Castle Oblivion
Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!
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Castle Oblivion, often abbreviated as "C.O." by members of Organization XIII, is a world introduced in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. It is located within the Realm Between, though a digital copy of the world appears in Kingdom Hearts coded. It was governed by Marluxia, and consists of thirteen floors and twelve basements. After Marluxia's defeat, the Organization abandoned the castle as they lacked the manpower to keep it operational. Hidden within the castle is the Chamber of Waking, where Ventus sleeps; no one but Aqua can locate the Chamber, as she was the one who locked the castle to keep Ventus safe.
Journal entries
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
- Sora's Tale I
Our friends may be here...It was that thought that led us to Castle Oblivion, where cards rule all.
A mysterious man gave Sora a card, and using it took us to Traverse Town—of all places!
It turned out the town was just a figment of our own remembrances, the first world of many that lie in Sora's heart.
And so our journey through these worlds begins.
Settings and Areas
The interior of Castle Oblivion consists of simplistic white marble architecture with infrequent plinths, wall-carving, and sculptures made with a flower motif. It is divided into many White Rooms which are shaped by the memories of those exploring them through the use of World cards and Map cards; though this second part may be due to the Organization's experiments with memory. Between each of the White Rooms is an Entrance Hall (入口ホール Iriguchi Hōru ) and Exit Hall (出口ホール Deguchi Hōru ) for each of the thirteen floors and twelve basements. The Entrance Halls contain "World Warps" which allow quick travel between the floors. The castle also contains a Pod Room (ポッドルーム Poddo Rūmu ), housing the pod within which Sora, Donald, and Goofy were put in hibernation; it is located on the thirteenth floor.
The thirteenth floor and the first basement each having a meeting room the Organization use; though only the top floor has a way to monitor the other floors, via a crystal ball. Naminé is kept in the top floor meeting room. The basement meeting room is dimly lit, and usually where Zexion can be found. Vexen additionally has a lab of some sort, where he was working on the replica project. Marluxia is also fought in sort of pocket dimension, where he freely shapes it to suit his needs; Sora seals the entrance, causing it to disappear.
In Kingdom Hearts Re:coded the interior of the castle is five separate white rooms modified to match the basics layouts of Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, Agrabah and Hollow Bastion; images from each world appear in poster-esque fashion on the walls.
Data-Sora battles Data-Roxas in the Station of Sorrow (悲しみの園 Kanashimi no En ), a platform of stained glass disconnected from the rest of the world, reminiscent of the Stations of Dive to the Heart.
Area Map in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded |
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The interior is implied to be incredibly vast, to the point one would get lost in it, as was the intention of Aqua; the Organization compensate by using Dark Corridors. Axel has complained that searching the castle is next to impossible, stating it's "like counting grains of dust in a room of sneezing people".
Story
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Castle Oblivion was originally the Land of Departure. After the events at the Keyblade Graveyard, Aqua brought a comatose Ventus to the Land of Departure, which had been destroyed in a storm of darkness by Master Xehanort. In order to keep Ventus safe, Aqua follows Eraqus's prior instructions to seal the world's Keyhole with his Keyblade and recreate it as a labyrinth that only she could navigate, using a means devised by prior guardians. She leaves Ventus in the castle's newly-formed Chamber of Waking and promises to bring Terra back with her before waking him up. As Aqua leaves to search for Terra, she looks back on her transformed home.
Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
The castle is eventually discovered by Xemnas of Organization XIII, who decides to convert it into a second headquarters for the Organization. It is intended to be a place to research memories, an important topic to the Nobodies of the Organization, who have only their memories with which to form personalities. Xemnas sends Xigbar and Xaldin to recruit more members for the Organization, as they need a large group in order to run the castle. Despite rumors among the Organization that Xemnas intends to locate the Chamber of Waking, to complement the Chamber of Repose built under Hollow Bastion, they never do.
Eventually, a strange Nobody named Naminé appears in the castle and is found by the Organization. She soon becomes the center of their research, due to her strange abilities of memory manipulation. In order to further research, pods are developed that can be used to piece together memories. Xemnas entrusts the castle and Naminé to the neophyte Marluxia, but the latter soon plots to use this power in a bid to seize control over the Organization. While Marluxia and his associates, Larxene and Axel, control the top half of the castle, the senior members Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion control the basements.
