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Ryan Masuno: Interview Regarding Dream Drop Distance

Posted by Mike : May 13, 2012 at 10:40 PM ( 1 , 1,028 )

<center>[video=youtube;HW6YYnqnY6Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=HW6YYnqnY6Y[/video]</center>

Hello KH-Vids. GamerLive.TV has recently interviewed Square-Enix's product manager (Ryan Masuno) regarding the North American release for Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance.

Masuno briefly mentions the story, worlds and gameplay from Dream Drop Distance. No further information was revealed. Nonetheless this interview is interesting to watch as Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance receives global promotion and exposure.

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance is confirmed for North America on July 31st 2012 and internationally on July 20 2012.

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KH3D Updated Famitsu Weekly Interview

Posted by Sabby : May 12, 2012 at 12:50 PM ( 5 , 1,271 )

If you haven't seen Mike's update then look here

Just to keep updated, thanks to SQEX they have translated the interview for the Famitsu Weekly.

Just a reminder there are spoilers in these interviews.

â€” Itâ€™s been over a month since the sale date dropped, how has the playerâ€™s response been?

Nomura: Overall, people seem to think the story this time was difficult to understand. (Wry laughter.)

â€” The setup certainly was different and trickier than before. In their travels this time they were essentially supposed to go to the worlds shut by sleep, but in the end, an entirely different world sets the stage.

Nomura: There are other worlds shut by sleep, from the start which ones they would go to was not decided. Even Yen Sid didnâ€™t know which worlds they would go to. Amidst that, they were guided by two members of Organization XIII to the World That Never Was.

â€” What about when Riku looked upon the Brown Robed Figure and dived into another world, was it assumed heâ€™d join Organization XIII?

Nomura: Since they knew heâ€™d wake up soon, itâ€™s reasonable to assume as much, but that wasnâ€™t necessarily why the Organization had guided him. Still, they werenâ€™t ready to completely give up on Riku, they wanted to win him over into the Organization. However, Riku had developed a resistance to darkness and as a result, they gave up.

â€” Riku really rose to the occasion, especially in the final battle, shouting lines like, â€œStill there?â€

Nomura: As tension leading to the end of the story, I steadily added bosses that werenâ€™t originally planned since itâ€™d feel anticlimactic without a battle. As I was making progress writing the scenarios, I called the Osaka development team and asked if they could add more. The battle with the armor after the last dive was one that they added for me, I didnâ€™t think itâ€™d be clearly understood without a fight sequence.

â€” Riku had a lot going on this time. In comparison to Sora, he has the charm of a dark hero type. How do you see him?

Nomura: Riku grows while carrying various troubles with him, heâ€™s a lot like a retro Square hero I think. Final Fantasy-esque, so to speak. On the other hand, I made Sora the sort of character you wouldnâ€™t see in a retro Square game.

â€” Soraâ€™s just a regular boy, huh. Why isnâ€™t he the daring hero type?

Nomura: There is the thought that the player is equal to Sora. Naturally, there are people who are not like Sora. (Laughs.) But I had the premise that a heart like Soraâ€™s exists within all the players. Sora is â€œordinaryâ€, therefore everyone is â€œordinaryâ€. I figure even if youâ€™re â€œordinaryâ€, for something important everyone can exhibit a special power just like Sora.

â€” I want to ask more about the World That Never Was. Is that world a part of reality? Or is also a world of sleep?

Nomura: When that worldâ€™s logo appears, it indicates the boundary between the dream and reality. When Sora arrives, itâ€™s reality and then goes into a world of sleep. Riku arrives in the sleeping world, and as you progress and the world logo appears, thatâ€™s when it becomes reality.

â€” When both of them are in the reality parts, they donâ€™t return to their original bodies. Why is that?

Nomura: Itâ€™s because of Yen Sidâ€™s magic that theyâ€™ve taken their old forms. If they didnâ€™t return to Yen Sidâ€™s place, their bodies wouldnâ€™t return back to normal. Incidentally, their new outfits were thanks to Yen Sidâ€™s magic as Sora suspected.

â€” Riku fights a Nightmare wearing a black coat in this world, just who was that?

