KH-Vids | Your ultimate source for Kingdom Hearts media

Hey everyone, we are still dealing with the lack of Kingdom Hearts news. Recently, IGN has wrote an article where they give their own concept on the next sequel of Kingdom Hearts "Kingdom Hearts: III." I just wanted to let you guys know that everything on here is NOT official. Thanks to our forum member Shades for letting me know.

Edit: Just found out that there is also a thread about this in our forums. Thanks Hannah Montana
http://www.kh-vids.net/showthread.php?t=86573

Kingdom Hearts III: The IGN Concept
We lay the foundations for a legendary sequel.
by Ryan Clements

July 28, 2009 - Square Enix has traditionally been associated with the Final Fantasy franchise, but one particular series that began in 2002 took the gaming community by surprise. Kingdom Hearts

The action RPG revolved around a young boy named Sora and his two close friends: Riku and Kairi. The three children played together on an idyllic tropical island until one day a strange darkness invaded their surreal sanctuary and swept Sora up into a quest to find his friends. This journey connects Sora with Donald and Goofy, servants of the King, and the eager trio travels to many worlds in search of old companions -- all while battling the Heartless.

Kingdom Hearts would later be followed by a GBA game titled Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, which followed main character Sora and his adventures after the conclusion of the original Kingdom Hearts. With the launch of Kingdom Hearts II, the protagonists enjoyed a dramatic growth both physically and emotionally, as even more villains threatened the natural order of the worlds.

The most recent game in the Kingdom Hearts series to reach the US was Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, a PS2 remake of the aforementioned GBA spin-off. With two more spin-offs on the horizon, little is known about the seemingly inevitable Kingdom Hearts III. As Kingdom Hearts is a very special series to me, I decided to put together this outline of what I'd like to see out of the third proper entry in the series. In my effort to shape this as-of-yet untold adventure, I called upon friends and readers alike to create original concept art for this dream project. combined the JRPG expertise of Square Enix with the rich worlds and characters of the Disney universe. Add in a few Final Fantasy cameos and you had one of the most unlikely pairs in videogame history -- but it worked. The original Kingdom Hearts was met with a tremendous amount of success and gamers everywhere were captivated by its unique charm and sincere emotion.

»FULL ARTICLE
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/100/1008582p1.html

Famitsu has made an update yesterday regarding Kingdom Hearts: Coded. The third chapter for the next episode is set for August 5th 2009. Below are four new images from the third episode that features Sora, Alice and the mysterious black coated character in Wonderland.


Source: FF7AC Reunion & Famitsu

For the first time in North America, fans were able to get their hands on a playable demo from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, which is set for a release in North America on September 29th 2009. The Comic Con 2009 event takes place from July 23rd (Yesterday)- July 26th (Sunday) in San Diego.

This playable demo at Comic Con features single player mode in Agrabah and Twilight Town. Multiplayer mode is also included in this demo. During the Comic Con event in San Diego, fans were also near a TV screen which features the Englsih trailer from this year's E3 event. Fans also had the chance to check out a lot of the Square-Enix goods, which includes OST's, Play Arts and etc.

If you haven't already noticed, there are videos included. You can find one above and another two below, which features the playable demo. All videos posted have been recording and is an exclusive for KHU. Thanks guys.

Hey everyone, we have some exciting news to mention for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. As many of us already know, September 29th 2009 is the set release date for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days in North America, but did you know that the release date for Europe is only set two weeks later? Apparently the release date for Europe is October 9th 2009.

In other news, the top fifteen Square-Enix games of all time features Kingdom Hearts. Come on guys! You saw this one coming. That's right! Kingdom Hearts has made it on the list. Shocking? No way! Both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: II was included from News 10.

Last, but not least; footage for Kingdom Hearts: Coded has been shown at the Japan Expo 2009 in Paris. The video below features the Olympus Coliseum episode.


Source: Kingdom Fantasy, News 10 & Heart Station

A new interview with Nomura has been added, thanks to 1up. In the interview it was asked how Kingdom Hearts was first created and the reactions to the game as it was in production. The information below is very interesting and for the most part wasn't mentioned before. The reaction to what Nomura said when he first showed the sketched weapons from Kingdom Hearts to Disney was priceless. It couldn't get better then that. Enjoy.

How did the concept behind Kingdom Hearts, one of Square Enix's most successful new concepts in recent years, come about?
"I don't remember the details, but I was talking with [current Square Enix corporate executive] Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi," producer Tetsuya Nomura told Famitsu magazine in an interview. "The topic came up that it'd be nice if we could make a game with Disney. I had been wanting to make an original action RPG by that time, and I had had the basic game system for KH in my mind for a while by that point. I thought it'd be a good opportunity for me, so I raised my hand and told them to let me handle it."

The three sides didn't see eye-to-eye on everything, of course.
"Square wanted to make a game starring Mickey Mouse, and Disney wanted a Donald Duck title. Meanwhile, I wanted neither," Nomura said with a laugh. "So I built a project plan for KH and began negotiating with both sides. That plan was largely what you see now; a game featuring lots of characters without focusing on any particular one."

People often have the impression that Nomura, given his artistic background, designs games based off story and characters ahead of gameplay.
"That's not really the case," he notes. "I thought of the Keyblade in KH from the beginning, and that made 'keys' an integral keyword in the story."

"Actually," he continues, "the first weapon I showed Disney was a chainsaw. It was this chainsaw-like weapon that I had a rough sketch of when I first showed my concepts to Disney. Everyone got this scrunched-up look on their face and nobody said a word in the entire room. Dead silence. And I thought 'No, I guess this wouldn't work, huh?'"

Nowadays Nomura is occupied with the DS's Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, out now in Japan and due for a September release in America. The game's been a remarkable sales success in Japan, with Famitsu and other publications calling the title the furthest the DS has ever been pushed technically.

"I have my doubts about how the world is turning toward 'serious' titles [such as Brain Age]," Nomura said. "I don't think that can be the industry's main focus. I'm here to make games, obviously, and that attitude played a major part in [358/2 Days] development. A lot of gamers don't play anything except the really big names, like Dragon Quest and FF. Look at it another way, though, and as long as you can grab their interest, they'll play your game. That's the userbase I want to attract here. You have to, or else you'll never challenge yourself. I'm not here to analyze the game industry or anything. All I believe is that if you make a fun game, people will play it."

------------------------------------------------------------
Main Source: 1up
Second Source: KHN & Gamefaqs' tofudude
------------------------------------------------