Chapter 26 of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga has appeared online, thanks to taime and catmaster0116. You can see this chapter below, in our gallery.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 26
Disney Games Japan have launched an official page for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. Don't get too excited, as there is no new content-- however, it is nice to see promotion happening leading up to the release of the game in Japan on March 14, 2013. The page contains the trailer from Jump Festa 2013, as well as various screenshots and information detailing both the original titles, and the changes made to them in HD 1.5 ReMIX.
Square Enix Gangan, the creators of the Kingdom Hearts manga series, have uploaded a wallpaper celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series. The wallpaper serves as a calendar for February 2013, and part of March 2013, with a focus on Valentine's Day! You can view it below in our gallery, in all available resolutions.
Various recently-announced Kingdom Hearts figurines have made an appearance at New York Toy Fair 2013. Hidemi Matsuzuka has uploaded photos of the figurines being showcased at the event, including the Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Tron: Legacy Play Arts, Kingdom Hearts II Formation Arts Volume 3, and Kingdom Hearts 3D Play Arts Kai. All photos from the event can be seen below, in our gallery.
7-Eleven Japan have announced that they will be running a special Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- promotion in Japan, up until March 11, 2013. If you pre-order the game from 7-Eleven in Japan before this date, then you will receive a product code for an exclusive downloadable original PS3 custom theme. You also receive the game a bit cheaper, for ¥6,280 (approximately US$67.64) instead of the RRP of ¥6,980. goldpanner has translated the 7-Eleven product description, and thanks to her, this can be read below.
Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- for PS3: PREORDER EXCLUSIVE
Product name: Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- for PS3
Pre-order period: ~11th March 2013 (Mon) until 10:00
Release date: 14 March 2013 (Thu)
Price: Manufacturer's suggested retail price ¥6,980 ⇒ 7-Eleven special price ¥6,280
7-Eleven Original Bonus: Product code for downloadable original PS3 custom theme
Product summary:
Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- is three titles in one! The first two titles in the series and an extending story make up three titles to enjoy on your PS3!
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix: The first title in the series! [hd remastered version]
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the North American version of the first title of the series with a great deal of added content, was released in 2002. This HD remaster has more new features!
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories: The second title in the series! [hd remastered version]
The second title in the series, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, was released on the GBA in 2004. This is a HD remaster of the 3D full-remake released for the PS2 in 2007, Re:Chain of Memories!
※Sold included with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts Three-Five-Eight-Over-Two: The tale that connects to KH2! Enjoy the story as a HD video title.
The story of another protagonist, Roxas, released on the GBA in 2009. The important scenes have been recorded as this video title!
(Note: This should say Nintendo DS; 7-Eleven made a typo in the product description.)
Attention:
※Preorders limited to two copies per customer.
※There are limited numbers so please place your preorder soon.
※There may be unavoidable changes to the final product. Please understand this beforehand.
※Images are of the unfinished product.
※If not specifically indicated, the price of all goods includes tax.
Square Enix have updated the official website for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. This update is an update to the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days section of the website, and in addition to the existing subsection for "Story", subsections for "Characters", "Screenshots" and "New Features" have been added. These sections, along with their screenshots, are summarized below.
Background music has also been added to the website's main page. The song is an updated version of Dearly Beloved from Kingdom Hearts, and can be downloaded here, or listened to below. This is the first track we've heard from HD 1.5 ReMIX, so enjoy!
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days section on the official website for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-
Story
This section, which was already present with the website update earlier, simply contains a synopsis of the 358/2 Days story, along with some screenshots from the game in the background. This image can be seen below.
Characters
The characters section contains icons and synopses for various characters in the game. Both the small and large versions of these renders can be seen below.
Screenshots
The screenshots section contains 16 new screenshots from the game. These can be seen below.
New Features
The new features section details the contents of the 358/2 Days Video Volume. They compare the quality of the original game (1 | 2) to that of the HD version (1 | 2), and summarize all of the information included in the recent Famitsu article.
Square Enix have released images of new Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Play Arts Kai, via Hidemi Matsuzuka's Facebook page. Two versions of Sora and Riku will be available, each with a different Keyblade. Check out the images of these below, in our gallery.
Chapter 25 of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga has appeared online, thanks to taime and catmaster0116. You can see this chapter below, in our gallery. You can also find every chapter from the first three volumes in our gallery.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 25
Square Enix have created a pre-order page for Volume 3 of the Kingdom Hearts II Formation Arts, which were first shown off last week. This pre-order page includes new photos of the figurines, and announces the Japanese release date as June 28, 2013. The box set will cost ¥7,200 (approximately US$78.04). The new images can be seen below, in our gallery.
Square Enix Merchandise North America have announced via their official Twitter account that the Shadow Heartless plush toy, earlier announced for Japan, will be available in North America from March 2013.
4Gamer.net have posted an article concerning Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, with a focus on the 358/2 Days Theatre Mode portion of the title. This article coincides with the earlier release of 358/2 Days information this week, and contains 20 new screenshots & renders from the game. These can be seen below, in our gallery.
Update: catmaster0116 from KH13 has translated the subtitles on these screenshots, and these can be seen here, with both a direct translation and the corresponding text from the English game.
Earlier, Famitsu.com have posted an article concerning Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. This article contains a huge amount of information about the 358/2 Days Theatre Mode part of the title. catmaster0116 from KH13 has done a full translation of this article, and thanks to him, you can read the article below.
The heartbreaking story of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, now transformed into HD!
3 of the series titles have been remastered in HD as Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (Referred to as KH1.5 for future reference). One of the titles compiled called Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, which was released for the Nintendo DS, now has its original story compiled into video clips lasting 2 hours and 50 minutes. Now, parts of the scenes derived from the original version will now be shown! In addition, the developer’s staff comments and mini interviews will also be reported.