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
After defeating Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and restoring the damaged worlds, Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy find themselves in a grassy field with the King's dog, Pluto. They follow Pluto along the path to Castle Oblivion, and as soon as they enter the castle, they forget all of their skills and are forced to rely upon the castle's memory-based card system. Although Marluxia and Larxene tell them their memory loss is simply the nature of the castle, it is revealed that the mysterious girl Naminé is actually the one reshaping Sora's memories, so that Marluxia can use Sora as a puppet against Xemnas. The scheme fails thanks to the meddling of Axel (who was actually on orders from Xemnas and Saïx to rid the Organization of traitors), who frees Naminé, and Marluxia and Larxene are destroyed at Sora's hand. Sora then uses one of Xemnas's pods so that Naminé can restore his memories, and is eventually moved to Twilight Town.
Meanwhile, Sora's friend Riku awakens from the darkness within the lowest basement of Castle Oblivion, where he faces the remaining darkness of "Ansem". Though he initially sets out to destroy the indelible darkness in his heart, with the help of DiZ, Naminé, and King Mickey, he is able to eventually embrace both the light and the dark, achieving balance. The three basement members, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion seek to recruit Riku in order to counter Marluxia's use of Sora, but Riku denies their requests and vanquishes them. Riku eventually defeats the Ansem in his heart, and decides not to have Naminé seal it away completely; instead, he sets out on the "road to dawn" in order to help while Sora is sleeping.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
After members of Organization XIII are sent to Castle Oblivion, Roxas learns from Demyx and Xigbar on Day 24 that the members assigned to Castle Oblivion have been annihilated.
On Day 255, Axel went in Castle Oblivion to get rid of any evidence of the Organization's presence as the castle would no longer be used as a research facility/second headquarters. Xion goes to Castle Oblivion on the same day to seek answers about her existence. Axel tries to stop her, but his efforts are futile.
On Day 296, when Roxas learns from Axel that Xion was born in Castle Oblivion, he becomes determined to investigate the place for himself. The next day, Roxas was assigned to go there and hunt down the impostor. Roxas used the opportunity to investigate Castle Oblivion. Axel chose to tag along claiming that he knows the place better than anyone else in a black coat. However, barely has Roxas walked in the door when he is overcome by a strange weakness and passes out entirely, due to how close he physically was to Sora and Ventus.[1]
During conversations between Axel and Saïx, Saïx asks Axel if he has found the Chamber of Waking, which Axel denies. Axel is sent various times by Xemnas to find the room, showing Xemnas's extreme determination to find the Chamber of Waking, yet he never succeeds, due to Aqua's previous actions.
Kingdom Hearts II
Roxas briefly sees the outside of Castle Oblivion in his final dreams, coinciding with Sora regaining the corresponding memories.
Kingdom Hearts coded
After defeating Sora's Heartless and returning to the data worlds, Data-Sora enters a data version of Castle Oblivion. He has meetings with the mysterious cloaked man, as well as various figures from Sora's memories. As the real Sora did, Data-Sora uses World Cards to traverse the castle. One notable feature of this incarnation of Castle Oblivion is that the White Rooms do not change form completely; the design remains like the rest of the castle, although the shape of the room differs. Pictures of areas from the worlds are displayed on the walls. Near the end of the story, he meets Data-Naminé, who explains the reason for his existence.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Ventus continues to sleep within the Chamber of Waking, following the end of Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam. Upon Sora's return to Traverse Town, he smiles from Sora's happiness.
Kingdom Hearts III
After being brought back to the Realm of Light by Sora, Aqua immediately sets off to find Castle Oblivion in order to free Ventus. Accompanied by Sora, Donald, and Goofy, Aqua uses the Master's Defender Keyblade to unlock Castle Oblivion's Keyhole, which reverts it back to the Land of Departure.
Characters
Enemies
Heartless
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Nobodies
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Other
Other appearances
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
The Transport to Remembrance has the same aesthetic as the halls of Castle Oblivion.
Trivia
- The need for the card system in Castle Oblivion is unknown. Although Marluxia claims that they are simply part of the castle, he also claims that the trademark memory loss was due to the castle's influence as well, when in actuality it was Naminé's doing.
