The Kingdom Hearts 3 Trailer We Never Saw

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Published 2023-09-13
In 2014, a small crowd of Kingdom Hearts fans was shown an exclusive preview for Kingdom Hearts III. What they saw became the basis for both a marketing and storytelling arc years in the making…

This is the road to Cable Town. 

-- Twitter: twitter.com/YouJustGotArfed
-- Buy Me a Coffee: ko-fi.com/solidarf

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BEHIND-THE-SCENES: 

This script went through several iterations, and acts as a nice "season finale" to my first two years of videos: It is in conversation with my very first one on "Inside" + my recent piece on "Hollow Knight," features the closest thing to NPC photography you could get in a world without NPCs, and borrows from the thesis on Crash 4. 

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Featuring Guest VO from:
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– KingK: ‪@KingKlonoa‬

– ChipmunkuChan: ‪@ChipmunkuChan‬

– Scruffy: ‪@ScruffyMusic‬

– PostMesmeric: ‪@PostMesmeric‬

– ChipmunkuChan Recommendation: The Era that Changed Gaming Forever
Chip’s editing is electric, never failing to convey heaps of information while speeding through cool visuals, sick transitions, and a fascinating script. Their video on the clear craze that gripped console / hardware design in the early 2000s is a must-watch:
   • The Aesthetic that DOMINATED the 2000s  

– KingK Recommendation: The Duality of Dream Drop Distance
You can’t go wrong with any of the KH retrospectives— and while the KH3 one is a personal favorite, I have to recommend DDD because it’s so uniquely structured. It is everything I love about video essays. 
   • The Duality of Dream Drop Distance  

 – PostMesmeric Recommendation: Kingdom Hearts III and Fulfillment
PostMesmeric was the first to really nail how I felt about KH3. His piece is both a sharp reflection on the long wait for the game, and self-reflection on how complicated finally having it to process it could be. The result is a critique that is equal parts sincere, empathetic, and thorough.
   • Kingdom Hearts III and Fulfillment | ...  

– Scruffy Recommendation: Musical Maps in A Short Hike
In addition to being an insightful essayist, Scruffy is a fantastic musician. Their sound design videos are some of my favorites on here — and their "A Short Hike" piece has especially stayed with me. Also: It features the game’s composer!
   • Musical Maps in A Short Hike (feat. M...  

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Art by:
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– Tophatting: twitter.com/toppiegames 

– Zephyr: twitter.com/khizephyr 

– KHWaterBlock: twitter.com/KHWaterBlock 
[Cable Town Minecraft Map: www.planetminecraft.com/project/cable-town-kingdom…

– Namico: twitter.com/Namico_x 
[Dream Code for Namico's ACNH Island: DA-9190-5681-1391]

-- CableTownArt: twitter.com/cabletownart

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Works Cited / Footage and Info
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KH-Vids: www.kh-vids.net 

World of Longplays: youtube.com/@worldoflongplays?si=Glbw509Gw_yVv0_f

Recap! Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Launch Event by Cecily @ KH Insider
www.khinsider.com/news/Recap-Kingdom-Hearts-HD-2-5…

KHI Render of KH3 Footage by Cecily @ KH Insider:
www.khinsider.com/news/khi-rendition-of-kh3-footag…

“Nomura's favorite world is where Kingdom Hearts III's last battle will take place,” Translation by xionskeyblade @ KH13: www.kh13.com/news/nomuras-favorite-world-is-where-…

“What New Game Hype Does to Your Brain” by Daryl Talks Games: 
   • What New Game Hype Does To Your Brain  

“The Ecstasy of Influence” by Jonathan Lethem: harpers.org/archive/2007/02/the-ecstasy-of-influen…

“Kingdom Hearts 3 - Cable Town Recreated in Minecraft!” by TheGamersJoint:
   • Kingdom Hearts 3 - Cable Town Recreat...  

“KINGDOM HEARTS III - Exploring Scala ad Caelum [Out of Bounds]” by 13th Vessel:
   • KINGDOM HEARTS III - Exploring Scala ...  

