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KH3D Details & Play Impressions

Posted by Misty : Jul 17, 2011 at 12:44 AM ( 13 , 4,352 )

Hey everybody! Ty is unfortunately without internet right now, so I'm posting some news up for you all. =]

SQEX☆GAL translated the following summary of an interview with Nomura in a recent issue of Famitsu. It gives some of Nomura's opinions and comments on the game series, as well as hints about the future of the series, including KH3D!

On the Ranking Results
Since I hear a lot of opinions that fans really like one particularly, I’m surprised to see that KH2 Final Mix ranked number one and then KH2 ranked after it. I didn’t want Birth by Sleep to seem like a spin off, so I’m happy to see it ranked in the top five.

My favorite character Sora must be ranked number one since he’s an uncomplicated, good guy. He gives us trouble though; when we make the promotional trailers it’s hard to find lines of his we can use since he doesn’t really say much useful.

The second ranked character Roxas, fans think he’s the most Final Fantasy-esque. Along with his friendship with Axel, they make an impressive set.

The most impressionable scenes for me were the endings of KH1 and KH2, and the scene in KH2 when Roxas’ summer vacation ends.

My favorite abilities are the popular Glide and Dodge Roll as well. They have a reinvigorating feel and are comfortable to do, so I like them. Along the same line, we’re including a one-handed rotation ability similar to Dodge Roll in FF Versus 13 too.

My favorite Keyblade is the top ranked Oathkeeper. It carries a deep meaning with the story and the design of it is clean, it’s the one I’m most pleased with.

With the most popular world, Twilight Town, we really fussed over embodying the image of coming from school as the sun sets. That song gave Shimomura-san a lot of trouble and pushed her to improve. We had an image derived around another artist’s song, but it really worked out well, the result was a song with a completely different sort of anguish.

The worst world to deal with was Atlantica, sorry it was so difficult to move. We had trouble adjusting the character’s movement while swimming and simultaneously fighting.

The popular enemies like the Shadows, Neo Shadows, White Mushrooms, Dusks and so on; I drew them myself. The enemies dictate the overall design aspects of the series, so I work them out with the staff afterwards. The hardest enemy for me was the Dancer Nobody, it was formidable enemy.

On Story Development
The story is mixed with elements of surprise. I try to develop it so that the parts that you expect to go one way go another.

We don’t come together and decide on the story from beginning to end. The staff helps flesh things out and I supervise myself making the final decisions. Since I’m the only one who can see the big picture and knows what happens after each development, I have a hard time figuring out how to draw it up for the staff.

On Internationalization
Though it’s an international series, it isn’t regulated for specific regions since I believe it will be well received if it’s interesting enough. Those at Disney said it has a very Japanese sense about it, I guess you could call it ‘Eastern thinking’. I thought that we’d make the storyline simple and clear, but I received this single piece of advice from Hironobu Sakaguchi: “If you don’t make it more complex like with Final Fantasy, you won’t be able to compete.” So from there the development moved to make something that would engage the colorful imaginations of the fans.

The storyline for KH3D is considerably difficult to understand. I am discussing it with Disney now, but they couldn’t understand it all at once. I’m explaining the reason and the established connections for each mystery one by one. It’s troublesome for the interpretation and localization, but there are many people in Disney who love the Kingdom Hearts series, somehow they’re following along with it.

There’s a sense that Kingdom Hearts appeals to wider age range of fans compared to Final Fantasy. Ratio wise, more fans are female. I’m especially happy to see that there is strong support for the series from fans in foreign countries too.

On Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Since there are so many mysteries to wonder about that are unrelated to the main volume, we aren’t trying to explain all of them. (Things like the personal information of the characters, the Room of Sleep, and the Room of Awakening.) KH3D deals with Sora’s concealed data, I’ll reveal more about the other mysteries another time.

The development status of KH3D is about 40%-50%. We’ll start recording the voices soon. The theme this time was “bold action”, but we also wanted to stress the importance of the story’s tempo. Though the story is important to fans as shown by the results of the survey, it won’t be drawn-out.