Nomura: That Nightmare was the personification of the nightmare Sora was having.

â€” What about Xemnas and Ansem, essentially they werenâ€™t inside anyone, was it due to circumstances of the worlds of sleep?

Nomura: First off, when Young Xehanort made contact with the Brown Robed Figure, that is to say, the Xehanort who called himself Ansem, his abilities were transferred to him. As a result of Master Xehanort tossing his physical body, he was able to exceed time, and this power was carried into the Brown Robed Figure. Thus when Young Xehanort made contact with him, he gained this power. Possessing this power. Young Xehanort functioned as a â€œportalâ€, summoning Xemnas and Ansem each time they appeared. Thatâ€™s why Young Xehanort was there whenever they appeared. Additionally, when Sora and Riku dropped into the worlds of sleep, simultaneously Young Xehanort himself goes into the world of sleep.

â€” What about Vanitas?

Nomura: Vanitas is different than Xemnas and Ansem; he doesnâ€™t necessarily have a physical form. He reacted to Ventus within Sora, so thatâ€™s how he was visible.

â€” After generating and before attacking Sora, were Xemnas and Ansem somewhere that exceeded beyond time?

Nomura: Thatâ€™s right.

â€” When King Mickey stopped time, Young Xehanort began to move. Since he can control time, was he breaking the Kingâ€™s spell?

Nomura: Young Xehanort wasnâ€™t using his own power at that time. The Kingâ€™s magic was broken because Master Xehanort was assimilating with Young Xehanort. Only â€œthe mark of heresyâ€ was added by Organization XIII.

â€” It was when the figures started appearing in the thrones.

Nomura: Indeed. Time was stopped just as Master Xehanort was materializing. So he moved his consciousness to Young Xehanortâ€™s body. Reacting to this, King Mickey exclaimed, â€œThatâ€™s impossible!â€ Young Xehanort was holding a Keyblade that he originally wasnâ€™t able to handle thanks to Master Xehanortâ€™s power. Though the keychain on it is different, the Keyblade he takes out is Master Xehanortâ€™s.

â€” I see. Young Xehanort himself is still in Destiny Islands and isnâ€™t able to wield a Keyblade yet.

Nomura: Right. Even when he appeared as an additional boss in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, he wasnâ€™t using a Keyblade.

â€”By the way, Braigâ€™s dealings with Master Xehanort in Birth by Sleep make sense, he was to become a vessel.

Nomura: There is a certain reason for Braig to proudly exclaim, â€œAs for me, Iâ€™m already half Xehanort.â€ Isa (Saix) is included too. I think youâ€™ll understand the details about their circumstances eventually.

â€” What happens to the hearts of those who have had Master Xehanortâ€™s heart planted within them?

Nomura: Theyâ€™ll gradually be swallowed by it. As for Master Xehanort, he plans to control them completely. The planted parts of the heart are captured rather than disappear.

â€” Lea (Axel) ended up playing an unexpected role. I was wondering what was running through your mind when you thought to make him a Keyblade wielder.

Nomura: I figured since he had returned to being human, he wouldnâ€™t have much luck bringing back the people he wanted without some sort of power. Throwing his chakrams doesnâ€™t really count. (Laughs.)

â€” Itâ€™d be bad if he started a fire, huh? (Laughs.) Is he still able to pass through the Corridors of Darkness like before?

Nomura: Diz is also human and can pass through the Corridors of Darkness. Since Lea has the memories of being Axel, he saw the message Ansem wrote on the wall in Radiant Garden and thought that was the only way he could travel. Of course, using the Corridors frequently is dangerous.

â€” After that, he came to Yen Sid hoping to train.

Nomura: Yes. Since the Mysterious Tower is in an unknown spot, first you have to enter via King Mickeyâ€™s world. After that, theyâ€™re training in a place where time flows differently, managed by Merlin, the great magician who can exceed time, as well as the Fairies.

â€” Did he have any prior knowledge?

Nomura: In order to wield a Keyblade, the most important requirement is to be â€œthe owner of a strong heart.â€ Regardless if itâ€™s a good heart or a bad heart, a strong heart is necessary. Right now there are a lot of things that Lea wants to regain. That desire is connected to the strength of his heart.

