The long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3: ReMind expansion is finally out for PS4, with the hopes of tying up the loose ends and cliffhangers scattered throughout the base game's finale. Sora ventures out to reverse time and restore Kairi's heart from her tragic loss during Kingdom Hearts 3's ending.
Initially announced in June last year, Kingdom Hearts 3: ReMind is the first paid DLC for Kingdom Hearts 3, which is also a first for the series as a whole excluding the extra content found in the "Final Mix" versions of the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 remasters. ReMind's story content is split into three distinct sections: the titular "ReMind" story, the "Limitcut Episode" boss rush supplement, and the final "Secret Episode." For those who want a quick summary of the events of ReMind, here's everything that happens throughout the DLC and its implications on the finale as a whole. There are several plot SPOILERS for ReMind as well as Kingdom Hearts 3 ahead.
Scattered Dream
ReMind is structured in a very non-linear, asymmetrical timeline examining the several other sub-plots that transpired during and after Kingdom Hearts 3's climax. Sora's initial plan is to use the "Power of Waking" to restore Kairi's heart, similar to how he awoke and rescued the Guardians of Light during Kingdom Hearts 3's base game. He meets up with Chirithy once again hoping to get advice on how to rescue Kairi using the Power of Waking, but there's a problem.
Chirithy explains that the Power of Waking was meant to awaken sleeping hearts, not hearts that have been lost entirely. While the difference there might seem a bit vague, the basic gist is that Kairi's heart was fractured and lost entirely from existence when Xehanort struck her down during the climax of Kingdom Hearts 3.
The heroes Sora revived during the events of the base game weren't just in a fugue state, their hearts were fractured and faded away from existence entirely. Sora's use of the Power of Waking greatly altered the course of history, what Chirithy describes as breaking a "nature taboo," a forbidden act of resurrection. This time would be very different, and that should Sora proceed with his ultimate goal in reviving Kairi, it would come with a high price to pay for abusing such power.
For those who remember the ending to Kingdom Hearts 3, several players can deduce that this high price to pay may be his life. Kingdom Hearts 3's ending scene showed us Kairi and Sora spending one last moment together before Sora faded away entirely. Chirithy even warns Sora that along with losing the Power of Waking, Sora may lose his existence entirely. In the end, Sora doesn't care is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. "I have to do everything I can to get Kairi back. That's the whole reason behind my journey."
Hearts of the Guardians
Realizing Sora's determination is unbreakable, Chirithy concedes and tells him what he needs to do change history one last time. Sora is sent back in time to the beginning of the final battle, but Chirithy warns that he will have only one chance to save Kairi and the Guardians of Light. Any change he makes to history will be permanent, and he will not be able to reverse any of his decisions from now until he fades away.
In order to save Kairi, Sora has to traverse and connect with the hearts and souls of the Guardians of Light during the climactic hours of the final battle. Sora, assuming a new metaphysical form in the timeline, passes through the "Tear" between the hearts of the Guardians, traversing along their emotional ties to one another until he can pinpoint Kairi's heart. He has to move quickly through each Guardian's soul so that he can reach Kairi's heart before Xehanort strikes her down. Along this journey, Sora will feel every emotion his fellow Guardians felt during the final battle, with each heart compounding emotions on to his own as he alters the timeline.
As Sora meets with Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Mickey, Riku, Kairi, Lea, and the others, he joins and aids them in all the battles that occur during the climax of Kingdom Hearts 3, even including some that were not present in the original endgame (like Terra-Xehanort vs. Lingering Will and the Dark Inferno Heartless within Ventus' heart). Sora returns to the Labyrinth in the Keyblade Graveyard, fighting the members of Xehanort's organization one-by-one just like in the original Kingdom Hearts 3 ending. This time, players are given the option to continue as Sora, or they can choose to play as one of the other Guardians of Light for each of their respective boss battles.
