Another side, Another story...
Another side, Another story... is a "secret movie" seen after the ending of Kingdom Hearts if the player accomplishes certain tasks. The concept was later expanded in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix's secret ending, "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]".
Requirements
To see the movie, the player must have completed the Hades Cup together, found all 99 Dalmatians, and sealed every Keyhole, including 100 Acre Wood's Keyhole.
Synopsis
Another side, Another story...
During a storm, a hooded Roxas walks through the Dark City, located in the The World That Never Was, towards the Memory's Skyscraper. He stops, looking up at the screens, and then notices many Neoshadows rising up from the ground, surrounding him. The camera moves to a blindfolded Riku, in a Black Coat, on top of Memory's Skyscraper. To defend himself, Roxas pulls out the Oblivion and Oathkeeper Keyblades. Riku looks to the sky, where clouds part to reveal a meteor shower. A purple, glowing heart shape surrounds Roxas, reminiscent of the Heartless symbol, but without the crossing thorns. Riku takes off his blindfold. Roxas asks a question: "Where's Sora?"
The screen blacks out, and suddenly, many quotes fly by, ending with "We'll go together". A flash, then the words "Kingdom Hearts" appears. It fades to a beach where an early version of an older Kairi looks at a meteor falling near Destiny Islands. The meteor is actualy Sora and Riku comming home after their battle with Xemnas in the end of Kingdom Hearts 2.
Deep Dive
The video starts with a flash of Sora standing in the Crossroads looking up at the sky, followed by a black screen with the words "Utter Silence". The camera zooms backwards out of something that we see as a message in a bottle on the Dark Meridian, with the quotes "A fragmented tale," "A world without you," and "The eyes will close" appearing on screen. We see a shot of the Dark Meridian. Then, nearby, Roxas arrives via a Corridor of Darkness. One eye is briefly shown, glowing yellow, and he walks forward. The screen gets fuzzy and blacks out, showing another quote: "Something so natural."
The screen cuts to the Dark City, while Roxas walks slowly towards the Memory's Skyscraper in the pouring rain. He is surrounded by hundreds of Neoshadows while holding Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The next scenes involve Roxas engaging the Heartless, easily destroying three. The screen blanks as letters and kanji move like a wheel and form "The memory beyond." Roxas engages the horde of Neoshadows, ripping them apart with his Keyblades, using all of his limbs to do so(as shown when he kicks a neoshadow away from him). At one point, several Neoshadows jump high in the air. Roxas notices this, retreats a bit, and jumps high into the air.
He tears apart the Heartless close to him, and then throws Oathkeeper to destroy four Neoshadows above him. Once the Oathkeeper is back in his hand, be backflips up to the porch of Memory's Skyscraper, landing in a right-handed stance with his left sword out (It is interesting and rather comical to note that Roxas turns almost 180 degrees from a right-handed stance to a left-handed stance(with the right sword forward) in an instant), perhaps thinking or acknowledging that the Heartless horde is endless.
Roxas looks up at the screens of the skyscraper. The screen blanks again, showing the phrase "Something so simple." Roxas sees Riku looking down at him. Roxas is shown to smirk, and in an impressive and impossible demonstration of free-running skills, jumps up to the side of the building, and begins running up the wall. The heartless already there as well as new ones that rise out of the windows in his wake follow him, as more try to cut him off ahead. The screen blanks and the quote "Where's Sora?" and "We must find him" as well as the numeral XIII are shown. In a break in the Heartless in front of him, Roxas hurls Oblivion at Riku, who chooses precisely that moment to leap off the roof.
Oblivion easily cuts through the Neoshadows on its way to Riku. The screen blanks as the number 12 "[Ansem's other report]" and "A creation born of ignorance" is shown. Riku catches Oblivion as three Neoshadows leap down after him. The screen blanks as the number 11 is shown. There is an arrow that points from the last two quotes to "Behind the Darkness =/= Door to the Light." The two Keyblade wielders close in on each other as the numeral X appears, as well as the quotes "The secret place "His voice... It's left me." "This time... I'll fight.". These are to the right of the quotes shown behind number 12.