â€” Even though Axel had been eliminated in Kingdom Hearts II, since that time, had you considered having him appear again in his human form Lea?

Nomura: I thought a lot about that. Should I leave him as he was or should I bring him back again? However, when I considered the people that Lea wants to bring back, his existence plays a big role. I think Lea has successively become a key character.

â€” Incidentally, Ventusâ€™ body is in Castle Oblivion and his heart is with Sora right?

Nomura: Right. Even though he only appears a little bit in the end of KH3D, when Sora was surrounded by Dream Eaters, you see that he smiled because of it.

â€” I see. Were there certain intentions in that scene with the Dream Eaters?

Nomura: That scene was added in the final stages of production. It wouldnâ€™t feel right to have worked so hard raising the Dream Eaters without some sort of closure. Also, since Sora has obtained the power to open doors into the worlds of sleep, I purposely wanted to show a scene where he used that power.

â€” Speaking of the previous titles, about when do you start thinking of the â€˜next titleâ€™?

Nomura: Itâ€™s a gradual process. When Kingdom Hearts was in production, I was considering ideas for Kingdom Hearts II and Chain of Memories. And when those two were in production, I was thinking of ideas for the next three, 358/2 Days, Coded, and Birth by Sleep.

â€” Were you thinking of KH3D when those 3 titles were in production?

Nomura: KH3D was put together relatively quickly, I was still concepting the story when I brought it to the table.

â€” What about in the secret movie of Birth by Sleep Final Mixâ€¦?

Nomura: Wellâ€¦ (Laughs.) Now that you mention it, that secret movie was referred to as â€œA fragmentary passageâ€, meaning bits and pieces of something whole. A story connected to Kingdom Hearts exists out of that, but I donâ€™t know whether or not itâ€™ll be told hereafter.

â€” The secret message and secret movie of KH3D were loaded with things to wonder about. Is it finally time for KH3?

Nomura: Iâ€™ll leave that up to everyoneâ€™s imagination. Though, it might be a curve ball. (Laughs.)

â€” Lastly, a message for our readers.

Nomura: Weâ€™ve decided to distribute a KH3D demo in North America as well as Japan. You can play part of Soraâ€™s scenario in Traverse Town. So if your friends havenâ€™t played it yet, you can recommend it to them. And of course, give the co-op mini game Flick Rush a try. Also, an unannounced title is being prepared as well, though itâ€™s something lighter. There are still songs continuing to be distributed for Theartrhythm Final Fantasy so you can look forward to that as well.
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Dream Drop Distance: NEW English Screenshots

Posted by Mike : May 12, 2012 at 12:43 PM ( 6 , 1,707 )

Hello KH-Vids! The official Square-Enix Facebook for France has updated with some renders and screenshots from Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. In addition to the English screenshots, we learned that there will be an English demo for Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance.

Check out more screens: Nintendo 3DS blog

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KH3D Ultimania Director Interview & Scenario Mysteries

Posted by Sabby : May 12, 2012 at 12:36 PM ( 1 , 946 )

KH3D Ultimania is out, SQEX and Goldplanner worked super hard to get this translated, so kudos to them. The updated information gives us Tetsuya Nomura's interview in the book as well as detailing hidden plots within the game. There is also some news about what's next for the Kingdom Hearts series.

*Please note that there are spoilers in these interviews and if you have remained spoil-free from this game then I suggest not scrolling down :)

The Director Interview

â€” When did you start thinking up the idea for Kingdom Hearts 3D?

Nomura: Probably during the production of Birth by Sleep. At the time there werenâ€™t plans to start another Kingdom Hearts title, but when I looked at the 3DS hardware, the idea came to me.

â€” It seems that every entry into the Kingdom Hearts series aims to utilize the features of its platforms, so what elements of the 3DS were you looking into?

Nomura: I thought that the Flowmotion ability was something I wanted to do in the next Kingdom Hearts, so why not do it now with this title? I thought of the Dive Mode function afterwards when I saw the 3DS in action. Itâ€™s similar to the Gummi Ship mini game that appeared in KH1 and KH2, but this time rather than ride a vehicle I wanted the characters to drop directly into their destination world. Since the Dive Mode appears first, it feels like the gameâ€™s system is established from there.