- In the manga, the monitors through which the Organization watches Sora are "Nomura-brand", a reference to Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series.
- The Castle Oblivion logo depicts stairways that resemble those of M.C. Escher's Relativity.
- The sequence when Aqua transforms Castle Oblivion back into the Land of Departure uses a technique called Projection Mapping. This technique is used on the castles of many Disney Parks for their nighttime shows.
Notes and references
- ^ Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania, Interviewer: "Why did Roxas faint in Castle Oblivion on Day 297?" / Tetsuya Nomura: "Because he had gotten to close to both Sora and Ventus, his 'real self'." Translation via Lissar.
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories |
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Characters |
Party members |
Sora - Riku - Donald Duck - Goofy - Mickey Mouse Aladdin - Ariel - Jack Skellington - Peter Pan - Beast |
Summons |
Simba - Genie - Cloud - Dumbo - Bambi - Tinker Bell - Mushu |
Antagonists |
Ansem Organization XIII Marluxia - Lexaeus - Larxene - Vexen - Zexion - Axel - Riku Replica Villains Hades - Jafar - Ursula - Oogie Boogie - Captain Hook - Maleficent |
Non-playable characters |
Aerith - Alice - Ansem the Wise - Belle - Card Soldiers - Cave of Wonders Guardian - Cheshire Cat - Cid - Dark Figure - Dr. Finkelstein - Eeyore - Flounder - Geppetto - Hercules - Iago - Jasmine - Jiminy Cricket - Kairi - Moogles - Naminé - Owl - Philoctetes - Piglet - Pinocchio - Pluto - Queen of Hearts - Rabbit - Roo - Sally - Sebastian - Selphie - Squall Leonhart - Tidus - Tigger - Wakka - Wendy - White Rabbit - Winnie the Pooh - Yuffie |
Locations |
Worlds |
Traverse Town - Agrabah - Olympus Coliseum - Wonderland - Monstro - Halloween Town - Atlantica - Neverland - 100 Acre Wood - Hollow Bastion - Twilight Town - Destiny Islands - Castle Oblivion |
Terms |
Attack Card - Card break - Cards - Enemy Card - Friend Card - Gimmick Card - Item Card - Keyblade - Wayfinder - Magic Card - Map Card - Memory - Pod - Premium Cards - Reload Card - Replica - Sleight - Special Card - Summon Card - World Cards - The End |
Music |
Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete - Simple and Clean |
Archives |
Artwork - Bosses - Enemies - Keyblades - Removed content |
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days |
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Characters |
Party members |
Roxas - Axel - Demyx - Larxene - Lexaeus - Luxord - Marluxia - Saïx - Vexen - Xaldin - Xemnas - Xigbar - Xion - Zexion |
Secret characters |
Donald Duck - Goofy - King Mickey - Riku - Sora |
Non-playable characters |
Abu - Aladdin - Ansem the Wise - Beast - Belle - Captain Hook - Card Soldiers - Carpet - Cave of Wonders Guardian - Cheshire Cat - Cogsworth - Dark Figure - Doorknob - Dr. Finkelstein - Genie - Hayner - Hercules - Jack Skellington - Jasmine - Kairi - Lock, Shock, and Barrel - Lumière - Moogle - Mr. Smee - Naminé - Olette - Pence - Pete - Philoctetes - Queen of Hearts - Tinker Bell - White Rabbit - Zero |
Locations |
Worlds |
Agrabah - Beast's Castle - Castle Oblivion - Destiny Islands - Halloween Town - Neverland - Olympus Coliseum - The World That Never Was - Twilight Town - Wonderland |
Places |
The Other Twilight Town |
Terms |
Heart - Heartless - Keyblade - Kingdom Hearts - Mission Mode - Nobody - Organization XIII - Organization XIII Device - Replica - Replica Program - Roxas's Diary - Sea-salt ice cream - The End |
Music |
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack - Sanctuary |
Archives |
Rings - Artwork - Bosses - Enemies - Keyblades - Other Weapons - Removed content |
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep |
