Earlier, Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- appeared at Jump Festa 2013 with a new trailer. Square Enix have uploaded the trailer online, and this trailer can now be seen below in HD 720p with English subtitles! Enjoy this lovely Christmas present!
Update 1: We have fixed the audio issue with the original upload! Update 2: The trailer is now viewable/downloadable in our video archive.
Original version with Japanese audio & English subtitles (alternate upload here):
Earlier, Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- appeared at Jump Festa 2013 with a new trailer. xig28 (YouTube channel) has uploaded the first recording of this trailer, and this can be seen below. Enjoy, and make sure to check out the full trailer transcript, as well as xig28's photo album from the event. It shouldn't be long until a direct feed of the video is released!
Our coverage of Jump Festa 2013 has begun. Jump Festa 2013 is a Japanese gaming event occurring on December 22-23, 2012. Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- appears with a new trailer and playable demo. This news post will remain pinned at the top, and link to all related news articles. (All given times are USA EST.)
Summary (This contains links to collections of all news so far)
- HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013
- Gameplay changes in HD 1.5 ReMIX detailed + post-game feature = PS3 themes
- Photos of HD 1.5 ReMIX & merchandise at Jump Festa 2013
Day 2: Live event coverage
Sun 7:30AM - HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013 (more demo impressions) Sat 12:10PM - Gameplay changes in HD 1.5 ReMIX detailed + post-game feature = PS3 themes (more details added)
Day 1: Live event coverage
Sat 9:00AM - HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013 (complete trailer transcript) Sat 6:10AM - Photos of HD 1.5 ReMIX at Jump Festa 2013 (photos from Dengeki Online) Sat 5:50AM - HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013 (detailed demo impressions from Kotaku) Sat 5:40AM - Gameplay changes in HD 1.5 ReMIX detailed + clearing all 3 games unlocks PS3 theme Sat 3:00AM - Photos of HD 1.5 ReMIX at Jump Festa 2013 (photos from Famitsu.com) Fri 9:01PM - When you play the demo, you are randomly allocated either KHFM or ReCoM. There are 10 demo units. Fri 8:46PM - Tickets for playing the HD 1.5 ReMIX demo are booked out for the day. Fri 8:36PM - HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013 (lots of short trailer impressions!) Fri 8:08PM - HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013 (more short trailer impressions) Fri 7:57PM - HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer & demo impressions from Jump Festa 2013 (another short trailer impression) Fri 7:23PM - First HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer impressions from Jump Festa 2013 Fri 7:13PM - The wait for the HD 1.5 ReMIX demo is said to be 150 minutes long. Fri 7:10PM - Photos of HD 1.5 ReMIX at Jump Festa 2013 (various merchandise & HD 1.5 ReMIX Christmas card) Fri 7:00PM - Photos of HD 1.5 ReMIX at Jump Festa 2013 (more photos of the HD 1.5 ReMIX booth & KH wreaths) Fri 4:38AM - Photos of HD 1.5 ReMIX at Jump Festa 2013 (first photo of HD 1.5 ReMIX booth)
Pre-event coverage
- HD 1.5 ReMIX to release on March 14, 2013; official website redesigned & other info
- HD 1.5 ReMIX appears in December 21 issue of V Jump
- HD 1.5 ReMIX to appear in December 27 issue of Famitsu Weekly
- HD 1.5 ReMIX appears in latest issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump
- Official Kingdom Hearts Twitter updates with HD 1.5 ReMIX theme
Keep reading for more news about Jump Festa 2013!
Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- appears at Jump Festa 2013 with a new trailer and playable demo. This post will remain updated with all translated impressions of everything. Enjoy! (The original impressions by aibo_ac7, and translated by Oishii can be found here.)
Update 1: Kotaku were able to attend Jump Festa 2013, and have posted their own impressions of the HD 1.5 ReMIX demo. Thanks to them, and to Terranort9406 for the tip, you can read these impressions below.
Announced back during this year's Tokyo Game Show, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX is a PS3 HD remaster of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and its sequel Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories—as well as a collection of CG cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Today at Jump Festa 2013 in Japan, Kotaku East was able to get some hands-on time with the first playable demos of the games in this highly anticipated HD collection.