â€” What sparked the idea to introduce the Flowmotion ability?

Nomura: Iâ€™ve been working on a few action RPGs outside of Kingdom Hearts like Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, so the first thought I had was I wanted it to clearly stand out from the others. I planned on showing that this is the direction the Kingdom Hearts series is headed. When I thought of the elements that really defined the Kingdom Hearts series, I thought of the bold sort of action that realistic characters canâ€™t express. My idea was that with Flowmotion, youâ€™d be able to jump to impossible heights in comparison to how you could jump in the previous titles.

â€” It seemed that the Flowmotion system might dishevel the gameâ€™s balance, but there was a lot of attention put towards regulating it.

Nomura: Well, the staff really didnâ€™t like it. (Laughs.) If the character could make a huge jump freely, then there is no telling where heâ€™d go. Since you had to deal with every action the player made, the opinion coming forth in the beginning was that it was difficult. But since I explained to the staff that this was the sort of direction Kingdom Hearts was going, we did it anyways.

â€” In the games prior to this one, there were treasure chests you couldnâ€™t reach until you had obtained High Jump, but this time it seems you can take just about all the treasure using Flowmotion.

Nomura: It makes things interesting, doesnâ€™t it? Flowmotion is designed to take over the movement if you donâ€™t control it, but if youâ€™re able to use it well, you can obtain the treasure chests without needing the High Jump ability. Itâ€™s a different style compared to the regular Kingdom Hearts games, which I think is one of the systemâ€™s charms. I thought itâ€™d be better this way rather than making it boring with restricted actions.

â€” For the title KH3D, we thought it was very clever how the â€™3Dâ€™ doesnâ€™t just stand for â€˜three-dimensionalâ€™, but also for the first letter of each of the three words in the subtitle.

Nomura: I thought of making it â€™3Dâ€™ with three Dâ€™s early on. However, while I was able to settle on â€˜Dreamâ€™ and â€˜Dropâ€™ smoothly, the last one just wouldnâ€™t come to me. When we were at the point where we had a scenario, â€˜Distanceâ€™ occurred to me from the distance between Sora and Riku, on the verge of meeting but unable to. Thereâ€™s one more unsaid meaning behind deciding on â€˜Distanceâ€™, and that is the distance between â€™3Dâ€™ and the number 3 itself.

â€”When you included â€˜Dreamâ€™ and â€˜Dropâ€™ in the title, were you assuming from that point in time that there would be a Drop System?

Nomura: Yes, I suppose so. We have made KH titles before in which the story is divided between characters, but because some people were of the opinion that each story felt like a short-story, this time we decided to think of the plot as one string from the beginning. For it to be like that, we had to consider many things regarding how to best handle switching back and forth between which character the player is controlling. We considered whether we should let people choose when to switch, but we wanted some sort of thrill. Throughout the series so far thereâ€™s always been that thrill of danger when HP is running out, but that becomes less of a threat as the player levels up. I thought, I want to put in something else on top of that, and it took the shape of forcibly switching the character being controlled with Drop. Also, if we had made the switching completely optional there would be people who only went along playing either Sora or Riku, and one of the characters could get too much stronger than the other, so itâ€™s also a means of controlling that.

â€”With more than fifty breeds of Spirits you can make friends with, the Spirit growth system is also a factor that makes this game worth more than a speedrun, isnâ€™t it?

Nomura: Well it was like, if I were to make a system where you get an enemy character onto your team and develop them, this is how Iâ€™d want it to be. I wouldnâ€™t want players to get enemies on their team by defeating them, I would want to have people experience the process of raising them from birth until they got strong, and have them feel attached to the target of their raising. To bring that system into reality, it would have been weird setup-wise to make friends with Heartless and Nobodies, so we went with creating a new type of being called Dream Eaters. In the beginning there were less breeds, but I thought it was lacking variation, and I told the staff theyâ€™d probably need to make more than fifty. We had to show they were cooperating with Sora and Riku to fight enemies, so riding on their backs and the like with link attacks was necessary too, which made our workload incredible.

â€” Which Dream Eaters did you design yourself?