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Characters |
Party members |
Terra - Ventus - Aqua - Lingering Will Prince Phillip - Mickey Mouse - Hercules - Zack - Experiment 626 |
Antagonists |
Xehanort - Vanitas - Braig - Terra-Xehanort Maleficent - Lady Tremaine - Anastasia and Drizella - Lucifer - The Queen - Magic Mirror - Gantu - Experiment 221 - Hades - Ice Colossus - Captain Hook - Captain Dark |
Non-playable characters |
Aeleus - Ansem the Wise - Aurora - Captain Justice - Chip and Dale - Cinderella - Crocodile - Daisy Duck - Dark Figure - Dilan - Donald Duck - Dr. Jumba Jookiba - Enchanted Brooms - Eraqus - Even - Fairy Godmother - Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather - Goofy - Grand Councilwoman - Grand Duke - Horace Horsecollar - Huey, Dewey, and Louie - Ienzo - Isa - Jaq - Kairi - Kairi's Grandma - Lea - Lost Boys - Maleficent's Goons - Maleficent's Raven - Merlin - Minnie Mouse - Moogle - Peter Pan - Philoctetes - Pluto - The Prince - Prince Charming - Rabbit - Riku - Scrooge McDuck - Seven Dwarfs - Mr. Smee - Snow White - Sora - Tigger - Tinker Bell - Vanitas Remnant - Winnie the Pooh - Yen Sid |
Locations |
Worlds |
Land of Departure - Enchanted Dominion - Castle of Dreams - Dwarf Woodlands - Destiny Islands - Radiant Garden - Olympus Coliseum - Disney Town - Deep Space - Mirage Arena - Neverland - Mysterious Tower - Keyblade Graveyard - Castle Oblivion - Realm of Darkness |
Places |
Dive to the Heart - 100 Acre Wood - Chamber of Waking |
Terms |
Bequeathing - Blank Points - Keyblade - Keyblade Armor - Keyblade Glider - Keyblade Master - Keyblade War - Kingdom Hearts - Mark of Mastery exam - Million Dreams Award - Princesses of Heart - The End - Unversed |
Gameplay terms |
Arena Mode - Command Board - Command Style - D-Link - Deck Commands - Shotlock - Special Command |
Music |
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack - Simple and Clean |
Archives |
Artwork - Bosses - Enemies - Keyblades - Removed content |
Kingdom Hearts coded |
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Characters |
Party members |
Data-Sora Cloud - Hercules - Donald Duck - Goofy |
Antagonists |
Maleficent - Pete - Sora's Heartless |
Non-playable characters |
Aladdin - Alice - Card Soldier - Cave of Wonders Guardian - Cerberus - Cheshire Cat - Chip and Dale - Cid - Data-Naminé - Data-Riku - Data-Roxas - Hades - Huey, Dewey, and Louie - Iago - Jafar - Jasmine - Jiminy Cricket - Mickey Mouse - Moogle - Philoctetes - Pluto - Queen of Hearts - Rock Titan - Selphie - Squall Leonhart - The Peddler - Tidus - Wakka - White Rabbit - Yuffie |
Locations |
Worlds |
Disney Castle - Datascape - Dive to the Heart - Destiny Islands - Traverse Town - Wonderland - Olympus Coliseum - Agrabah - Hollow Bastion - Castle Oblivion |
Terms |
Bug Blox - Command Matrix - Datascape - Debug Ability - Ending Card - Gear Matrix - Hero's License - Keyblade - Keyhole - Mickey's Letters - Questploration - Stat Matrix - The End - World Card |
Music |
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack - Simple and Clean |
Archives |
Artwork - Bosses - Items - Removed content |
Kingdom Hearts III |
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Characters |
Party members |
Sora - Donald Duck - Goofy - Riku - Aqua Hercules - Woody - Buzz Lightyear - Rapunzel - Eugene Fitzherbert - James P. Sullivan - Mike Wazowski - Marshmallow - Jack Sparrow - Baymax Mickey Mouse - Kairi - Ventus - Lea - Roxas - Xion |
Link system |
Meow Wow - Wreck-It Ralph - Simba - Ariel - Stitch |
Antagonists |