Firstly, the big question: How did it look? The answer: As good as can be expected.
The graphics of both titles are generally excellent when compared with other HD collections. The details now present on the character models are crisp and clear (as many were taken from Dream Drop Distance), as are the background textures. The only graphical blemishes are the pixelated diagonal lines that sometimes appear where two textures meet.
As for gameplay, there were two different demo stations set up at the Square Enix booth for 1.5 HD ReMIX—one for the HD version of Final Mix and the other the HD version of Re:Chain of Memories. Each of these demos had three different playable areas from across each respective game's story.
For Final Mix HD, I spent time gathering items for a raft on the Destiny Islands, fighting my first boss with Donald and Goofy in Traverse Town, and facing off against Captain Hook alongside Peter Pan.
The most obvious change from the original version of the game—other than the graphics, of course—was the addition of the triangle "special action" button that didn't first appear in the series until Kingdom Hearts II. Originally, special actions were a cumbersome part of the battle menu, so this is a welcome change. Other than that, the controls in Final Mix HD were identical to those in the original version—which is to say, pretty bad by today's standards. Sora can only move in eight directions (instead of the full 360 degrees of later games) and the camera might as well be the final boss of the game for all the aggravation it causes you. There are also a ton of collision errors with Sora ignoring ledges he should grab on to and other similar issues.
Chain of Memories HD, on the other hand, looked as good as Final Mix HD but had none of the antiquated control issues. For Chain of Memories HD I spent my entire play time as Riku—though Sora was playable in the two other levels present in the demo. He controlled perfectly—most likely due to Re:Chain of Memories being built on the Kingdom Hearts II version of the engine unlike Final Mix. The loading times when creating each room were a bit worrisome, but none lasted more than ten seconds.
In the end, after my short time with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX, I am quite excited to spend more time with this collection. It is a great port and any flaws present in it were there in the original. It's an impressive feat, especially when you consider it's all the work of two lone individuals.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX will be released in Japan on March 13, 2013. There is no word yet on an international release.
Update 2: ArikaMiz has provided a complete transcript of the HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer appearing at the event. Thanks to goldpanner, we now have a complete translation of the trailer transcript. This can be seen below.
☆Destiny Islands
Sora and Kairi looking at the ocean in the evening.
The screen is small, but the frame shatters and gets bigger.
♪Hikari
☆Scenes of worlds flow past all at once
Traverse Town, Sora Donald and Goofy putting their hands together.
Wonderland, Sora and the others surprised by the talking doorknob.
Olympus Coliseum, Cerberus attacking Sora.
Atlantica, Ariel and Sora surrounded by Screwdivers.
Neverland, Sora looking down at the pirate ship the first time he flew.
Agrabah, genie Jafar appearing behind Sora and Aladdin.
Halloween Town, Sora and Jack and the others looking at something (Boogie grown giant?).
Sora looking at Castle Oblivion.
Marluxia, sending Sora flying back with a blast of wind.
Naminé's hands drawing a picture.
Donald and Goofy standing in front of Sora to protect him.
Axel with his chakrams in hand.
Riku Replica swinging at Sora.
Riku touching the King's face etc to see if he is real.
Sora looking up at flying birds on his station of awakening.
☆Destiny Islands
Riku looking pleased as he calls Sora from the darkness swallowing the island.
Kairi disappearing into Sora.
The Darkside standing before Sora.
Riku holding his hand out to Sora.
Riku: "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"
☆Castle Oblivion hall
Sora swings at Marluxia, who warps away just in time.
Marluxia throws the Traverse Town card to Sora.
Marluxia: "Go, Sora. To lose and claim anew, or to claim anew only to lose..."
☆Traverse Town
Leon explains the Keyblade to Sora.
Sent flying by a Heartless, Donald and Goofy notice the Keyblade as they pin Sora.
Soldiers appear and surround the three.
Leon: "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."
☆Castle Oblivion
An image of Kairi floats up, smiling at Sora.
The figure changes into Naminé as Sora turns in a hurry.
Axel disappearing into a corridor of darkness.
