The opening alone of the final Re: Mind trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3 gives fans a lot to be excited about. The original Final Fantasy gang (the characters that appeared in KH1 and KH2) will make their triumphant return when the DLC drops.
The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee (the official name of the aforementioned group of Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts) was absent from KH3 initially. Nomura and his team had removed them, and the rest of the Final Fantasy cast to keep as much of Kingdom Hearts 3’s attention focused on the original characters of the game such as Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
However, the new trailer confirms the return of Leon and the gang. Riku talks with Aerith and the others over the fact that Sora is missing, explaining that no matter how hard he and his friends look, they can’t seem to find him. The scene implies that Leon's group will assist Sora’s friends in finding him. How active a role they’ll play remains to be seen. None of the characters are strangers to traveling to other worlds, so they could actively help out. Or, and this is a more likely option, they’ll stay in Radiant Guardian and assist the same way Ienzo and his fellow apprentices did.
While the trailer did confirm that at least Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith were coming back, Cloud and Sephiroth are still up in the air. In KH2, the two characters partook in a climactic duel whose outcome was left unresolved. Sephiroth is a staple optional-boss for the numbered Kingdom Hearts titles, so his appearance in RE: Mind is possible, and if he’s showing up, there’s no reason why Cloud shouldn’t. Cid didn’t make an appearance in the trailer either, but the presence of Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith should basically guarantee his inclusion.
While the idea behind removing Final Fantasy characters from KH3's main story makes sense in theory, it doesn’t work in the grand scheme of things. The very first Kingdom Hearts tied the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee's tale in with the overarching plot. Through Terra, Xehanort destroyed these characters' homeworld, which is what forced them to establish the Committee in the first place. It didn’t help that Ienzo and his colleagues were running an operation out the castle the group invested so much in. Their absence throughout the entirety of the final climax then left something to be desired, so their return is certainly welcomed. It is a wonder if any new Final Fantasy characters will appear though.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is out now for PS4 and Xbox One.