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!
Square Enix have released images of new Kingdom Hearts II merchandise, via Hidemi Matsuzuka's Facebook page. These two pieces of merchandise are Earphone Jack Accessories, and fit into the earphone jack of your device to give it a bit of extra style. Check out the images of these below, in our gallery.
The latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, releasing on January 24, 2013, has contained an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. The article contains many screenshots of and information about the 358/2 Days Theatre Mode part of the title. hokanko-alt has provided detailed information about the article, and thanks to goldpanner, this information has been translated. You can read it below.
Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX: 358/2 Days Info Released, Trophy Support Element For Even the Video Volume
This introduces some points regarding Days being reworked into the Video Volume. There are also statements regarding the sound work of the entire product.
358/2 Days: Changes from the Original Version
~Cutscenes now high resolution
~Voicing recorded for previously non-voiced scenes
~Able to enjoy specific scenes through chapter select
~"Roxas' Diary" open from the beginning
~"Secret Reports" can be browsed after viewing the videos
~Additional "Character Index" in which you are able to view commentary on the characters
~Obtain a custom PS3 theme after viewing all content
~Trophy support (acquired through viewing content)
In addition to this, there are a great number of screenshots appearing with the article.
Staff Comment:
~From a comment by 358/2 Days cutscene director Masaru Oka: We created about 100 new scenes in order to be able to get the main story across in video only. We also added voicing, so you will be able to enjoy the subtle expression of emotion that is difficult to convey with text only. Get comfortable before you watch it because in entirety it is 2 hours and 50 minutes long. I didn't think that I would be working on the series for this long, but I'd like to go on creating Kingdom Hearts that the fans will love for the next ten years and on into the future.
~From a comment by sound designer Yuki Hirose: We gave 5.1ch surround sound support to the real-time sections of KH and ReCoM, and recorded additional voicing for Days. On the music front, under the supervision of Yoko Shimomura, various tracks have been rearranged and replaced with live instruments. Please look forward to the sound born anew.
Note: We have corrected the article below. Initially we believed these to be scans of the January 24, 2013 article, however, they are actually (new) scans of the December 27, 2012 article.
Scans of the issue of Famitsu Weekly releasing on December 27, 2012, which contained an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, have finally appeared online. The article contains many screenshots of and information about the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix part of the game. Thanks to True Gaming for providing scans, you can see this article below.
Update 1: catmaster0116 from KH13 has begun to translate this article, and so far, has translated the entire first two pages. This partial translation can be read here.
Update 2: goldpanner has done us a huge favor and translated the entire article, not including the missing page 122, between the article's 4th and 5th pages. Thanks to her, this complete translation can be read below.
The scoop on upcoming release: Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX
★10th Anniversary Scoop!
This work is composed of three titles from the series remastered in HD. The price, three titles for 6980 yen (tax included), is also quite appealing.
Goofy: Captain of the royal knights, very thoughtful of his friends.
Sora: Our cheerful and honest protagonist.
Donald Duck: Royal Magician, leave magic to him.
Jiminy: Chronicles the journey.
IN BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS...
The story of KH Final Mix:
Destiny Islands, a gentle world bathed in warm sunlight. Sora, Kairi and Riku lived there, and the three of them formed a plan to leave on an adventurous journey to outside worlds. However, the day before they were to depart, Destiny Islands were swallowed by the darkness, and the three were separated. At the same time, Donald and Goofy, who lived at Disney Castle, received an order to "stay with the one who has the 'key'," left by their missing King, and they set out on a journey to find the one who bore the 'key'--the Keyblade. Sora, thrown out into an outside world, met Donald and Goofy there. Sora, who came to have the Keyblade when Destiny Islands were swallowed by the darkness, along with Donald and Goofy set out on an adventure.
*Screencaps are from a work in progress
Maleficent: Queen who controls the darkness.
Riku: Sora's best friend and yet rival.
Kairi: Childhood friend of Sora and Riku.
Console: PS3
Developer: Square Enix
Expected release: 14th March 2013
Price: 6980 yen (tax included)
Genre: Fantasy, Action RPG, Single Player
Credits: Directed by Tetsuya Nomura, Co-directed by Tai Yasue, Produced by Rie Nishi
★Titles included in KH -HD 1.5 ReMIX-
~Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
Used the North American version of the first title of the series as a base to add new components.
~Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
A title that depicts the events that occured directly after the first title and connects to KHII.
~Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Included as a volume of videos. The other protagonist, Roxas, plays an active role.
With over 18,000,000 units shipped worldwide, the Kingdom Hearts (here-on KH) series is very popular. The latest installment is a HD remaster of the early stretch of the story. Of the three titles included in this work, we will now introduce KH Final Mix, which details the very first adventure of protagonist Sora. We will also reveal changes from the original.
