Editing Kingdom Hearts Dark Road

|release=[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]]/[[File:Flag of the United States.png|20px]]/[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px]]/[[File:Flag of European Union.png|20px|Europe]]/[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px]]<br>June 22, 2020<br><br>'''Offline version'''<br>[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]]/[[File:Flag of the United States.png|20px]]/[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px]]/[[File:Flag of European Union.png|20px|Europe]]/[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px]]<br>August 26, 2022

'''''Kingdom Hearts Dark Road''''' is the twelfth game set in the ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|series}}'' series. It was released on iOS, Android, and Amazon smartphone devices on June 22, 2020 globally, as part of ''[[Kingdom Hearts Union χ]]'s'' second rebranding. Now titled '''''Kingdom Hearts Union χ Dark Road''''', the app makes both games available for play. The fully completed offline version of the game was released on August 26, 2022. As of August 2024, the game has been delisted from all app stores.

Online service for the game has ended on June 17, 2021 for Japan, and June 30, 2021 for the global server. Following the 4.40 update, the game was rendered inaccessible.

 

The game was set to have its final story update in September 2021, with version 5.00; however, this update was delayed to an indeterminate date for the 2021-2022 winter season, and was delayed again until finally releasing on August 26, 2022.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2DSEkYFRh8 KINGDOM HEARTS 20th ANNIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER - Youtube]</ref> With this update, players can access most gameplay features of the online version in an offline capacity, including the ability to play through main quests and world battles, watch cutscenes in theater mode, and level up and acquire new cards through BP.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210617023334/http://api.sp.kingdomhearts.com/information/detail/75152 SE's End of Service Announcement For KHUX & KHDR]</ref>

The game was first hinted by series creator {{w|Tetsuya Nomura}} on January 22, 2020 in a Q&A, to celebrate the release of ''[[Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind]]''. He stated that it would be announced by the ''[[Kingdom Hearts Union χ]]'' team the following day.<ref>[https://twitter.com/_kingdomhearts/status/1219954323951517696?s=21 ''@_KINGDOMHEARTS'']</ref><ref>'''Tetsuya Nomura''': "We still need some time with regards to main line Kingdom Hearts, but first up the KH UX team will have a surprising announcement tomorrow." [https://www.khinsider.com/news/Nomura-discusses-Kingdom-Hearts-3-Re-Mind-new-teams-and-future-projects-in-Twitter-Q-A-16466 Translation via Goldpanner]</ref> On January 22, 2020, the ''Kingdom Hearts Union χ'' twitter posted a sketch artwork depicting a young Xehanort and Eraqus, along with other, blurred-out characters.<ref>[https://twitter.com/kh_ux_na/status/1219952888874594304 ''@kh_ux_na'': "Stay tuned for an important announcement tomorrow at 5pm PT!"]</ref>

On May 18, 2020, amid the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, Square Enix announced that the game's development would be delayed.<ref>[https://twitter.com/kh_dr_na/status/1262578807300673536 ''@kh_dr_na'': "Due to current conditions, development for KINGDOM HEARTS DARK ROAD has been delayed."]</ref>

On June 22, 2020, The ''Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]'' app was rebranded as '''''Kingdom Hearts Union χ Dark Road''''', which contains both ''Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]'' and ''Kingdom Hearts Dark Road''.<ref>[https://www.dualshockers.com/kingdom-hearts-dark-road-mobile-xehanort-union-x/ '''''dualshockers''''': Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Details, Screenshots Released]</ref>

 

 

 

 

 

 

* All of {{c|Player|khx}}'s appearances have been reworked to keep their appearance and gender ambiguous.

 

 

 

<!-- Base -9 years -->Living quietly on [[Destiny Islands]], child [[Xehanort]] and his blue-hooded mentor rest at a bonfire on the beach. The mentor believes Xehanort to be the "child of destiny", who is said to come from the Destiny Islands and able to feel what is in the hearts of others, combine hearts with another to become one, and save the world from darkness. The mentor's belief is affirmed by Xehanort's dreams, which accurately represent the mentor's previous life as {{c|Player|khx}}, and by Xehanort's shared bloodline with [[Ephemer]]. As the years pass and Xehanort grows into a young man, his mentor eventually passes away.

 

<!-- Base -2 years -->Some years later, [[Xehanort]] wakes from a recurring dream about Player, though he does not recognize anybody in it. He begins to contemplate the existence of other worlds outside his home, when he is greeted by a brown-hooded figure. Unbeknownst to him, this figure is [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]], his Heartless from the future, who tells him it is his destiny to travel to other worlds. Ansem opens a portal to [[Scala ad Caelum]], a world where Keyblade wielders are trained, and instructs Xehanort to enter. He travels through the [[corridor of darkness]], where the darkness begins to slowly infect his heart.

 

<!-- Base time period (+0) -->Two years after his arrival in Scala ad Caelum, Xehanort, now a Keyblade wielder, and his classmates [[Eraqus]], [[Urd]], [[Bragi]], [[Vor]], and [[Hermod]] are told by their master [[Odin]] that seven upper classmen - [[Heimdall]], [[Helgi]], [[Hoder]], [[Sigrun]], [[Vala]], [[Vali]], and [[Vidar]] - have gone missing while training for their [[Mark of Mastery exam]]. However, fellow lower classman [[Baldr]] has been assigned a different task, and has not been informed that his older sister Hoder is missing. While the lower classmen are far from ready, Odin tasks the youths with finding the missing seven by scouring the many worlds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Odin commands Xehanort to rid Baldr of the darkness, but Baldr can still fight - he clashes Keyblades with Hoder, knocking them both down and causing Hoder to fade away. Baldr remarks that he sees himself in Xehanort, and requests that he understand his cause: that those with pure light will coldly condemn those who have darkness, and that Xehanort must seek answers to the darkness and the unjust ways of the world. Xehanort points his Keyblade at Baldr, as if to purge his darkness, but swiftly changes his mind and kills Baldr instead. Baldr fades away, and Odin laments the loss of another one of his students.