Axel: "When your sleeping memories awaken, you may no longer be you."
☆KH1 worlds flash by at once
Ariel turning around.
Genie with his hand on Aladdin's shoulder.
Hercules waving and Phil stroking his beard.
Pinocchio and Jiminy reuniting happily.
Tink spinning around in a huff and Peter Pan looking startled.
Jack explaining his plan to Sally.
Pooh and Tigger waving to Sora.
Tarzan introducing Sora and the others to his adoptive parents.
The Beast going forward, with a sad Sora behind him.
Minnie looking at Donald and Goofy, and Daisy looking at Donald with shock.
Halloween Town, Donald and Goofy are cheering Sora up.
Destiny Islands, Riku carrying a log with a stunned expression.
Destiny Islands, Kairi smiling at Sora.
Sora: "I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then...if they don't forget me...then our hearts will be one."
☆Characters from COM flash by at once
Destiny Islands, Naminé addressing Sora.
Castle Oblivion hall, Larxene attacking Sora.
Destiny Islands, Zexion pointing in condemnation at Riku.
Twilight Town, Sora and Vexen facing off.
Twilight Town, Sora gripping his Keyblade.
Twilight Town, DiZ appearing.
Destiny Islands, Zexion disguised as Sora striking out at Riku. Riku summons his weapon and blocks.
Castle Oblivion, Marluxia summoning his sickle.
Castle Oblivion hall, Riku Replica hanging his head.
Destiny Islands, Naminé's charm beaming with light.
Naminé: "See that faint glimmer way in the back of your heart? That's a piece of your memory, Sora. Call out to it! No matter how far away the light gets, your heart's voice will always reach it."
☆Battle scenes
KH1 Wonderland, vs Card Soldiers & lever.
KH1 Neverland, vs Phantom.
KH1 Agrabah, vs Kurt Zisa.
KH1 Agrabah, general battle (summoning Dumbo).
Axel battle.
Larxene battle.
COM Halloween Town, general battle.
COM Wonderland, general battle.
☆KH1 final stage scene flash by
The figure of the World of Chaos.
Hollow Bastion, Maleficent wrapped in flame.
Hollow Bastion, Donald and Goofy ready to cover Sora.
Hollow Bastion, Kairi hugging Sora as he disappears.
Hollow Bastion, Riku holding Ansem back.
Sora closing the keyhole of Hollow Bastion.
Ansem disappearing in the light.
Sora gripping his Keyblade as he floats.
Ansem: "Darkness conquers all worlds!"
Sora: "I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts...is light!
☆Traverse Town Waterway
Kairi smiling affectionately at Sora.
"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you."
♪Xion
☆The rest is Days content
Twilight Town clock tower, the three friends eating ice cream.
Xion: "If only things stayed like this."
Hearing this, Axel looks down.
☆Centre of the Round Room in The World That Never Was, Roxas listening worriedly to Xemnas talk
Xemnas: "He is what makes you and Xion a part of each other's lives."
☆The World That Never Was
Axel smiling at Roxas, who is stumped as usual.
Axel: "We're best friends, got it memorised?"
☆Naminé drawing Roxas, Axel and Xion
☆Castle Oblivion
Xion pushing through feeling unwell to persuade Axel.
Xion: "I know this is where I come from! The answers are here."
☆The World That Never Was
Saïx and Axel talking about Xion.
Saïx: "Xion has no right to be among our number."
Axel: "Why not?"
☆Twilight Town, the white room
Riku and Naminé talking about Sora's memories.
Naminé: "I risk Sora waking up to find out that nobody remembers him anymore."
☆The World That Never Was
Axel moving closer to Roxas.
Roxas: "Xemnas said me and Xion are connected to Sora. Who is that? Tell me!"
Axel: "...!"
☆The World That Never Was, Xion's room
Xion sitting on her bed, hugging her knees, looking up at Kingdom Hearts.
Xion: "Riku, what should I do?"
☆Logo and release date appear
Update 3: FF-Reunion have posted their own impressions of the HD 1.5 ReMIX demo, and our translator goldpanner has translated these impressions. This can be read below.
