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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."

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Main Source: 1up
Second Source: KHN & Gamefaqs' tofudude
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KINGDOM HEARTS: II Manga (VOLUME 5)
Hey everyone, here's an update on Kingdom Hearts manga. Apparently the new volume for Kingdom Hearts: II will be releasing on August 22nd 2009. In my opinion, it's been awhile since the 4th one was released. This volume will now be the fifth one that will be in available in Japan. As for North America, I believe only two volumes for Kingdom Hearts: II was released.

We'll keep you informed. (Source) The Light in Chaos

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania
Heart Station has updated with scans from the new released Ultimania book from the new title (Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days). There is a huge amount of content and spoilers in the book. If you view these scans, just note that you are at risk of spoiling yourself.
http://heartstation.org/zenphoto/358-2-days/scans/ultimania/

I just wanted to quickly let everyone know that KH-Vids has it's own account on one of the fast growing social websites out there now. We hope those of you that have Twitter will follow us for the latest Kingdom Hearts news/updates. We plan on updating the account as much as we can. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Link: https://twitter.com/KHVidsNET

Two new figures from Kingdom Hearts: II was displayed at the Japan Expo 2009 in France. The first image above features King Mickey. The second image, which is also found above features Sora from Christmas Town. As of now they have no release date or price set. Please be aware that they are unpainted models. We'll keep you updated.

Source: FF7AC Reunion