Nomura: The only one I drew myself is Meow Wow. I drew it basically all in one go, and didnâ€™t edit it at all. As for the other Spirits, I showed Meow Wow to the staff and requested that they â€˜please give them a design that is strange, charming without being too cuteâ€™. They drew for me in high spirits, and came out with one interesting design after another.

â€” This title is the first KH game in a while to feature Sora and Riku as protagonists.

Nomura: I heard from many fans that they wanted to play as Sora again soon, and I felt I wanted to answer them. However, the true protagonist in plot for this title isnâ€™t Sora, itâ€™s Riku. The story depicted in this title is of Rikuâ€™s growth as he changes stance and makes the darkness he had been locking inside himself up until now into his own power. This is symbolised by Riku being chosen as a Keyblade Master at the end.

â€” Many worlds in this title are appearing for the first time in the series. How did you choose them?

Nomura: Basically, from the Osaka Development Teamâ€™s proposals. Worlds they wanted to have appear, what they wanted to do thereâ€“I received proposals for both those things, and I chose from among them. You know, in the beginning there was even the idea to divide â€˜Fantasiaâ€™ and â€˜Fantasia 2000′ between Sora and Riku in Symphony of Sorcery.

â€” Did the characters from The World Ends With You appear in Traverse Town due to the Osaka Development Teamâ€™s proposal, too?

Nomura: No, in the first scenario they planned to have Leon and Cid and the others like always. However, it would have been weird for them to be in the Traverse Town in this title, and maybe itâ€™s time to give the â€œarrive in Traverse-Town, Cid says â€˜Hey kidâ€™ routineâ€ a rest. So, when I thought about whoâ€™d feel fresh to put in, I thought it might be interesting to depict teenagers from a city like Shibuya coming into contact with country kids like Sora, thus I decided to put in the characters from TWEWY. Also, another reason was that in this title, Traverse Town is a world in which many things must be explained, and Joshua is just right for the role of explainer.

â€” Being able to view flashback scenes whenever we wanted with the Memento feature was new.

Nomura: Production-wise, we were trying to make the story as deep and layered as possible, but then weâ€™d have to show many explanatory cutscenes. Iâ€™d always thought there was no way to progress the story other than to increase the number of cutscenes, but I think we found a way after all with the Memento feature. Itâ€™s like, people who want to enjoy the story can watch it whenever, and people who want to hurry and advance through the game can fly through and perhaps watch it while taking a break.

â€”We thought it was very refreshing being able to read summaries of all the past titles with the Chronicles feature too.

Nomura: Those were originally written by Oka (Mr. Masaru Oka: Scenario and Cutscene Director) with revisions by me. If weâ€™d had time I would have wanted to do them in pictures, but we couldnâ€™t go that far this time. It is, of course, so people who hadnâ€™t played a title could follow along, but the text is written to be so clear that it even includes parts that werenâ€™t asserted definitively in each game, so if people who already know the story read along to see if they had things right, they may discover new things. I think pictures would have been a good way to do it too, but text does have the advantage of allowing people to reexamine the necessary parts straight away.

â€” The scene after the final battle where you get three multiple choice questions is a condition for unlocking the secret movie. Thatâ€™s a system that hasnâ€™t been used in the series up until now, isnâ€™t it?

Nomura: The truth is, we put that condition in as a trap. With only the same conditions as always, being able to view it condition-free if you clear the game on Proud Mode or having it unlock when you collect a certain number of trophies like up until now, there are some people who end up only playing to see the secret movie. Thatâ€™s fine, but even if people are solving it quickly I still want there to be a puzzle to solve. Having said that, itâ€™s very easy to choose the right ones. The correct answers all have â€˜importantâ€™ in them. I wanted to make it so that you can solve it if you notice the regularity, and also I would have been in trouble if I had forgotten it myself, so I went with that. (Laughs.)

â€” Now we would like to ask a few questions about the future of the KH series. First of all, if you get the letters â€˜Secret Message Unlockedâ€™ in the credits for this title you can read a message in the Keyword Glossary. The English letters there surely mean we can hope for KH3 next?

Nomura: I will leave that to your imaginations. Well, youâ€™ll know the answer soon, I suppose.

