It has been revealed that Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will be available as a playable demo at Games Week 2016 in Milan, Italy from the 14th to 16th of October. This is courtesy of Koch Media who are in charge of distribution of Square Enix games within Italy. A list of all featured titles for Games Week 2016 have been provided, and information on obtaining tickets for the event. There is currently an "Early Birds" Discount for tickets available until the 4th of October, which can all be viewed on the Milan Games Week 2016 website.
Will you be attending the event? Let us know in the comments below!
Seth Kearsley, the director and writer of the scrapped animated series for Kingdom Hearts posted an image of a tape with footage from the show. You can find an image of the tape below:
Seth then went on to speak with Twitter user @SHIELD_DRAWS, who asked several questions about the scrapped series as well as the possibility of an animated series tie-in with Kingdom Hearts III, referencing the Brotherhood anime that was produced for Final Fantasy XV.
Seth went on to explain that all characters were voiced by their original voice actors and had completed recording with the exception of Sora, who was to be voiced by a sound-alike for Haley Joel Osment. Seth also answered that he has talked with Walt Disney Animation Studios about the possibility of another project, but that there doesn't seem to be much interest at the current time.
Do you think there should be an animated series or any sort of other tie-in produced with Kingdom Hearts III? Let us know in the comments!
Monogram Direct has updated with a page containing new Kingdom Hearts series 3D Foam Keyrings, which will be released in November/December 2016. These keyrings will be in 24 blind foil bags featuring Goofy, Pete, Roxas, Axel, Mickey Mouse, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald Duck, the Kingdom Key Keyblade, and a Shadow Heartless.
There are two types of packs you can get:
Inner Case (PDQ BOX): 24 Blind Bags
Master Case (6 Inner Cases): 144 Blind Bags
UPDATE 1: Monogram Direct has released a new unboxing video for the Kingdom Hearts series 3D Foam Keyrings. You can check it out below:
UPDATE 2: Monogram Direct have announced their Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Keyrings collection will grow with the addition of a Series 2. You can check those out here.
UPDATE 3: Monogram Direct will be selling a San Diego Comic Con exclusive Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Keyring 3 piece set at their booth, (#3645), during the convention in July 2017. Included in the set are Sora, a golden Kingdom Key Keyblade, and Mickey Mouse. Only 500 of them are made, and it will cost $25.00 USD. You can check it out below:
UPDATE 4: Monogram Direct have revealed that their Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Keyrings collection will grow with the addition of a Series 3. You can check those out here.
UPDATE 5: Monogram Direct will also be selling their SDCC exclusive 3D Foam Keyring set, shown above, at New York Comic Con 2017 with limited availability, along with their other San Diego Comic Con exclusive merchandise. Check out more about that in the full article here.
UPDATE [Nov. 19, 2017]: The Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Keyrings Series 1 is currently available to purchase at BoxLunch and on the BoxLunch website. They're listed for $5.90 USD each, but are currently on sale for $4.72 USD each. You can purchase a blind bag here.
You can check out the BoxLunch product description for the Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Keyrings Series 1 here:
A Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Sora Chibi magnet is also currently available to purchase at Hot Topic and on the Hot Topic website! It's listed for $4.90 USD, but is currently on sale for $3.92 USD. You can purchase it here.
You can check out the Hot Topic product description for the Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Sora Chibi magnet here:
UPDATE [Nov. 20, 2017]: A Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Riku Chibi magnet is now available at Hot Topic and on the Hot Topic website! It's listed for $4.90 USD, but is currently on sale for $3.43 USD. You can purchase it here.
You can check out the Hot Topic product description for the Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Riku Chibi magnet here:
Which Kingdom Hearts 3D Foam Keyring or magnet do you want? Let us know down in the comments below!
With Tokyo Game Show 2016 running from September 15th till the 18th, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue was available for attendees to play as they await for the release on January 12th, 2017 in Japan and January 24th, 2017 everywhere else.
In the playable demo, it appears as though the lighting has gone through a major change. This change seems to have been an improvement from the E3 2016 demo that was available for attendees. You can check out some of the comparisons below, thanks to YouTube user Gamersyde Official for the TGS 2016 demo capture and GameXplain for the E3 2016 capture.