Many of these battles play out very similarly to the original Labyrinth section in Kingdom Hearts 3, but each successive victory adds a new cut-scene with context to each character's return to form. Riku's Replica sacrifices it's "Vessel" (the corporeal body used to give a Nobody or entity of Darkness physical life) to give life to Naminé, Kairi's Nobody. Even Roxas (Sora's Nobody) returns to existence thanks to Sora's bond, wielding the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion keyblades once again. Through all these battles, Sora discovers how Kairi was captured by Xemnas and ended up in Xehanort's grasp, something that seemingly happened by chance during the original Kingdom Hearts 3 ending.
One Hope
In the end, even after defeating the final three Seekers of Darkness, Kairi is still lost after Xehanort strikes her down. He collects all of the 13 keys needed to summon Kingdom Hearts and seeks to finally end the Keyblade War again in darkness. The final battle commences, and Xehanort is defeated by Sora, Donald, and Goofy once more.
Just as Sora is ready to give up in ever bringing Kairi back, King Mickey reaches out to him with an idea. Xehanort was always known for planning contingencies for every outcome, one of which being Kairi's heart. Since Kairi is one of the seven original Princesses of Light, Xehanort did not simply end her life to gain the 13th key. Xehanort instead crystallized her heart as a last resort to ensure he could gain access Kingdom Hearts, should he fail to defeat Sora and unlock Kingdom Hearts with the 13 keys. This was Sora's chance to find Kairi's crystallized remains and combine them together to make her whole again. It's still unclear why Xehanort would've chosen to capture her heart instead of end her life to get the last key anyway, but as with all Kingdom Hearts plot devices, it's best to not think too much into it.
Sora travels to Scala Ad Caelum once more, now known as "The Stairway to the Sky," where he has to clear all the Heartless swarming the shards of Kairi's heart. Each Heartless becomes stronger and more difficult to fight as he finds the shards of Kairi's heart, culminating in a final battle with the familiar Darkside heartless. Even as he collects these shards, Xehanort transcends time and comes to see Sora's metaphysical form, pointing out that he is still too late despite his time-travelling efforts. The final battle ensues just as it did in the past, as if nothing has changed, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy engage in the final battle with Xehanort.
My Friends Are My Power - Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind Ending
In a last ditch effort, Sora bonds with Riku's heart before the end, and the player sees the perspective of the Guardians of Light outside of Scala Ad Caelum during the final battle. The final incarnations of Xehanort's 13 Seekers of Darkness overwhelm the Guardians of Light and lock them away behind several key holes. Everyone except Mickey, who conjures one final beam of light hoping for a rescue. Sora breaks through to this chamber of keyholes and uses Mickey's light to restore the Guardians, all of whom carried a piece of Kairi's heart. The gathering of all The Guardians around Sora finally combined the fragmented pieces together, and Kairi was brought back to life.
Together in a final clash, the two of them bring down Xehanort one last time. As Xehanort realizes he's lost, the Guardians combine their light to end Xehanort's reign and seal Kingdom Hearts for good. Once the dust settles, the rest of the Guardians realize that Sora and Kairi are missing. The two of them unexpectedly leave to meet with Chirithy one last time, inviting Ventus' long lost friend to come along and finally return to him.
From there the ending swells once again, and all of the Guardians are finally together again. As everyone returns to their home worlds and rejoices in peace, Sora and Kairi watch from a distance spending all their time together. As they all congregate together on Destiny Islands one last time, finally at peace, they look to Sora and Kairi one last time. Sora spends his last moment with Kairi before he fades away, never to be seen again... at least for now.
While it's hard to escape the feeling that this expansion feels like the true ending for Kingdom Hearts 3, it does provide enough substantial context to Sora's loss of life to actually feel somewhat nuanced and purposeful. Beyond this, there are some little tidbits of information that occur in the Limitcut Episode as well as the Secret Boss, but it's unclear where they fall in the grand scope of the story and are very ambiguous. That being said, we can now understand Sora's fate at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3.
Kingdom Hearts 3 Re Mind is out now on PS4 and is coming to Xbox on February 25.