Also in this scene, if you look closely, you can see Roxas holding the kingdom key in his right hand as he passes Riku, who is holding Oblivion (Another intriguing and comical mistake, Riku seems to be facing outward at first, with the Oblivion pointed away from Roxas, and then when they pass is seen to be facing inward, having to move Oblivion as they pass each other, then outward again when they've passed). Roxas is seen either continuing up or trying to turn around on the screen. Scenes from the first video flash, as well as the number 9 and the quotes, "A world between = A forgotten world" and "The gathering" appear to be below #12's quotes. Previous scenes continue flashing as numerals VIII and the quotes "The third enemy = Nobody "Who is Nobody, you ask? They are the nonexistent ones..." " appear (and seem to be below number 9's quotes). Numeral VII and "What took you so long Kairi?" and "Can we do it? Against that?" appear below and to the right of #8's quotes.
The Dark Meridian is briefly shown with Roxas walking towards a hooded figure on a rock, the camera getting fuzzy at the end. After several more clips, during which appear Heartless "We have come for you, my liege." "You are the source of all Heartless.", the number 6, [The Thirteenth Order], Metamorphosis, "Sora?" "Sora... why?" "Your Highness! But why?", the number 5, "change" "the third key", the number 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 was meaningless after all.", the number 3, Paradise, "We'll go together." , and lastly the numeral II, King Mickey is in an Organization XIII coat is shown flipping through the air and landing on the rooftop of the Memory's Skyscraper. (In the flashes, we see Riku killing a large number of Heartless with the Oblivion on his way down to the ground.)
"Kingdom Hearts" then appears on the now black screen. The kanji for "I've been to see him." appears at the bottom of the screen. Back on the Dark Meridian, Roxas finishes his walk towards the figure on the rock. A hooded Xemnas turns to Roxas and speaks to him (his voice is not heard, but his mouth is seen moving). The quote comes on the screen "He looks just like you" (which just so happens to be what he said). Sora is then shown flying over a vast expanse of ocean, seemingly asleep. The screen again blacks out and the final quote, "Everything is coming back to me, the true...", appears, before fading out.
Characters
Enemies
Quotes
- "This time I'll fight."
- "Behind the Darkness."
- "This is the world in its true form."
- "You are the source of all Heartless."
- "Maybe our journey meant nothing after all."
- "Who is Nobody you ask? They are the non-existent ones."
- "Is this the answer you've been looking for?"
- "What is this place?"
- "It's not over yet."
- "We'll go together."
Application to subsequent games
"Another side, Another story..." was meant as more of a concept trailer, showing whatever ideas Nomura had for a sequel at the time; it is not meant to be taken as an actual part of the storyline for the games. 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 is Riku.
The quote "The Third Enemy = Nobody" implies that the Heartless and the Unversed are the First and Second Enemies. Although a flashback in Birth by Sleep depicts several Neoshadows before the appearance of the Unversed, the Heartless did not begin attacking the Realm of Light until the period of Kingdom Hearts. Therefore, it's unclear whether the Heartless are considered the First or Second Enemy. However, it ,ay be true that the Emblem Heartless are the second enemy. Furthermore, the quote "A world between = A forgotten world. The Gathering." is a possible reference to the scene of the same name found at the end of Kingdom Hearts II, the teaser for Birth by Sleep.
Except for some minor differences, such as Mickey appearing at the ending, the entire Deep Dive version of the video is the ending to Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days where Roxas confronts Riku at Memory's Skyscraper.
Trivia
- Interestingly, Roxas was depicted with glowing yellow eyes, similar to the Heartless.
- When the video shows the countdown from 13, it stops at 2 instead of 1 just like in old movie openings.
- When Roxas throws the Oblivion to Riku and they pass each other, if one looks closely, Roxas is now wielding the Kingdom Key, when he should be wielding Oathkeeper.
Video
Another Side, Another Story | Another Side, Another Story [deep dive] |
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Kingdom Hearts Final Mix |
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Additional enemies |
Bosses |
Arch Behemoth - Destroyed Behemoth - Red Armor - Sneak Army - Unknown |
Enemy Heartless |
Black Ballade - Chimera - Gigas Shadow - Grand Ghost - Jet Balloon - Missile Diver - Neoshadow - Stealth Soldier - Pot Scorpion - Pink Agaricus - Sniperwild |
Additional weapons |
Diamond Dust - One-Winged Angel - Fantasista - Meteor Strike - Mighty Shield - Seven Elements |
Additional music |
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix - Additional Tracks - Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete |
Archives |
Additional accessories - Additional abilities - Another side, another story... [deep dive] - Artwork - Enemy renders |