Melody of Memory
Terms and lore
Kairi's search. Kairi agreed to be put to sleep in Ansem the Wise's lab so she could look through her own heart for Sora, and she slept for a year. When the equipment failed, she found herself somewhere it could not follow: a world made from the memories in her own heart.
The day she was sent away. The memory at the bottom of Kairi's heart: a young man with white hair putting her into a little boat made to cross between worlds, as an experiment and a hope. If she truly had the power of a princess of heart, her heart would resonate with a Keyblade wielder's and lead him to that wielder's world. He also warned her that she might land "in a world that's neither of light nor darkness, but somewhere on the other side."
The other side. Ansem the Wise's reasoning about that warning. The three realms, light, darkness and between, are all on "our side," along with the worlds of memory, data and dreams. A place voices cannot reach from here must lie outside reality altogether: unreality, or fiction. "That is the extent of our knowledge."
The three keys. What the Fairy Godmother said it would take to find Sora: Riku's dreams, Kairi's memories, and one more with a strong will and a precious dream.
The stars of the Final World. "Strong hearts gather here after death until they are ready to move on." One of them was the final key: a girl from the world on the other side, whose form was taken from her, and whose heart will certainly be stolen if she goes back. Sora was there once, and encouraged her not to give up.
Quadratum. The city on the other side, with more skyscrapers than any other city the girl knows. Riku has been dreaming of it since Sora disappeared, and it may be where Sora is.
The ancient masters. Yen Sid remembers that in his days as a Keyblade Master it was known that the ancient masters had crossed over into another world. He suspects Xehanort looked into that world more deeply.
Characters and where they stand
Sora. Gone from the islands, and somewhere Kairi's search could not follow. For one moment in Kairi's heart he took over her body to save her, and the Xehanort there said that now he was certain where Sora's heart is.
Riku. A true Keyblade Master, with nothing left for Terra to teach him. He has been dreaming of a city of tall buildings, and of someone watching him from high up. He used the power of waking to follow the girl's path to her world, and went alone.
Kairi. Determined, and done waiting. She slept a year searching her own heart for Sora, faced the Xehanort who set her adrift as a child, and brought back his warning about the other side. She wanted to go with Riku and talked herself out of it: she needs to be stronger first. She will train under Master Aqua.
Xehanort, as Kairi remembers him. A figure in Kairi's heart who admitted he set her adrift and altered her fate, and that she was later destroyed by his hand. "I may cause you to suffer, but I am a product of your heart." He gave her the answer she was looking for, young again, and was gone.
The Fairy Godmother. Came to Ansem the Wise's lab at Yen Sid's request with the clue of the three keys, and took Kairi and Riku to the Final World to find the third.
The girl from the other side. A star in the Final World, with a strong will and a precious dream, who remembers Sora. She opened the path to her world for Riku.
Ansem the Wise, Even and Ienzo. Watched over Kairi's sleep, and worked out as much of the other side as they could.
King Mickey. Wanted to go straight after Riku. Yen Sid gave him a different task instead: to investigate the other world and its tie to the ancient Keyblade Masters, beginning in Scala ad Caelum.
Yen Sid. Kept everyone calm, told everyone still searching, in Twilight Town, Radiant Garden and the Land of Departure, to stop, and sent Donald and Goofy to carry the news.
Questions
Is Sora in Quadratum, and will Riku find him?
Who is Yozora, and who told him to save Sora?
Who was watching Riku from high up in his dream?
Who is the girl from the other side, and what is her dream?
Who took her form from her, and who would steal her heart?
How long did Xehanort know about the other side, and what did he find there?
What will Mickey learn in Scala ad Caelum about the ancient masters who crossed over?
Fun facts
A rhythm game. Melody of Memory is a rhythm game with more than 140 songs from across the series. Its story is a thin frame around a musical tour of earlier games, which is why so little of the game is in this entry.
From the makers of Theatrhythm. It was co-developed with indieszero, the studio behind the Theatrhythm games. They first pitched the idea to Nomura, who turned it down. Disney later proposed a Kingdom Hearts rhythm game, and it went ahead.
Found in the code. The game's logo was discovered in the data of the Dark Road website a day before the game was announced.
One of a kind. It is the only game in the series made in the Unity engine.