One month later, Xehanort places flowers on eleven graves, naming his fellow lower classmen as he does so. Eraqus arrives soon after with his own flowers, and does the same. Xehanort asks about Odin, who has grown glum over recent events, but wishes for Xehanort and Eraqus to take the Mark of Mastery exam as his final students. Afterwards, Odin wishes to have them replace him, and then retire to a world other than Scala ad Caelum. Eraqus suggests playing a game of chess to lighten the mood, and the duo leave the graveyard together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<!-- Base +4 years -->Four years later, Xehanort, having just put fresh flowers on four gravestones, says his goodbyes to Eraqus and states he is going off on his own, to see what Odin has not shown them. While Eraqus is against the idea, he does not stop him, knowing that he will be back since they need to settle the score for their chess games. Xehanort then returns to Wonderland to find that the Queen of Hearts, who had forgotten him during his last visit, is still possessed by darkness as he awaits his trial.

 

<!-- Base +6 years -->Seven years later, Xehanort and Eraqus become Keyblade Masters. Eraqus, considered the "true heir", is bequeathed the Master's Defender Keyblade, while Xehanort is bequeathed the No Name Keyblade, so that he might inherit the resolve of the Lost Masters.

 

 

<!-- Base +54 years -->Fifty-four years later, at the [[Land of Departure]], Xehanort and Eraqus get into a heated argument about Xehanort's interest in the [[χ-blade]] and starting another Keyblade War. Eraqus is unable to sway Xehanort with words and attempts force, but Xehanort retaliates with darkness. Eraqus's face is scarred, and he is shocked that his old friend would be taken by darkness.

 

<!-- Base +64 years -->Sixy-four years later, Xehanort returns to the Magic Mirror and asks if the friends in his dreams truly existed at all. The Mirror states that some of them still live, and reveals the location of [[Ventus]] at the [[Keyblade Graveyard]].

 

<!-- Base +65 years -->Xehanort and Ventus, the latter with a blank stare, walk through a corridor of darkness. Xehanort reflects that these corridors are meant for spirit and emotion, not living beings - living beings would attempt to embrace the emotions, corroding their hearts with darkness, unless they wear a black coat for protection. However, Xehanort rejects this advice, believing that a strong heart is enough to survive. He recalls his mentor, who taught him of the "child of destiny who can connect their heart to others and feel what they feel". Xehanort asserts that he must embrace the emotions of the corridor, so that he might be worthy of the title.

 

Xehanort arrives with Ventus at the Land of Departure, as [[Terra]] and [[Aqua]] are training. He leaves Ventus at the door and speaks with Eraqus as they walk together down the hall. Eraqus mentions [[Xehanort's Letter|a letter that Xehanort had sent]], and forgives Xehanort for their past conflicts. Xehanort explains that he has trained Ventus for the past year, and that he thinks Ventus is the child of destiny - therefore, he requests Ventus to be trained by Eraqus, a "true heir to light", rather than someone close to darkness like himself. Ventus suddenly screams in the other room, and the two go to investigate.

 

After dropping off Ventus, Xehanort walks along a hall and speaks to Vanitas. Vanitas is glad to be rid of Ventus, but Xehanort clarifies that bringing Ventus to Eraqus was done for Ventus's sake, not Vanitas's. The two walk together down the hall, as Xehanort recounts the whereabouts of the thirteen ancient darknesses: seven are trapped within the Lost Masters, four are trapped in the data world, and two were supposedly destroyed when the world collapsed - but one survived, disguised as Ventus. Xehanort asks if Vanitas is that ancient darkness, and if he might know where the other darknesses are, since the darknesses were all once together as a whole - but Vanitas denies Xehanort's accusations. Xehanort wonders why a darkness would need to hide, and reveals that he knows Vanitas was not born from Ventus's heart, but was an outside entity that hid within him. This finally breaks Vanitas's façade, and he asks how much Xehanort knows. Xehanort returns the question, but Vanitas is unwilling to elaborate on the matter.

During battle, players have control of only Xehanort's actions. In story quests and world battles, Eraqus is always present as a [[Party members|party member]]. The player can select any one of Bragi, Hermod, Vor, or Urd as the third party member, each one bringing a unique support style to aid in battles. Whereas battles in ''Union χ'' were turn-based with the use of medals, ''Dark Road'' instead uses a real-time combat system with cards. Players can build a deck of cards (up to 30). Subtypes include attack, magic, and support, with all three additionally divided into upright and reversed cards, and split into three colors: red, blue and green. When a battle begins, the player is given five random cards - displayed in a row on the bottom - to "flick" or "tap" three at a time. The first card determines what the action will be (i.e., a standard attack or a [[Cure]] spell) while the two subsequent cards determine the efficacy - tapping three cards of the same color doubles the damage or effectiveness of the card effect. As soon as the attack is executed, the player is immediately given three new cards.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

==Worlds and characters==

{| width="100%" |

| valign="top" width="20%" |

;'''[[Destiny Islands]]''' {{note|World only appears in cutscenes}}

 

;'''[[Beast's Castle]]'''

*[[Beast]]

*[[Wardrobe]]

;'''[[Olympus Coliseum]]'''/'''[[Underworld]]'''

*[[Cerberus]]

;'''[[Enchanted Dominion]]''' {{note|World only appears in cutscenes}}

*[[Maleficent]]

;'''[[Keyblade Graveyard]]''' {{note|World only appears in cutscenes}}