Namine: Lost Friend or Kairi's Shadow

[Guernsey]

I read a livejournal where I learned that Namine's role was changed in game development from sora's lost frined to a shadow of Kairi's heart. It seems that Namine as lost frined who had been taken fromt eh islands makes a lot more sense than her being Kairi's nobody. What do guys think of this?

[lycorismoon29]

Not much to say on it. I'm upset Nomura changed his idea? Not much we can do now.

[King Chaser]

She was portrayed as Sora's lost friend in CoM though. Sure, it was a lie but still.

[Relix]

In CoM I sorta liked the idea of Namine being a mystery friend who disappeared when they were young. Sure it was a lie but...it felt right. I can't explain it lol I enjoyed the mind games surrounding her, I suppose. Four friends, the three of them played while the quiet one drew them all lol it was nice. Would I have been happy if Namine wasn't "Kairi's shadow"? Yeah. Am I upset that she is? Meh, not really.

[MegaWallflower]

I don't know, it seems odd to me, personally. I love Namine, but... It's basically saying she has been there all along, despite not being remembered or hinted at, and there were some aspects of her that would seem odd if not explained by being Kairi's shadow...

...How much of the planning was done at that point? If the things explained by being Kairi's shadow hadn't have occured, and she wasn't made to seem like a deconstruction, then it might have worked.... I prefer it as it is, I think, but that's just me...

[luna008]

though i would have loved it if she had stayed a lost friend (cuase like roxas, i about cried my eyes out when she went back) i think it makes more sense that she became a nobody of kairi.i mean, think about it, what reason would she have to get kiddnapped or whatever happened to her to take her off the island, why would the orgo have her, and why the heck would sora forget about her when he was all anguishy and determined while searching for kairi and riku.also, i cant help but feel it would be a repeat of kairi, as she too was taken from her home world.and i think that if they kept her apperance the same as the namine we have now, people would think her and kairi were related or something. so yeah, im glad they changed namine.

[gelandporn]

I've heard that before, but I'm not sure how true it is.

I prefer the way it is. If Namine actually was a long lost friend, well, I'm just not a fan of that kind of trope. I was far more sympathetic to her plight when I found out that she had never had any friends to begin with. And also bear in mind that while clones have been done to death in Kingdom Hearts, Namine was the first. The idea was novel at the time.

It also just makes more sense for her to be Kairi's shadow as a way of redirecting Sora's affection toward her.

[Incognito]

honestly her being a friend, i like that idea better HOWEVER how they could execute that plot is a bit iffy to me so i think how they got it now is best.

i remember seeing on these forums somewhere that nomura also planned to have xion turn evil originally, was that true?

[Professor Ven]

I've heard that before, but I'm not sure how true it is.

I prefer the way it is. If Namine actually was a long lost friend, well, I'm just not a fan of that kind of trope. I was far more sympathetic to her plight when I found out that she had never had any friends to begin with. And also bear in mind that while clones have been done to death in Kingdom Hearts, Namine was the first. The idea was novel at the time.

It also just makes more sense for her to be Kairi's shadow as a way of redirecting Sora's affection toward her.

Pretty much my take on it - given that Kairi never did produce a true 'Nobody,' (though she was put into that category because of possibly other similarities by DiZ (or Nomura)) and Namine's ability to change Sora's memories makes sense because Kairi's Heart resided inside of Sora, and when he unlocked it blah blah blah -> Namine was produced, along with Roxas.

However, what really makes me wonder is how Kairi's Heart could have produced Namine from being released from Sora if she is a 'shadow of Kairi's Heart.' Kairi is a Princess of Heart, and essentially her Heart is pure Light, while Sora does have Darkness inside of him. Assuming that "with the greater Light, the bigger your Shadow becomes," it's feasible, but meh.

Also Grass I almost mistook you for goldpanner lulz :P

[Goddard]

I read a livejournal where I learned that Namine's role was changed in game development from sora's lost frined to a shadow of Kairi's heart. It seems that Namine as lost frined who had been taken fromt eh islands makes a lot more sense than her being Kairi's nobody. What do guys think of this?

If that's the case, it would had been nice had they kept Namine as Sora's lost friend.

[Ruran]

I think it's better the way they ultimately went with her. The whole "lost friend that I just remembered" thing is kind of corny and Sue-ish imo.

Pretty much my take on it - given that Kairi never did produce a true 'Nobody,' (though she was put into that category because of possibly other similarities by DiZ (or Nomura)) and Namine's ability to change Sora's memories makes sense because Kairi's Heart resided inside of Sora, and when he unlocked it blah blah blah -> Namine was produced, along with Roxas.

However, what really makes me wonder is how Kairi's Heart could have produced Namine from being released from Sora if she is a 'shadow of Kairi's Heart.' Kairi is a Princess of Heart, and essentially her Heart is pure Light, while Sora does have Darkness inside of him. Assuming that "with the greater Light, the bigger your Shadow becomes," it's feasible, but meh.

Also Grass I almost mistook you for goldpanner lulz :P

I take it that Namine is Kairi's shadow in a more symbolic sense. Like a shadow, Namine is a physical "copy" of Kairi but not exactly the same and lacking in substance or real identity. Like when you look at your own shadow you see a silhouette of your self but it's obviously not you, just a distorted shape of you.

[blueheart]

If they went with the original idea, she'd be a Sue. I was actually disliking where it was going in CoM, but once the truth was revealed, that made me like and appreciate the whole game.

[Grey]

It's probably because Namine's role changed that she's such a logic-defying "nobody." Had she just been a childhood friend, her memory-manipulating powers could just be attributed to a special brand of darkness or something. She's much more confusing as "Kairi's Nobody," but she's also much more mysterious, and mystery isn't a bad thing.

[aldrain]

Well heres my thing, I don't care how she happened. I just care that she's Roxas/Ven's secret lover. Seriously, they had to tell us at the very end of KH2 that this is how it is. I was never a huge fan of Namine, simply because the Nobodies are so detached, and I know they are going to die, that they mean nothing to me.

[Radar]

I don't know who she is, but I do believe she is the "key" that is going to help Sora save all those in torment. Hey, maybe she is even a princess of Light.