â€” At the end of the credits, when Sora and Riku go into the light, the shape of the light looks like a IIIâ€¦

Nomura: I canâ€™t go into detail, but you could think of it as a secret message from me.

â€” Now, is there a possibility you will make a KH3D Final Mix title?

Nomura: I donâ€™t know what might happen in the years to come, but as of now there are no plans. Osaka Development Team have several titles on their hands, itâ€™s not the right time for that.

â€” At the end of the secret movie for KHBBSFM, an interesting message that said â€˜Birth by Sleep -Volume Twoâ€™ appeared. Is there a chance that a KHBBS2 will be appearing?

Nomura: It seems that many people thought that, but during that movie there were the words â€˜A fragmentary passageâ€™, werenâ€™t there? That means a â€˜bits and pieces of something wholeâ€™. In short, a story for â€˜Volume Twoâ€™ exists that ought to be told, but the story cuts off with those scenes. Because of that, I wonâ€™t say there is absolutely no chance that we will produce a title to follow KHBBS , but there are no plans as of now.

â€” In an interview in the KH Days Ultimania, you said â€˜Iâ€™m thinking of a mystery KH that made the producer go â€œwhat??â€â€˜. Was that KH3D?

Nomura: No, it wasnâ€™t. I originally planned to make that after KHBBS, but we ended up making KH3D and the project was stopped. Itâ€™s a shame, but we wonâ€™t be starting that project again.

â€” If we were to guess from the plot so far, the next title must surely follow on from KH3D and depict the confrontation between the 13 Xehanorts that are seeking the χ-blade and Sora and the others who make up the 7 Guardians of Light?

Nomura: Well, yes, I think so. That will feel like itâ€™s leading to the conclusion of the Xehanort saga.

â€”Weâ€™re intrigued as to who the Xehanorts will use to replace Sora as the 13th Darkness.

Nomura: I left that a mystery in order to intrigue you all, of course. Itâ€™s unclear who about half of the other twelve are too, seeing as they didnâ€™t come out from under their black coats, so I would love for you to try thinking about their true identities. Itâ€™s all set up properly who is sitting in each seat, even regarding people who didnâ€™t show up in the scenario of this title.

â€” Are there also familiar characters?

Nomura: There are many familiar characters. However, fundamentally who they are is still a secret.

â€” Are the 7 Guardians of Light the 7 people raising their Keyblades at the end of the opening movie?

Nomura: But among them, youâ€™re missing Kairi, who appeared in the secret ending of this title. Please look forward to finding out whether those seven will actually be the 7 Guardians of Light.

â€” Before the ending, Riku receives research data from Ansem the Wise. In the next title, will that be the key to bringing back the people who are sleeping inside Sora?

Nomura: You could say itâ€™s the key. That data contains the details explaining the way to connect lost hearts.

â€” Are there any Disney titles youâ€™d like to see appear in the future of the series?

Nomura: I wish and wish, but Iâ€™ve wanted for a long time to have Pixar titles appear in the series. Iâ€™m already working on many ideas, but I canâ€™t say whether they will become a reality or not.

â€” Pixar has many wonderful titles, and weâ€™d love to see them appear. Finally, when will next play a new Kingdom Hearts game?

Nomura: I still canâ€™t say when, but various developments have already started regarding a new title in the Kingdom Hearts series.

â€” More than one?!

Nomura: I am sure weâ€™ll be able to make some kind of announcement when the time is right, so in the meantime Iâ€™d like you to keep playing KH3D. Thereâ€™s a high degree of freedom in the play style and the story is full of mysteries, so I would be very pleased if you tried playing on a high level of difficulty and investigating the plot. Also, the mini game â€˜Flick Rushâ€™ is pretty exciting, so please give it a try.
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Scenario Mysteries

The storyline ends with Sora and co. preparing to fight against Xehanort and his cohorts. Before the final battle takes place, we will question Nomura about the storyline of KH3D.

â€” Is the first cutscene we see in KH3D a flashback to 10 years before the first Kingdom Hearts when Xehanort and co. lost their hearts in an experiment?

Nomura: Thatâ€™s right. Thatâ€™s because in a sense it was the beginning of the story of this title.

