October 4 Famitsu scans + Tetsuya Nomura interview + screens

Report on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-: Pictures of prettied-up screens and an Interview with Mr. Tetsuya Nomura

This year marks 10 years since the first Kingdom Hearts title was born, and now with the time ripe it is being remastered in HD. Let's peruse the content from these screencaps and an interview with director Mr. Tetsuya Nomura!

A NEW DOOR OPENS IN HD

Kingdom Hearts (hereon KH) is an action RPG series loved throughout the world. Of the seven stories that have been revealed so far, KH Final Mix and KH Re:Chain of Memories have been remastered in HD in KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, releasing in 2013 for PS3. On top of this, KH 358/2 Days is also included as a volume converted to video! Without further ado, let's check out the new images of each title, born again and more gorgeous than ever.

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix

Kingdom Hearts, in which Sora, the protagonist of the series, and Donald and Goofy travel through various Disney worlds. This title, which released in March 2002, returned triumphantly as KH Final Mix, which used the North American version that released the same year in December as a base with added components and the English voicing. This Final Mix version has been remastered in HD in KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. The voicing that was in English will be in Japanese.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories

After the adventures of KH, Sora and Donald and Goofy set foot in 'Castle Oblivion', in which the further you go in, the more you lose your memories... KH Re:Chain of Memories, remastered in HD for this title, was originally included with KH2 Final Mix, which released in 2007. It was a 3D remake of the Gameboy Advance title KH Chain of Memories, which released in 2004.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 DAYS

The protagonist of KH 356/2 Days is Roxas, a young man who played an important role in KH2. The story of Roxas and Axel, who takes care of him, and Xion, a girl who has newly joined 'Organisation XIII', unfolds. In KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, you can appreciate the main story of KH 358/2 Days put to video and bestowed new voicing as a video volume.

Kingdom Hearts FOR PC BROWSER (TENTATIVE TITLE)

Kingdom Hearts for PC Browser (tentative title), announced at Tokyo Game Show 2012 with KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, will be a free to play online game for PC browsers. As a player you will customise an avatar that will represent you and adventure through Disney worlds. It seems that undertaking quests and cooperating with friends to defeat enemies will be elements?

WE ASK DIRECTOR MR. TETSUYA NOMURA ABOUT KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX-

This year marks 10 years since the first Kingdom Hearts title was born, and now with the time ripe it is being remastered in HD. Let's peruse the content from these screencaps and an interview with director Mr. Tetsuya Nomura!

―Please tell us the details of how the release of KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX- came to be.

Mr. Tetsuya Nomura (hereon Nomura): All the titles in the series so far are a collection, first establishing the internal set-up, called the 'Seeker of Darkness Chronicles' (※), and I wanted to bring together the whole story arriving at KH2 before we turn to its conclusion.

―There's strong meaning behind going over it again, isn't there. Will there be changes or additions to the content of the games?

Nomura: The two titles that are included as games will have trophy support. We intend to include an extensive range of trophies, from the more orthodox to ones that won't go down easily. Also, the controls in KH1 have been modified to be a little closer to the ones in KH2. We've also replaced some of the models of the main characters with the most recent ones.

―Why are you remaking KH 358/2 Days as a video volume rather than a game?

Nomura: Actually, I had also been thinking about doing a full remake like KH Re:Chain of Memories (hereon KH Re:CoM). However, if we had started that it would have considerably delayed starting work on the new title, so it ended up being included in the form of something like the 'theatre mode' that we already have in the series. We are changing 70% of the main story into cutscenes, with freshly-recorded voicing too, and we are currently working on around 100 scenes. If you watch from start to finish, you will know and understand the story of KH 358/2 Days. Though it's in a different form than the game I think people will enjoy it.

―Can you please tell us a little more about the series-first KH game for PC browser?

Nomura: This is not a title with an emphasis on story, but we are working premises in. That said, for the first time in the series you can enjoy the content completely separately from the main series, so even beginners to the series might be able to be at ease playing it. The battling is different again from KH Re:CoM, and we are aiming for something with simple controls and flashy movements. I think customising is important to this type of game, so we are filling it with new elements in that area.

―By the way, what of a HD version of KH2 and up?

Nomura: It would be unnatural not to (laughs).

―Here's hoping! And now, lastly, a message for the gamers please.

Nomura: Because the series so far has been scattered over different consoles, I think there have been people who found it difficult to access, with sequels such as KH2 that might already have come out by the time they came to know about the series. With KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX- you can enjoy the story from the beginning, and in HD quality on top of that, so if you haven't played yet please by all means use this opportunity to do so. I think even those who have already played through the series may make new discoveries regarding foreshadowing of sequels and lines that reference previous lines and such by taking another look at everything aligned in chronological order. I would be happy if this title turns out to be a 'restart' for the series.

※Seeker of Darkness Chronicles... mentioned as the phrase 'Xehanort Chronicles' in a previous interview with Weekly Famitsu, this refers to Xehanort the Seeker of Darkness being the pivot of the whole series. 'Seeker of Darkness Chronicles' is the formal name first used in the project proposal.