Changes derived from to KH358/2 Days original version
Scenes from original version now transformed into high resolution
Event scenes previously without voices are now fully voiced as HD cutscenes
It's now possible to view the special scenes (Days) from the chapter menu
From the beginning of “Roxas’s Diary”, clips depicting the ‘Secret Reports’ will be unlocked and viewable
Details relating to any characters that appear will be detailed and can be viewed and explained in the newly added “Character Dictionary”
Upon completion of viewing all the content, a custom theme for the PlayStation 3 will be unlocked
Trophy system support (Trophy acquisition is related to how much you have viewed)
(Left image): "If you see the words ‘Winner’ on sticks of any finished ice cream bars"
▲ “Organization XIII” is the organization in which the protagonist Roxas belongs to, everyday he is tasked with missions, and there he fosters a friendship between Axel, the person tasked with training him – and Xion, the girl who has newly joined the ranks of the Organization.
(Left image): "The Key"
(Right image): "And then, the great Kingdom Hearts will assemble is all im sayin’"
▲ Organization XIII works in accordance with the intention of its leader, Xemnas – his intentions are littered with ulterior motives. Those intentions before long begin to shake the peaceful days shared between Roxas and his friends.
(Left image): "Sora’s memories have come to a complete stop"
(Right image): "Please don’t hold back"
About: The developers comments and mini interview!
Includes an interview with comments from the cutscene director for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Mr Oka Masaru, and the person behind the sound effects, sound design and the electric guitar Mr Hirose Yuki.
The interview for cutscene director Mr Oka Masaru
-- When the HD version was decided upon, what kind of duties were you in charge of?
Oka Masaru: When compiling ‘Days’ into a theatre, just developing the main story into clips was clear, we had 100 new scenes created from the selection of scenarios. The existing cutscenes became a production environment and brought about a big change for the newly created cutscenes. Apart from developing the chains of clips, there was no sense of unease in tuning the graphics as much as possible.
-- Which part do you think users will particularly want to see?
Oka Masaru: This time around, with the fresh cutscenes with added sound (voices), and the abundance of facial expressions, we felt that it was a challenge to use the textures to convey delicate emotions. When given the same scene, with the lines ‘….’, I wonder to myself what kind of emotions and what sort of fresh surprises we are able to get from this. When connecting several scenes, each chapter serves to have its own way of telling its part of the story along with the background music (BGM) which compliment the scenes. Before, there were scenes with a different scene BGM, except this time the way it is presented in the theatre is much more enjoyable and appreciable. But still, in scenes which were depicted with 2 screens, we had to get rid of one of the screens in order to edit them into a 1-screen scene. How it turns out, I hope you can confirm it yourself with the finished product. The theatre spans 2 hours and 50 minutes. When watching all the scenes together starting from the beginning, I think they would be best appreciated by the viewer being settled comfortably.
-- In addition, could you please provide us with any incidents which left a profound impression on you.
Oka Masaru: The HD transformation that we’ve been apart of, as well as producing cutscenes for past projects KH, Re:Chain of Memories, and finally Days; as I look back at those clips, I reminisce at the feeling I got at the time of production and I get a surge of nostalgia. Its something like – ‘This was Kingdom Hearts 10 years ago!’ But that was ages ago, and I’d never thought that we’d be involved with so much KH later down the track. After these 10 years and as we face the future, I feel I want to continue making things for everyone’s dearly beloved Kingdom Hearts series.
Comment from sound designer Yuki Hirose
As the first of the series for the PlayStation 3, the real time portions of KH and KH:ReCoM run on 5.1ch surround sound. This is true too for Days, which adds a huge collection of story scenes, all of which are fully compiled with voices ~ I hope your hearts will flutter for adorable little Xion!! On the side of music, it's being supervised by Ms Yoko Shimomura. The songs used here when compared to the original will have different musical instrument replacements, along with rearrangements of the songs. The sound itself has been reborn, certainly please do anticipate it. Lastly… to all the good kids out there, please don’t go eating ice cream in such high/tall places (laughs).
Square Enix have finally revealed the boxart for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-! This boxart, which uses new artwork, can be seen below. Make sure to click for a larger image, and enjoy! Thanks go to remoon for the find.
Update: The image below has been replaced with an even larger version from the game's Amazon.co.jp page.
Jesse McCartney, the voice actor for Roxas in the English releases of games in the Kingdom Hearts series, has confirmed via Twitter that localization for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- is currently underway.
This is the first time that we've heard any confirmation of this, so it is certainly a big deal! McCartney uploaded a picture of work being done in the recording booth. You can see a scene from 358/2 Days playing in the background. This can be seen below.
Update 1: McCartney has uploaded a video of himself recording battle sounds for the game. In the background, footage from the title can be seen. We have uploaded this to YouTube, and it can be seen below.
Update 2: Alyson Stoner, the voice actor for Xion in the English version of 358/2 Days, has mentioned via her official website that she will be "Voicing a familiar character in a popular video game (can’t spill details yet)" in 2013. Thanks go to KHInsider for the find. As her only two video game roles have been Xion in 358/2 Days and minor roles in Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension, it sounds likely that this "familiar character" is in fact Xion. Stay tuned!
Famitsu.com have posted an article concerning Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, with a focus on the 358/2 Days Theatre Mode part of the title. This article coincides with the appearance of HD 1.5 ReMIX in the January 24 issue of Famitsu Weekly, and contains much information, as well as 6 new screenshots from the game. Enjoy!