â€” The Brown Robed Fgure, a Heartless born from that experiment, says â€œThis world has been connected.â€ While in KH1 that meant that the island was connected to the darkness, in this title does it signify that Xehanort and co. have connected to the dream world?

Nomura: It means both of those things. In that scene, the Brown Robed Figure becomes a â€œportalâ€ himself as a result of contact with Sora and co., making it possible for the other Xehanorts to intervene within the dreams.

â€” Why did Xehanort and co. word things as if to try and wake Ventus who is inside Sora?

Nomura: They did so in order to tempt Soraâ€™s heart and have it fall to the darkness. In the story it also talks about how abandoning the self leads to losing the heart. When you see Vanitas (the dark half of Ventus who appeared in KHBBS) overlay Young Xehanort for a moment, that represents Ventusâ€™ heart reacting inside Sora.

â€” In the latter half of The World That Never Was, despite returning to the real world, why do Sora and co. stay in that form and why do Dream Eaters appear etc?

Nomura: Sora and co.â€™s form is due to Yen Sidâ€™s magic, so the way it works is that they canâ€™t turn back until they return to the Mysterious Tower, and Dream Eaters were appearing because Sora was still asleep. Also, ever since Organisation XIII was defeated in KH2, the The World That Never Wasâ€™
existence as a world has become uncertain. In the first place, the worlds in the rift between darkness and light have different rules than other worlds. The Mysterious Tower isnâ€™t always standing in a fixed place. Traverse Town too reforms its shape every time, which is why the version that appears in this title is clearly different than the version in KH1.

â€” Did King Mickeyâ€™s time magic not work properly on Young Xehanort because Young Xehanort has the power to control time?

Nomura: Not Young Xehanortâ€™s but rather Master Xehanortâ€™s power. King Mickey was surprised at the time, seeing his Keyblade and noticing he harboured the power of Master Xehanort. That Keyblade was designed as the one Master Xehanort used in KHBBS combined with an hourglass, you see.

â€”Were the 13 Seekers of Darkness, who were meant to be in different times, gathered by transcending time with magic?

Nomura: Just as it says in the story, to transcend time one must â€˜firstâ€™ discard their form. As a result of the actions of the Brown Robed Figure, they all were in a state where they had gained the power to transcend time. The Brown Robed Figure explains the facts. The thirteen were summoned at the same time, this time thanks to Young Xehanort who borrowed that power. However, apart from Young Xehanort, that does not mean that all the members transcended time.

â€” In other words, Ansem and Xemnas were, at the same time, existing in the time and space of KH3D as well as having returned to their true human form after being destroyed?

Nomura: Yes, it does turn out that way. However, as I said before, â€˜The World That Never Wasâ€™, where the thirteen all met, is a special space. The mechanics behind how they were all able to exist at the same time is a mystery. From KH1 on, Ansem has returned no matter how many times he has been defeated, perhaps the same sort of thing happened.

â€” Lea said the same lines, â€œWhy do I always get the icky jobs,â€ and â€œIâ€™ll always be there to bring you back,â€ to Xion in KH Days when he brought her back. Does he remember that?

Nomura: The nature of the being known as Xion and all memories to do with her were erased, but he would remember other things.

â€”Why did Lea visit Disney Castle when he should have been looking for his friend?

Nomura: To search for his friend he needed the power to move between worlds, and there is no way to do that other than become a Keyblade Wielder. At the time, wanting to be made a Keyblade Wielder, Lea saw a message recorded by Ansem the Wise in the past and, knowing it was dangerous, used the Corridors of Darkness once more to go talk with King Mickey and the others. Thatâ€™s why after Maleficent left he was asking at the Mysterious Tower.

â€” So, in â€˜The King Departsâ€™, when Yen Sid said â€˜great sorcerers and fairies have hastened the flow of time in a different place for youâ€™â€¦

Nomura: Upon request, those who can manipulate time, Merlin and the three fairies who appeared in KH2, changed the flow of time in a special place, and there Lea received hastened training in order to be able to use the Keyblade, basically. In the original scenario, we had planned to have Lea able to use the Keyblade when he ran to Sora.