...THE FIRST ADVENTURE TOLD
★Updating the Original KH Final Mix
+On top of being made HD, some character models and textures have been updated
+The English voicing has been changed to Japanese voicing
+With trophy support there is more to do after clearing the game
+PS3 custom theme made available after clearing the game
+Addition of abilities ‘EXP Zero’, in which you cannot earn EXP, and ‘Combo Master’, in which combos continue even if an attack misses
+Camera controls have been changed to the right stick. R3 button to swing the camera behind to default position
+’Talk’ and some special abilities etc. now executed with only the △ button
+’Summon’, which used to be included in ‘Magic’, has been added separately to the command menu
WORLDS OF ADVENTURE
After his home is swallowed by the darkness, Sora sets off on a journey to the ‘outside worlds’ to search for his missing friends Riku and Kairi and drive back enemies known as ‘Heartless’, and as he does so, he travels through many Disney worlds. Now we will introduce each world and present screenshots showcasing how beautiful they look remastered in HD!
TRAVERSE TOWN (KH original world)
Leon: Mediates everyone.
Aerith: A mysterious girl.
This is the first world Sora ends up on. Living here are Final Fantasy characters such as Leon (Squall from FFVIII).
WONDERLAND (from Alice in Wonderland)
A world loaded with strange interactive tricks!
Queen of Hearts: An arrogant ruler.
Alice: A girl with a strong sense of curiosity.
Alice is put on trial for the crime of trying to steal the heart of the Queen of Hearts. In order to save her, evidence must be collected in this strange world.
OLYMPUS COLISEUM (from Hercules)
Hades is making Cloud his attack dog... what is he calculating...?
Sephiroth: Swoops on one wing.
Cloud: A soldier pursuing his sworn enemy.
Hercules: A hero among heroes.
Hades: God of the land of the dead.
Sora enters a tournament, sights set on becoming a hero. However, in the background is Hades and his schemes… Visit again after for the chance to battle secret boss Sephiroth!
★Invigorating battles and Sora's companions
Simple controls and exhilarating flashy battle are staples of the KH series. A Disney character from each world will join you in battle alongside Donald or Goofy. You can also call friends through any Summon Magic that you gain. Your companions have various abilities, such as wide-range attacks and healing. There are RPG-esque elements such as a level-up growth system and ability customisation, so people who don't feel confident about their action skills can rest at ease!
MONSTRO (from Pinocchio)
Pinocchio: A puppet with a heart.
Geppetto: Pinnochio's guardian.
Adventure through the insides of a giant whale, Monstro, who swallows you. While searching for the missing Pinocchio, you come across Riku, but…
ATLANTICA (from The Little Mermaid)
Defeat the giant Ursula!
Ariel: A mermaid who longs for the outside world.
Ursula: A sea witch who is scheming for revenge.
In this world, Sora and his friends take the shape of sea creatures like dolphins, and swim around freely under the sea. Perfect the art of swimming and challenge Ursula.
★Development Staff comments have arrived!
~Character art director Gen Kobayashi (Menu, additional graphics supervisor):
In order to match the HD remastering, a great deal of the base material had to be made high resolution as well as remade entirely. The KH menu screens were originally created in high graphics but we made them even nicer. We widened the screen to 16:9, and we even gave the controls a pleasant do-over, so I am sure that even those who played the PS2 game will be able to enjoy the fresh feeling of this title. We’ve also prepared custom themes and many trophies, so please try and collect them all.
~Character division team leader Tohru Yamazaki (texture work, in charge of adjusting some of the models):
When we first inspected screens from KH, everyone said admiring things like ‘but it’s so pretty right now’. It was the result of the developers back then layering trial and error onto their ways of creating textures. With this title, I started work with the aim to bring things up to basically post-KH2 quality, which meant things with drastically increased resolution and for other parts changing the creation style to fit textures created after KH2. I took great care to make sure people who had been playing the most recent titles in the series would feel the least sense of incongruence possible.
~Producer Sumio Nasu (general programming, handling PS2 to PS3 data conversion):
Because it was a ten year old program, nobody remembered how to use it… We finally worked out how to get moving after a lot of trial and error. I want to make use of the knowledge I gained from this project to bring the next remastered title to life. I want you to feel satisfied by the story on large screen, the image capacity, and the volume that is unbelievable for a ten year old title. In this title the controls feel closer to KHII, and you can also skip cutscenes. Even if this is your first experience with the series, I’m sure you will be able to enjoy the controls without anything feeling off.
HALLOWEEN TOWN (from The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Pay attention to the colourful attacks of Boogie, who moves according to dice rolls!
Jack: The Pumpkin King.
Boogie: Wants to control the town.
Sora and the others have special forms here too. Confront Boogie, who stole something important from Jack, but with all the trickery, it seems a tough battle is unavoidable!?
★Also packed with minigames!
