization is on the verge of getting their final member and he can not stop it. For this battle is the will of destiny. And it is fitting that a world about enduring would end on such a note because truthfully nobody ever has to stop enduring hardships. The universe will always have more to throw at you, life is never going to get easy, but that doesn't mean you should give up. You need to hold on to your ideals no matter what and stand up to cruelty. And that is why Sora accepts his fate and chooses to fight Master Xehanort.