Not meaning that we’ve decreased the number of cutscenes, but having each one explained one by one reduces the tempo of the game, so we’re introducing a new system to make up for it. Again it’s directionally different from FF Versus 13. In KH3D, Sora will fight alongside various friends too. There’s also a secret movie being prepared.

On the Future of Kingdom Hearts
We’ve prepared a response in KH3D for the fans who are always saying, “We want KH3 to release!” The series that has developed so far as “the Xehanort saga” should end once and for all in KH3. I’ve outlined a tentative plot that takes place afterward, so we could continue onto a new chapter. Sora would remain the main character; that wouldn’t change. About an HD remastering, whether we release one or not is a different story, we have to think about the technical aspects of it.

I’ll read everyone’s opinions carefully.

From this summer to next spring, we’ll continue releasing information and sales dates for KH among other titles from the first development department, so please look forward to it.
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Additionally, SQEX☆GAL translated a reviewer's impressions upon playing KH3D:

Original news posts: here and here.

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Future Within Kingdom Hearts (Aqua & Ventus) Fandub

Posted by Mike : Jul 14, 2011 at 2:35 AM ( 1 , 2,044 )

Hey everyone! Today Famitsu caught up with Nomura, who released some information regarding the future of the Kingdom Hearts series. Although it wasn't in-depth information, we're happy to know that the series was still mentioned and that Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance is coming soon - even though we still don't know a set release date.

<center>[video=youtube;MFi7GiWJcC4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFi7GiWJcC4[/video]</center>

Almost ten years old, Kingdom Hearts continues to develop a strong story with multiple characters that are presented with obstacles, drama, friendships and power that lies within each and every character from the series.

CGNET PRODUCTIONS presents the next installment for the future of the Kingdom Hearts Series. "Future Within Kingdom Hearts (Aqua & Ventus)" takes a look into the new development of the series, which leads into a powerful conversation with Aqua and Ven after ten years. Although new titles from the series haven't released since Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (2010), CGNET has gathered information from all titles and connected the future in the most powerful video/audio between Aqua and Ven. Another character joins in this breathtaking video, leaving the Kingdom Hearts series in one big cliffhanger - if Nomura hasn't already done that (laughs).

Like what you heard? Take the audio with you on the go. Downlaod the audio file from the video and feel free to add it on you iTunes today!

Download Audio: http://www.mediafire.com/?1cqp7wvqwkzgt61
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Nomura to Talk Future of KH in Famitsu [INTERVIEW UP]

Posted by Ty : Jul 13, 2011 at 3:10 AM ( 20 , 5,767 )

(Yes, this time it's real.)

Hey, guys and gals!

Today marks the beginning of the for the recent news drought for Kingdom Hearts... or so we hope. Andriasang and FF-Reunion are both reporting that in the next issue of Famitsu, Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura will talk about the future of both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts! This includes talks about HD remakes, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, and more importantly, Kingdom Hearts III and beyond!

[FULL ARTICLE UP]

Original Post by Andriasang

This week's Famitsu has a lengthy feature on Square Enix, containing retrospective interviews, and bits and pieces about about the company's upcoming titles. While waiting for our usual full writeup from Sokuho@Hokanko, here's what has surfaced regarding Kingdom Hearts 3D, the Kingdom Hearts series, the Dissidia series, and Final Fantasy XI (yes, that's XI as in not XIV).

Kingdom Hearts 3D
In case you've forgotten in the six months of silence, the three Ds in the 3DS Kingdom Hearts name stand for Dream Drop Distance. Development is currently 40 to 50% complete, Nomura told Famitsu this week. He also confirmed the inclusion of a secret movie.

Nomura dropped a bunch of vague hints about the game. Here's the vaguest: "XXX and XXX in Traverse Town!" This is apparently supposed to be surprising, so see if you can fill in the XXXs with surprising elements.

The game's story is enigmatic and quite puzzling, said Nomura The story will touch upon the hidden data in Sora.

