After Sora nearly ends up with Organization XIII, Master Yen Sid sends him back out to the field with Donald and Goofy in hopes Sora can gain the power to awaken three lost Keyblade wielders…and also gain his powers back in general.
Compared to the more lackadaisical openings of the previous main games, Sora has to get to work right away, and that means heading straight to meet with Hercules, who also once lost his powers. Sora, Donald, and Goofy land a bit off-course, near Thebes instead of the Colosseum, but they eventually meet Hercules. Unfortunately, he can’t offer much advice about Sora’s situation, but he also doesn’t have a lot of time to talk as Hades terrorizes Thebes and releases the mighty Titans.
But Hades isn’t the only one lurking about. Pete and Maleficent look for the Book of Prophecies, and Xizzle Burger stops by to deliver more puzzling messages to Sora.
…Why are you looking at me like that?
Okay, fine. I’ll refer to him by his real *coughfakecough* name, Xigbar. It’s obvious he knows quite a bit about Sora’s situation — and is also monitoring Maleficent and Pete. The manga does a much better job of making his scenes have the most impact since they aren’t lost amidst the game tutorials.
Another reason is that the manga appears to translate the Japanese text instead of relying too much on the localized English game script. I’ve personally had gripes with how much Square Enix punches up dialogue at times, often muddying later revelations and retcons. Xigbar has an easily-identifiable speech pattern in the game, and it is a disappointment this translation doesn’t capture his speaking style. The text differences also seem to put a slightly alternate slant on Sora’s early anxieties in the story (first page on left, start with bottom panel for comparison):
Game text: “I don’t admire one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him. You’re all just lining up to lose out. Dooming others to take the fall with ya. Oh, and you can spare me the usual party line. Yes, hearts are powerful when they’re connected. But if you put too much of that power in one place, some of those hearts might end up breaking.”
English game Sora seems to wonder who could end up with a broken heart, while manga Sora is worried about hurting his friends. Again, close but not exactly the same. It might be worth picking up the manga just to play compare-the-dialogue and see if a more literal translation helps better illustrate some of the Kingdom Hearts universe’s complexities.
Another positive for the Kingdom Hearts III manga: Phil talks! And so do other characters like Pain and Panic. While Amano continues to put in a lot of gag comedy and fourth wall breaking — a lot of which I’ve never been a big fan of — those additions make Olympus closer to its Disney self. So even though Sora is turning into a meme face in front of Yen Sid or throwing a mini-funeral for a still-alive Hercules, the world has a breath of Hercules/Olympus life Kingdom Hearts III lacked.
I would have preferred volume 1 end with Sora at least landing in the Kingdom of Corona or Toy Box, the first “real” worlds of the game and to provide a hook for volume 2. Amano’s additions improve some the original’s story fails, but the world itself lacks the thrill of meeting new Disney characters or the drama of summer vacations ending and friends being torn apart.