E3 2016
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TGS 2016
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You can check out the full videos below for each demo thanks to those respective users as well.
Did you notice any other differences? Let us know in the comments below!
UPDATE 2: The Kingdom Hearts Static Arts Mini Figures are now available for pre-order on the Japanese Square Enix store, with a release date of December 24th, 2016 for 4,100 yen.
UPDATE: The Kingdom Hearts Static Arts Mini Figures are now available on the Square Enix NA online shop! You can check out descriptions and links for each static art figure.
Chirithy
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Meow Wow
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Mini Shadow
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New Static Arts Mini Figures of Chirithy, Heartless Shadow and Meow Wow have now been given availability to preorder on AmiAmi, a Japanese merchandise website. Each of the figures are priced at 4298 Yen (42 USD) with a current 25% off selling price bringing the preorder price to 3220 Yen (31.55 USD). Within the AmiAmi description it is mentioned that the Heartless Shadow has poseable arms and head, and Chirithy has the ability to pose their head. The release date has been placed at 16th December 2016 but "To Be Determined".
You can view the preorders here: Chirithy, Heartless Shadow, Meow Wow.
Would you be interested in placing a preorder for these characters? What other characters would you love to see as Static Arts Mini Figures? Let us know in the comments below!
A new Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer premiered at Tokyo Game Show 2016. Both story and gameplay received significant attention, with a particular focus on new areas and plot points. Since the footage shown within this trailer tends to jump from game to game, our analysis will cover each game as a whole instead of covering the trailer chronologically.
Playing in the background is a brand new remix of Hikari/Simple and Clean, created especially for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, titled "Hikari/Simple and Clean -Ray of Hope MIX-". Unfortunately, this version of the song has yet to be released to the public.
Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
While there is very little completely new footage shown in the Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD segments, this is the first time the game's HUD has appeared in a full trailer, confirming that what we see is likely to be the final design. Additionally, one very significant HUD element appears to be missing; the Drop Gauge. In the 3DS version of the game, as well as in the playable demos that we have seen thusfar, this infamous timer forced players to swap between characters when it was depleted. If a player happened to be fighting a boss as the Drop Gauge was completely expended, they would return to that particular character's story only to find that the game had sent their character back to the point before they entered the boss fight. One small detail to consider is that Drop Gauge orbs (the teardrop shaped objects in the screenshot below) still appear to be present within the game, as Riku defeats an enemy which drops them. However, this could be a temporary situation, as the removal of the Drop System is most likely a recent development which has not fully been completed. What are your thoughts on this mechanic's supposed removal?
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover
The footage focusing on Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover is split into two parts. In the first, we see Ira and the Master of Masters discussing Ira's goal of saving the world, a goal which the Master of Masters seems skeptical of. Meanwhile, Aced approaches Ava with the offer of an alliance between the two of them and a third participant. Ava then plainly states that alliances are forbidden. Afterwards, Gula is shown in an alleyway, musing on the advice to "trust no one but himself". Invi, meanwhile, ponders about circumstances which will lead to the Keyblade War. What do you think each Foreteller's goals and motivations are?
In the second part of the Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover footage, we see Aced grabbing Gula and asserting that they don't know who the traitor is. The next scene shows Ava asking Invi if she considered that her actions could be making things worse for those involved. The final scene of this segment shows the Master of Masters closing a Book of Prophecy, remarking that Luxu should "get started" and will have to "go alone from here on out". Luxu responds by asking about the Foretellers' involvement in what his master has planned. What do you think the Master of Masters could be planning, and how are his apprentices involved?
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-
This portion of the compilation received a significant amount of screen time. The CG footage we see is most likely taken from the opening of the game, especially when considering the abstract, surreal nature of many of the scenes. When examining the in-engine footage, the graphics appear to be slightly improved from the previous trailer as well as the playable demo for the game. This slight graphical touch-up could be the very first evidence we have of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue's compatibility with PlayStation 4 Pro.