Just one little gameplay bit: you'll apparently be able to work your way up to the rooftops.

Future of Kingdom Hearts
Regarding the future of the Kingdom Hearts series, Nomura said that those who are anticipating Kingdom Hearts III will find some answers in KH3D.

The Xehanort part of the Kingdom Hearts saga will end with KHIII, he said. He currently has a framework of some form in place for the continuation of the series after that, and Sora will remain as main character.

Regarding possible HD remakes of past titles, Nomura would only say that, separate from whether or not they will release remakes, they're looking into HD techology tests for past titles. (I'm not sure if this question and response is about Kingdom Hearts or just in general.)
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[INTERVIEW UP]

Were there any adjustments to the story for international players?

Nomura: I believe that if something's interesting enough people will accept it, so we didn't pay conscious attention to specific regions. But Disney did tell us it had a "Japanese feeling", which I guess you could call an "Oriental way of thinking" (laughs). Also, in terms of storyline, I was thinking of making it simpler and clearer, but Sakaguchi-san (Hironobu Sakaguchi) gave me a single piece of advice for the KH series. That was, "If you don't make it a little more complex, like FF, you won't be able to compete." I prefer to leave the players scope for imagination and guessing, so I decided to develop the game in that way.

Will 3D also have an enigmatic storyline?

Nomura: It's quite difficult to understand. Right now we're putting the story into the Disney scenarios, and it seems like once through won't be enough to understand it. As for the individual mysteries, they'll explain some of the reasons and connections with the game's scenario. We also need approval from overseas, so we're putting in localisation along the way, which is hard work. But there are those on the Disney side who love KH too, and they have a detailed understanding of the scenario, and have been following closely.

---

At the moment, how far along is development of 3D?

Nomura: About 40~50%. Soon we'll start recording voices. The theme this time is "bold action", but I also want to seriously consider the pacing of the story. From this survey I can see that the storyline is a highly anticipated part of the game, but I don't want it to be too drawn-out.

So will you be reducing the number of game events?

Nomura: It's not like that. Just that when something happens, if you explain everything from square one you weaken the pacing. So we're introducing a new system to avoid that. In FF Versus XIII we've removed the cutscenes, letting players continue playing through game events, and here we're going in a different direction again. Also, in 3D Sora fights alongside some strange companions. We're planning to put together a secret movie, so look forward to that.
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Source: Andriasang
Original Source: FF-Reunion

Also, as I was on my way to post this, P sent me a private message with this news, so I thought it'd be fair to give him a little bit of credit as well.

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Roxas' Secret Future Letter (Ventus & Roxas) Fandub

Posted by Mike : Jul 9, 2011 at 1:29 AM ( 7 , 2,565 )

[video=youtube;BM7Ocb4Kvnw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM7Ocb4Kvnw[/video]

Hey everyone. Are you ready for another fandub from KH-Vids?

Roxas' Secret Future Letter continues from after Kingdom Hearts II/ Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. It's a short fan video which focuses on Roxas, who is trying to warn Ventus; who has been sleeping for over ten years.

The video ends as a cliffhanger hinting towards the next Kingdom Hearts title, such as Kingdom Hearts III. There is a HIGH spoiler alert, if you haven't already completed Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Enjoy.

As usual, feedback is always appreciated.

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Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded: Novel Artwork Revealed!

Posted by Mike : Jul 7, 2011 at 1:28 AM ( 6 , 2,441 )

<center><a href="http://kh-recharged.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/070711.jpg"><img src="http://kh-recharged.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/070711.jpg" alt="" title="Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (Novel Artwork)" width="350" height="540" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2981" /></a></center>

We got a special update for the Kingdom Hearts novel fans! If you remember our update a couple weeks back, we confirmed that a novel from Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded would be released sometime in the month of July.

The Square-Enix Book Online has updated with the artwork for the first novel from Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. No word if there will be a second novel from this title, but in the mean time a release date is set for July 28th 2011.

Now for that announcement that Ty mentioned early today. We could really use that just about....now.

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