A shooting game when moving between worlds, customising the 'Gummi Ship' you drive during that, searching for treasure with the 'trinity' abilities that Sora and his two friends can pull off: this game is rich in a variety of minigames. You'll find yourself unintentionally absorbed in the game as you aim for the reward, no mistake.
NEVERLAND (from Peter Pan)
Peter Pan: Eternally a boy.
Captain Hook: Boss of the pirates.
Work alongside Peter Pan to search Captain Hook’s pirate ship. In this world, you can fly the skies just like Peter. Enjoy the exhilaration of swimming through the air.
100 ACRE WOODS (from Winnie the Pooh)
The kerfuffles of Pooh and his friends.
Pooh: A bear who loves honey.
100 Acre Woods is picture book world. Collect the torn pages scattered through other worlds and clear mini-games to repair the damaged parts.
THERE ARE MORE WORLDS!
Minnie Mouse: A wise queen.
Chip and Dale: If it's mechanical, leave it to them.
There are many other worlds that we haven’t showcased today. The works of Disney and the original story weave together as a grand tale expands. As this is Sora's original journey, we recommend that those who have never played the series begin playing from this title.
Square Enix have released final images of various new Kingdom Hearts figurines, via Hidemi Matsuzuka's Facebook page. These figurines are Volume 3 of the Kingdom Hearts II Formation Arts, and Play Arts based on Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Keyblades. All of these items were first shown at Tokyo Game Show 2012, in unpainted form. They are now all painted, and can be seen below, thanks to KHDestiny for the tip.
At Tokyo Game Show 2012, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts for PC Browsers, an upcoming social web browser game with a tentative title. Since then, some screenshots and information has been released, but we still know relatively little about the title.
Today, we have discovered that Korean publication INews24 have published some information about the game. The game, which they refer to as "Kingdom Hearts online game", is being developed by a Korean studio known as "Studio EX", which was recently acquired by Disney. Series director Tetsuya Nomura mentioned in October that the game was being developed externally, so this checks out.
The article also mentions that the title is expected to become multi-platform, and released on smartphones as well as on the web browser. We have obtained a direct translation of the relevant part of the article, thanks to kalnet from KH13, and this translation can be read below.
[Most of the article discusses Disney's acquisition of Studio EX, and some of the games that Studio EX is currently developing.]
A Kingdom Hearts online game is being developed. Studio EX is expecting it to become a multi-platform game, where you can enjoy the game on smartphone or on the web. The action is likely to be a game similar to the MORPG genre.
The January 21, 2013 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump has contained an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. This article focuses on the 358/2 Days Theatre Mode portion of the game, containing both screenshots and renders. kazu4281 has uploaded the first scan of this article, and this can be seen below.
Update 1: HD 1.5 ReMIX has also appeared in this month's V Jump with an article, releasing on January 21, 2013. bKvEBVAvUq has uploaded a very high quality scan of this article, and this scan can be seen below, in our gallery. Enjoy!
Update 2: Text at the bottom of the indicates that next month's issue of V Jump will again contain an article on HD 1.5 ReMIX, this time, focusing on the Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories portion of the game. Stay tuned!
The issue of Famitsu Weekly releasing on January 24, 2013 has been confirmed to contain an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. This announcement was included in the back of the January 17, 2013 issue of the magazine, and posted online by hokanko-alt. Look forward to our coverage of this article next week!
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 January 2013, and part of February 2013. You can view it below in our gallery, in all available resolutions.
Chapter 24 of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga has appeared online, thanks to taime and catmaster0116. This is the last chapter of volume 3. Thanks goes to taime and catmaster0116 for all their hard work on this volume. You can see the chapter below, in our gallery. You can also find every chapter from the first three volumes in our gallery.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 24
Square Enix have released a new wallpaper in celebration of the New Year. The artwork shown on the wallpaper is the same artwork used to show off Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- on the official website, as well as at Jump Festa 2013, and also contains the release date of the game, March 14, 2013. You can view the wallpaper in all available sizes and resolutions below, in our gallery.
Square Enix have updated the official website for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. This update is an update to the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix section of the website, and in addition to the existing subsection for "Story", subsections for "Characters", "Worlds", "System" and "New Features" have been added. These sections, along with their screenshots, are summarized below.
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix section on the official website for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-
Story
This section, which was already present with the website update last week, simply contains a synopsis of the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix 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 the 5 main protagonists of the game-- Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Both the small and large versions of these icons/renders can be seen below.
World
The worlds section contains information about each world in the game, excluding End of the World. Each world contains an icon, a render of the logo, characters, and screenshots. All images can be seen below, in our gallery.
System
The system section contains dot points summarizing some of the gameplay changes made to Kingdom Hearts Final Mix in HD 1.5 ReMIX. Each dot point contains various screenshots of the game, which can be seen below.
New Features
The new features section details even more of the gameplay changes made in HD 1.5 ReMIX. They compare the quality of the original game to that of the HD version, show off the trophy feature, and explain the differences in the command slots.