The gameplay segments in the trailer take place within Dwarf Woodlands, one of the worlds which was sent to the Realm of Darkness sometime after the events of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. We see Aqua heavily relying on magic and triggering the Blizzagun command style, though it does not get activated. We also see her battling a living reflection of herself, which was seen earlier in the trailer.
Within another area, we see Aqua strike a pillar in order to seemingly reverse the gravity as well as phase through the floor. This allows her to reach a previously inaccessible treasure chest. If this sort of variety in the gameplay is common, what other types of unique gameplay mechanics would you like to see?
The story elements take place in two segments. First, Aqua is seen in Dwarf Woodlands approaching Snow White's glass casket, which is revealed to contain Ventus. The next scene shows Aqua facing the Magic Mirror, with the mirror's spirit nowhere to be found. As her reflection begins to come to life, it taunts her by asking what point there is in continuing to fight, ending with "Only your heart is hollow enough to be a demon's". Aqua refutes this claim, preparing to battle this living reflection.
The second segment of story-related footage takes place at the end of the trailer. We see Aqua falling through an abyss, accepting her fate to become one with darkness. As her Wayfinder slips out of her hand, Mickey appears and returns it to her, asking if she is okay. In the trailer's final scene, Aqua is shown confronting a group of Darksides in Enchanted Dominion. These Darksides release orbs of dark energy into another very massive orb of dark energy floating above them.
The trailer ends with the game's logo and release date, January 12th, 2017 for Japan and January 24th, 2017 for the rest of the world.
If you would like to delve into further analysis of this trailer, be sure to check out Soraalam1's analysis video!
Additionally, you may be interested in the following discussion video, featuring KH13 staff member Toominator!
What are your thoughts on this new trailer? Did you notice anything that we may have missed in our analysis? Please let us know in the comments!
Tetsuya Nomura has released a new sketch at Tokyo Game Show 2016 to commemorate Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. This new sketch features Aqua, Sora, and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Riku. You can check out the sketch below, thanks to @naxkia for the tip/screenshot.
Do you like this new sketch? Let us know in the comments below!
In the September 14th issue of Famitsu Weekly, the Kingdom Hearts series has yet another feature. This feature focuses on Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and all the news that has recently been revealed. In this feature, Kingdom Hearts series co-director, Tai Yasue, has shared some comments.
In addition to Yasue's comments, another important feature is that Chirithy, in Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, has been shown for the first time in his HD, Unreal Engine 4 form.
You can check out screenshots & translations from the Famitsu Weekly feature below, in our gallery.
UPDATE: Information about Lea’s Keyblade Keychain bundle from the Japanese Square Enix E-store has been translated by Goldpanner!
The original article follows:
A bundle has been posted on Square Enix Japan's online store, featuring both Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue as well as a new, limited version of the Lea's Keyblade keychain, in red as opposed to the normal version's silver. This bundle will retail for 9,304 yen, and Square Enix Japan is currently accepting pre-orders. You can view the listing here.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue releases on January 12, 2017 in Japan, and on January 24, 2017 everywhere else. An extended Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer was released today.
The official Japanese Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue website has updated. This update divides the site with the 3 games in the collection, and a mysterious section called 'special/DLC'. While we're unsure what this section is, it could just be media/trailers.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue releases on January 12, 2017 in Japan, and on January 24, 2017 everywhere else. An extended Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer was released today.
What do you think the section is? Let us know in the comments below!
UPDATE: A full translation has been provided by Goldpanner! You can read it below.
The original article follows.
Tetsuya Nomura shared a message on Twitter about recent Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue news. In this message, he has confirmed a PlayStation 4 Pro version will be made for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. He also says that the trailer will not be the last, and says that the music in the recent trailer was produced for Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep's opening.
You can read some translations below thanks to @r_kane1
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue releases on January 12, 2017 in Japan, and on January 24, 2017 everywhere else. An extended Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer was released today.
Are you getting Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue for the PS4 Pro? Let us know!
The cover artwork for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue has been released. It can be seen below.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue releases on January 12, 2017 in Japan, and on January 24, 2017 everywhere else. An extended Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer was released today.