â€” Ansem the Wise is an old acquaintance of Rikuâ€™s, why did he ask him his name in the end?

Nomura: Thatâ€™s what you could call a â€œwise joke.â€ (Laughs.) Heâ€™s purposefully asking the same thing as he did in KH2 to a Riku who had changed into Ansemâ€™s form.

â€” While at the time Riku lied and said his name was Ansem, this time he replies with a bright â€˜Rikuâ€™, doesnâ€™t he?

Nomura: Yes, because the main part of the plot in this title is Rikuâ€™s growth. The point that unlike before he can declare â€˜I am meâ€™ is intended to show that growth symbolically.

â€” It was declared from Ansem the Wiseâ€™s own mouth that everything can grow a heart.

Nomura: Yes it was, I thought Iâ€™d leave it clear in this title.

â€” Were the members of Organisation XIII that grew hearts unsuitable as vessels for Xehanort?

Nomura: Thatâ€™s not necessarily the case, however the details are a secret.

â€” Xigbar and Saix appeared as members of Organisation XIII. Did they return as humans like Lea and the others?

Nomura: The conditions of becoming a human have been met, so youâ€™d think they had returned, wouldnâ€™t you? For them to have been with Xehanort and the others, perhaps they were collected after they had become humans and before Lea and the others woke up. You could say the same for the members of Organisation XIII that didnâ€™t appear in this title, howeverâ€¦ Iâ€™d rather everyone use their imaginations.
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Source: sqex.info/

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Famitsu: Interview with Nomura (Unannounced Title)

Posted by Mike : May 9, 2012 at 9:17 AM ( 19 , 2,683 )

Hello KH-Vids. The latest issue of Famitsu featured an interview with Kingdom Hearts director (Tetsuya Nomura) in regards to a new title from the Kingdom Hearts series. Still not completely clear if the title will be Kingdom Hearts III he explained "I'll leave that to you."

He briefly mentioned that the new title is something unexpected and akin to a "fast ball."

Nomura also implied that the new title is lightweight, but refrained from giving any other information.

Congratulations Nomura on once again another interesting interview that was VERY confusing. I remain speechless in this update. No comment.
Update: A summary was posted by a Gematsu member, which SQEX was kind enough to translate. It has some discussion of KH3D, I've hidden the ending spoilers but still, beware!

He received the opinion that the storyline was difficult to understand.

There are other worlds closed by sleep, but that doesn’t mean where they’ll be going has been decided. They were guided by two members of Organization XIII to The World That Never Was.

Since it was known that the figure in the brown robe has dived into other words previously, it’s within reason to assume he guided Organization XIII but this may not be the case.

If there wasn’t a battle at the end of the game it would have felt anticlimactic, so an unplanned boss battle was added hastily.

Riku experiences his troubles and grows from it very much like an old fashioned “Square” main character. Riku’s character was made to be an unlikely hero type.

The timing when the worlds’ logos appeared indicates the boundary between reality and the dream.

“I figured since Lea had returned to his human form, it’d be no good if he didn’t have any power to bring back the person he wants, so I thought he should become a Keyblade Wielder.”

Since the place that the Mysterious Tower resides in is unknown, you enter via King Mickey’s world. Thanks to Merlin and the Fairies, time flows differently there.

“I worried about making Lea appear again, but I think sequentially he became a key character.”

“Regarding the title’s concepts, during Kingdom Hearts there hadn’t been anything past KH2 and Chain of Memories, then after that I thought of 358/2 Days, Coded, and Birth by Sleep. Thus conceiving the ideas for titles occurs through gradual stages.”

“Since I decided to make KH3D rather suddenly, the story I presented was rushed since it was still being planned.”

The fragmentary texts that appear in the secret movie are tied to the story of Kingdom Hearts, however there is no telling whether it will be explored hereafter. (He avoids saying whether or not it relates to the secret movie of Birth by Sleep Final Mix.)

(Will the next title finally be KH3?) “I’ll leave that up to you.”

(The next title…) “Maybe it’ll be something unexpected akin to a ‘fast ball’.”

It’ll be something “lightweight”, but he is refraining to divulge the unannounced title.
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Source: Gematsu, SQEX.info

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