“KINGDOM HEARTS III - Xehanort and Eraqus’ Classroom [Room Mod]” by 13th Vessel:
   • KINGDOM HEARTS III - Xehanort and Era...  

“Kingdom Hearts 3 - Exploring Scala ad Caelum Up Close - Hidden Details” by TheGamersJoint:
   • Kingdom Hearts 3 - Exploring Scala Ad...  

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Footage and / or Mods by: 
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– 13th Vessel: youtube.com/@13thVessel
– Everglow: youtube.com/@everglowKH
– TheGamersJoint youtube.com/@TheGamersJoint
– Sarah Key: youtube.com/@SarahKey

(Plus Soraalam1, LimitForm72, HMK, DMLX Gaming, Shleb)

All Comments (21)
  • @ConLinArts
    You can actually still play Dark Road not just view the cutscenes, they released it as a full yet somewhat short game along with the cutscenes of UX.
  • @LazerzZ
    So glad YouTube dropped this on my home page, this was a fantastic documentary on something I recall experiencing so vividly whilst watching, yet feels like a whole different life compared to the post KH3 world. Loved this!
  • @ciennaquidd6486
    this is such a fantastic video. recording these sorts of fan speculation moments are so important cause they get forgotten so fast
  • @gage1388
    Great video man! Hearing the words Cable Town took me way back. The buildup to KH3 was so fun! I still can't believe it's out now and has been for years, and Sora somehow made it to Smash. Kingdom Hearts is just, so great!
  • @SSlash
    Ever since first hearing about it, I've always hoped someone secretly recorded it and would share it to the world somewhere
  • @treysandbothe3748
    Bro, you can't keep dropping bangers like this; you're gonna hurt your back from carrying all of YouTube.
  • @connorwithanor613
    I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an amazing and thoughtful recollection of gaming fandom history. I’m getting teary eyed just watching the end sequence.
  • @TalysAlankil
    this is brilliant! it's a part of the KH3 promo cycle i find fascinating and i'm glad someone made a deep dive into it
  • @johnhorton1527
    It's kinda sad we've never got to see what that Kingdom Hearts 3 Trailer that was shown in 2014
  • @peaceful7610
    I couldnt even tell this wasnt made from a 100k+ youtube channel, great job man, youll make it there some day
  • @orngcreator6115
    Super underrated channel. Glad the algorithm sent me your way friend. Gonna start going through some of your backlog of videos.
  • @PDSRoxas
    I went to the 2.5 promo event in London, and I do remember them showing a KH3ish trailer with the cable town bits. I don't remember much from the actual trailer, but in my mind there were sketches in the trailer. One thing I will say is that at least the Scala Field theme could be heard anytime in the base game. The battle theme however, lasts for all of 30 seconds, and then gets replaced with the boss theme - and that battle theme is a banger. I hope that we see more of the world in the next game, since the ending of MoM mentions MM heading there.
  • @KC-tw1wd
    I feel very validated when you said the pre-KH3 era is very different from the pre-KH4 one. It does feel very different. The hype was real back then
  • @Valderami
    Great Video! I often found myself wondering about that fabled missing trailer too, so this really appealed to me also shoutout to the KingK jumpscare, a surprise to be sure but a welcome one!
  • @Moxaths
    “If you can imagine a world, believe in it...and dive in."
  • @PrinceJ2314
    Ive never even heard of cable town. Awesome video man. Im really hoping we will see more of it or even scala in future kh games
  • @FrancisL4D
    Cut explored worlds have ironicly happend in kh1 & 2 aswell. In the first trailer for kh1 you can breafly see sora run in the dinsey castle corridor. In the first kh2 trailer Sora & gang meet org 13 in the hollow bastian castle from kh1. Makes me wonder what was originaly planned for the plot in disney castle & The return to the castle of hollow bastian?
  • @curiouscat5708
    This is a very nice video! You did a wonderful job on this one, this whole thing was very fascinating and enjoyable. I also like that you acknowledged it was only six years. I wouldn't blame anyone who says 15 years either, because for them it felt that long since they probably wanted to get their hands on Kingdom Hearts 3 the moment they had completed Kingdom Hearts 2. Again, phenomenal video!