Real Organization XIII (Seekers of Darkness) Master Xehanort - Young Xehanort - Terra-Xehanort - Ansem, Seeker of Darkness - Xemnas - Vanitas - Xigbar - Saïx - Luxord - Marluxia - Larxene - Dark Riku - Xion Vexen - Demyx - Replica Xehanort Villains Maleficent - Pete - Hades - Rock Titan - Ice Titan - Lava Titan - Tornado Titan Mother Gothel - Randall Boggs - Hans - Davy Jones - Kraken - Cutler Beckett - Dark Baymax Other Anti-Aqua |
Non-playable characters |
Seven Guardians of Light - New Seven Hearts Aced - Aeleus - Air Droids - Angelic Amber - Anna - Ansem the Wise - Apollo - Athena - Beasts & Bugs - Boo - Bouncy Pets - CDA Agent - Chip and Dale - Chirithy - Daisy Duck - Dark Figure - Dilan - Elizabeth Swann - Elsa - Ephemer - Eraqus - Even - Fred - Gigas - Go Go Tomago - Gopher - Green Army Men - Gula - Hamm - Hayner - Hector Barbossa - Hermes - Hiro Hamada - Honey Lemon - Huey, Dewey, and Louie - Ienzo - Invi - Ira - Isa - Jiminy Cricket - Joshamee Gibbs - Kristoff - Lingering Will - Little Green Men - Lumpy - Luxu - The Master of Masters - Maximus - Megara - Merlin - Minnie Mouse - Moogle - Nameless Star - Naminé - Olaf - Olette - Pascal - Patchwork Animals - Pegasus - Pence - Piglet - Philoctetes - Pluto - Rabbit - Remy - Rex - Riku Replica - Roo - Sarge - Scrooge McDuck - Supreme Smasher - Sven - Terra - Tia Dalma - Tigger - Wasabi - William Turner - Winnie the Pooh - Yen Sid - Yozora - Zeus |
Locations |
Worlds |
Olympus - Dark World - Mysterious Tower - Disney Castle - Radiant Garden - Twilight Town - Toy Box - Kingdom of Corona - Monstropolis - Arendelle - The Caribbean - San Fransokyo - 100 Acre Wood - Destiny Islands - Castle Oblivion / Land of Departure - Keyblade Graveyard - The Final World - Scala ad Caelum - Quadratum |
Terms |
Alba & Ater - Ansem's Code - Black Box - Datascape - Dream Eater - Heartless - Keyblade - Keyblade Master - Keyblade War - Kingdom Hearts - New Seven Hearts - Nobody - Port Royal - Secret Reports - Subject X - Unversed - Verum Rex - Yozora |
Gameplay terms |
Armor Mode - Attractions - Battlegate - Black Pearl - Classic Kingdom - Flowmotion - Formchange - Gigas - Glossary - Gummiphone - Gummi Ship - Keyblade Forge - Leviathan - Lucky Emblems - Make Your Mark - Memory Archive - Moogle Shop - Link - Shotlock - Situation Command - Tech Points - χ3 |
Music |
Don't Think Twice - Face My Fears - Kingdom Hearts - III, II.8, Unchained χ & Union χ [Cross] - Original Soundtrack - Unnamed tracks |
Archives |
Accessories - Armor - Artwork - DLC - Enemies - Items - Keyblades - Weapons - Removed content |
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory |
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Characters |
Party members |
Kairi - Sora - Roxas - Aqua - Riku Donald Duck - Goofy - Axel - Xion - Terra - Ventus - Meow Wow - Komory Bat - Mickey Mouse Hercules - Aladdin - Ariel - Peter Pan - Beast - Fa Mulan - Simba - Stitch |
Antagonists |
Xehanort - Ansem, Seeker of Darkness - Xemnas - Maleficent |
Non-playable characters |
Aeleus - Ansem the Wise - Even - Fairy Godmother - Ienzo - Nameless Star - Terra-Xehanort - Yen Sid |
Locations |
Worlds |
Mysterious Tower - Radiant Garden - The Final World |
Terms |
An Oath to Return - Another Key - Key Art - Keyblade - Museum - Music Stage - Rhythm Points - Story Scene - The End - VS Battle - World Tour |
Music |
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory - Special Disc - Unnamed tracks |
Archives |
Artwork - Bosses - Enemies - Items - Trophy - Songs |
- Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories worlds
- Kingdom Hearts II worlds
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days worlds
- Kingdom Hearts coded worlds
- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep worlds
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance worlds
- Kingdom Hearts III worlds
- Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory worlds
- Castle Oblivion
- Realm Between
- Datascape