KH HD 1.5 Re-mix at Jump Festa: Demo Report by ff-reunion
There were only ten KH HD 1.5 demo booths, and you were assigned either KHFM or Re:CoM depending, I couldn't choose which. I was surprised they had so few, haha. With the degree of attention it was getting I thought it would have been better if they had provided more, but maybe they can't have a lot of booths for an unfinished title? It was quite a shame. Anyway, now I will talk about the demo... well, the real time images were beautiful, very pretty! I honestly didn't think the level of HD would be this high, I was surprised. (Sora, Donald and Goofy etc) models have been changed to something very close to the ones in KH3D, with there being no flaws in the polygons, no blurring, no roughness from lagging... Just as it was said in an interview, cutscene models (Leon, Yuffie etc) are the same as the original game? I could see some blurring that made me think that was the case. Maybe it will be changed for the final product? ...I only had a short amount of time, but I was truly surprised over and over by the level of quality that is KH in HD. I can't wait for it to release in three months!
Yodobashi.com have added a pre-order page for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, and this pre-order page details some of the gameplay changes made to the originals. Thanks go to bKvEBVAvUq for the tip, and to duckroll for some translations. The following images were added explaining this information:
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix changes:
- Character models and textures have been improved
- The "Zero EXP" and "Combo Master" abilities are added to the game
- The right analogue stick now controls the camera
- Summons has been moved to the 4th command slot
- The talk and special attack commands have been moved to the triangle button
- Trophies
- You can switch between English voices w/ Japanese subtitles, or Japanese voices
- Completing the game will unlock a custom PlayStation 3 theme
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories changes:
- The graphical quality of the user interface and menus have been improved
- Trophies
- Completing the game will unlock another custom PlayStation 3 theme
358/2 Days inclusions:
- Over 2 hours of HD, fully-voiced cutscenes included
- All of Roxas' diary entries, the Secret Reports and the Character Database are included
- Watching all cutscenes will unlock *another* custom PlayStation 3 theme
This post will remain updated with all Kingdom Hearts-related photos from Jump Festa 2013. Keep watching for photos of the Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- booth, photos of any Kingdom Hearts merchandise at the event, as well as photos of the HD 1.5 ReMIX demo being played and more. Enjoy! (Photos are from various sources, including Square Enix Events Facebook page, aibo_ac7, ArikaMiz, Famitsu.com, Dengeki Online and Inside Games.)
HD 1.5 ReMIX display
Kingdom Hearts Christmas tree
Kingdom Hearts merchandise
Square Enix have updated the official website for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. Most importantly, this updates reveals that the game will be released in Japan on March 14, 2013. The website also contains information about each game included in the collection, which we will detail for you below.
Update 1: Square Enix have created a pre-order page for HD 1.5 ReMIX on the Square Enix e-STORE. This page reveals that for a limited time, pre-ordering the game will provide a serial code that can be used in Kingdom Hearts for PC Browsers.
Update 2: Amazon.co.jp have also created a pre-order page for HD 1.5 ReMIX, currently offerring 15% off, and including the Kingdom Hearts for PC Browsers code. Unfortunately, Amazon will not ship this item outside of Japan. They did, however, provide some screenshots-- while these are not new, it is the first time that we've seen them without a watermark.
Official website for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-
The website is currently broken into 4 sections, Top, KH1.5, KHFM, KHRe:CoM and KHDays, with an additional 2 sections "coming soon". Top contains the release date, a general summary of the package (HD remasters of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, and a Theatre Mode of HD remade Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days cutscenes), and links to all other sections on the website.
Hovering over each game on Top makes the image at the top of the page change to that game's cover artwork. Interestingly, if no game is hovered on top of, there is a 4th piece of artwork shown. Could this be the game's cover art? (The images below are ordered HD 1.5 ReMIX, KHFM, Re:CoM, KHDays.)
Update 3: We have discovered that the identity of the remaining two "coming soon" buttons are "Movies" and "Download". For proof, you can click either of these links and be shown the image for that button. Unfortunately, we don't have any other information at this time.
goldpanner has begun translating the website, and her translation of the website's front page can be seen below.
Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix-
2013.3.14
The three titles that begin the tale of Kingdom Hearts brought back to life on PS3!
Everything began here! The journey of the adventure of darkness and light begins!
>Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix-
*start here!* (There is a summary of the plot of KH1)
A 'connecting' tale set in Castle Oblivion
>Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
(There is a summary of the plot of CoM)
A tale of friendship describing Organisation XIII
>Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
(There is a plot summary of Days)
Check important points about previous works and the chronological order of titles here!
>HD 1.5 ReMIx is...
(There is some basic info about the collection, including the following specs:
Title: Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-
Genre: RPG
Platform: PS3
Release date: Expected 14th March 2013
Suggested retail price: 6,980 yen (including tax)
*Special perk enclosed in first-run edition titles: item serial code for use in Kingdom Hearts for PC Browser
(Then there is a series timeline graphic you can play with.)
>Coming soon!
>Coming soon!
The magazine appearances are not stopping! Most recently, the December 21, 2012 issue of V Jump has contained an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. Scans of this article have appeared online, thanks to bKvEBVAvUq for the tip, and these can be seen below, in our gallery.
One thing mentioned is that there are 14 worlds in the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix portion of the game. This strongly suggests that Deep Jungle remains in the game (which some people have been worrying about due to Disney's copyright issues), as there would be no way to come up with a list of 14 worlds without including it.
Interestingly, the screenshot of Sora fighting Sephiroth shows a fourth command slot, in addition to the reaction command that replaces the fourth slot. The text in the fourth slot says "Summons", so, it seems like Summons will receive their own slot in the menu in this game.
The issue of Famitsu Weekly releasing on December 27, 2012 has been confirmed to contain an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. This announcement was included in the back of the December 20, 2012 issue of the magazine, and posted online by hokanko-alt. With Jump Festa 2013 occurring on 22-23 December, 2012, it is likely that this issue will contain screenshots of the trailer, as well as a variety of new information.
The latest issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump has contained an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. Scans of this article have appeared online from kazu4281, thanks to aibo_ac7 for the tip, and these can be seen below, in our gallery. As you can see, there are new screenshots and information, which we will have translated for you soon.
goldpanner has translated details from this article. Unfortunately, there is nothing new-- but with Jump Festa 2013 only 4 days away, you won't have to wait long! This translation can be read below.
Saturday's Weekly Jump features a new article about KH HD 1.5 Remix! From the article: "Release: Estimated 2013", "Main characters Sora, Riku and Kairi get a makeover!", "As a HD remaster, the character's expressions are resplendent in high resolution!", and "there's a reward after clearing the game", "New features have been added as part of the PS3 re-imagining"...! We can't wait to find out what sort of things have been added!
Just a minor update: Square Enix have updated the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter with a theme based on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. The new background added to the page can be seen below, in our gallery.
Chapter 23 of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga has appeared online, thanks to taime and catmaster0116. You can see the chapter below, in our gallery.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 23
Square Enix France have created a pre-order page for the Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Fan Selection -Melodies & Memories- soundtrack on the Square Enix Boutique-- Square Enix's online store for France, and select other parts of Europe. The soundtrack, which released on September 19, 2012 in Japan, will be available on the Boutique from December 20, 2012, for a price of 39.99€ (approximately US$52.34). This is significant as it is the first time that the album is available outside of Japan! Various photos of the album were added on the pre-order page, and these can be seen below.
Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Fan Selection -Melodies & Memories- on Square Enix Boutique
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 Christmas-themed wallpaper serves as a calendar for December 2012, and part of January 2013. You can see the wallpaper, in various sizes, below.
Square Enix have launched their official Jump Festa 2013 website, and with this, announced that Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- will be featured at the event with a new trailer, and a playable demo. HD 1.5 ReMIX receives its own subsection of the website, containing this information, along with 4 screenshots. Jump Festa 2013 starts on December 22, 2012, and runs until December 23, 2012. We will keep you posted as more news appears.
Update: The official Jump Festa website has updated with a map of the booth layout. We have uploaded this for you below, and double outlined Square Enix's booth in red (on the large image).
Update 2: Square Enix have updated their official Jump Festa 2013 website with a booth map. You can see this below.
