Make sure you read about the March 29 release date, the Nintendo 3DS bundle and the 10th Anniversary Box, if you haven't already. Also, everything below is updated. Make sure you see the HQ scans and re-read the translations.
Famitsu Weekly magazine has included an article on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, where details about the Fantasia world, "Symphony of Sorcery", are revealed, and an interview with the series director, Tetsuya Nomura, is featured.
Update 3: High quality scans, uploaded by KH13.com. Make sure you read the interview below, it is now 100% complete.
Update 2: sqexgal is doing a full interview translation. This is now 100% complete. You can read it below.
Influenced by Final Fantasy Versus XIII!?
—In December of last year, the 8 minute long trailer was released. Along with that and the other information being announced, it seems you are gearing towards the release date?
Nomura: Partly because it’s a title we’ve been working on for a few years and the release date for KH3D is after the New Year, we had to deal with refraining from exposing too much. This time the trailer had parts that were withheld up until now; we tried to make the contents of it attention grabbing. The phrase displayed at the beginning of the trailer, “Darkness becomes light, light falls into darkness” becomes the catch copy of this title.
—I’d like to ask about the contents of the trailer. It seems Sora and Riku awaken in Traverse Town simultaneously?
Nomura: What about that? (Laughs.) Incidentally, the screen of the trailer is split to show both parts. In actuality, the event scenes won’t necessarily be composed in that way.
—In Traverse Town, Neku and other characters from The World Ends With You appear, but besides them, where are the Reapers?
Nomura: The Reapers aren’t there, just the Players, however there is a reason they are in that town.
—The conversations that Sora and Riku have with TWEWY characters are quite comical, like Shiki being harsh to Riku.
Nomura: For Sora and Riku who have grown up on the island, Neku and his friends who grew up in a modern city contrast quite a bit. Since I’ve been writing the scenarios for Final Fantasy Versus XIII concurrently as I work on KH3D, maybe some of that has had an influence.
—It has a very youthful tone, huh?
Nomura: The personalities of the Versus characters and their situations are so serious, to the point that I can’t stand it so I need a break from the constant serious conversations. (Laughs.)
—It looks like Neku and co. teach Sora how to handle the Dream Eaters.
Nomura: That’s the case. It’s because this is the first world they visit.
—Other worlds shown in the trailer included Pinocchio and Tron: Legacy.
Nomura: In Pinocchio’s world, there are new areas like the circus tents and other places from the original work introduced. Here Sora explores before Pinocchio is swallowed by Monstro, but after they are swallowed is when Riku’s side of the adventure takes place. I’ll tell you more details about Tron’s world in a later update, so please look forward to it.
—It looks like there will be a shooting type mini game where the characters scroll into the center of the screen this time.
Nomura: That’s the part we call “Dive”. In order to go to the next world, they “fall” into the dream of the next world. It sort of replaces the Gummi Ship sequence of the past games.
The truth about Lea’s appearance in the trailer!
—The scene where King Mickey confronts Maleficent caught our attention. At what time period does that scene occur?
Nomura: It occurs after Re:Coded, during the KH3D period. Since King Mickey is in possession of the “Data Worlds”, Maleficent is demanding that he hand them over. This scene occurs in between intervals of Sora and Riku’s adventure.
—Maleficent tells Sora and co. about the enemies with “hearts of pure light” and releasing the “seven keyholes of sleep”. Do these have some sort of connection with one another?
Nomura: You’ll see what she means when you play it, so please look forward to that. (Laughs.) The connections of the various mysteries and truths are what it builds up to.
—Well, can you tell us about “Lea” who interrupts the confrontation between the King and Maleficent?
Nomura: That’s Axel as he has returned to being human. In the same place are Zexion and Lexaeus too, they have also returned to being human.
—Do they have their memories of being Nobodies?
Nomura: They do.
—So their Heartless, you’re saying they were defeated somewhere along the line?
Nomura: Well Sora has defeated many Heartless before now, hasn’t he? To say that they returned to being human, their Heartless was probably included among those, huh? (Laughs.) Even when Sora became a Heartless, he was a normal Shadow type. The details of their Heartless aren’t really that important.
—I see. By the way, it seems Xigbar or any of the others were not present in that place…?
Nomura: In that scene, those guys had just been revived as humans. It’s not shown in the trailer, but there are other Members there, they have a conversation about what happened to the Members who are not there. They are in the place where they originally disappeared… In other words, they were revived in the place where they lost their hearts; everyone should be in the research lab. However there are Members who don’t appear there for some reason.
—After their conversation, Axel says he is leaving to search for something.
Nomura: That’s right.
—Will KH3D’s story be concerned with Organization XIII at all?
Nomura: Concerning Organization XIII, the secrets about what specific Members were up to during certain time periods will be revealed.
On the bottom screen of the opening…
—Axel and Roxas among other characters from the past titles appear in very impressive movie that displayed familiar scenes in a spectacular manner.
Nomura: That will be the opening movie of this title. Just like with a number of titles, Visual Works was used to render that movie.
—When Roxas lands as well as in other parts, it looks as if paper swirls and is dispersed. What is the relevance of that?
Nomura: During the KH3D opening, a 2D animation is streamed on the bottom screen. It’s a cel animation, the silhouette of Mickey moves so smoothly it may look like CG. (Laughs.) In it, Mickey takes on the appearance of the Sorcerer’s apprentice. While the movie streaming on the top screen is occurring, it influences the Mickey on the bottom screen. Still on the bottom screen sheet music swirls and disperses in pieces that are used to direct back to the upper screen.
—It seems Mickey will be appearing as the Sorcerer’s apprentice in the Fantasia world.
Nomura: I’ve wanted to have a stage based on Fantasia for a while. In the early stages of planning with Co. Director Yasue, he suggested that if I were to use Fantasia, I needed to split the numerous stories told in that one work in a way that applied to Sora and Riku’s adventure so that is the way it was implemented.
—In KH3D, it seems not only in Fantasia, but in the Three Musketeers world as well Mickey appears in a form that hasn’t met Sora yet.
Nomura: Those worlds are set during a time Mickey was in the pursuit of knowledge, like “in a dream of the world of the past”.
—In Fantasia as well as other worlds, a golden eyed person wearing a black coat appears, who is he?
Nomura: He is the mysterious man who appeared in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix as a boss who manipulated time. Just who he is will be told in KH3D. Everywhere he goes, a few people of the darkness turn up, like how Vanitas came out in the trailer.
Various abilities to use in battle!
—I was able to try the demo, and I found that the sudden character swapping was quite interesting. Since you are suddenly thrown into a different situation, there is a high level of tension in the gameplay.
Nomura: Now you are able to switch between Sora and RIku at will, but at first you weren’t able to switch at your own discretion. Since it was switching in such an irrational form, it was unpopular with us too. (Wry smile.) When you switch, you can prepare the next character you play by applying earned bonuses which is a benefit, so you can still enjoy it while dealing with the tension.
—In the demo, regardless of who defeated the boss, whether it was Riku or Sora, the level would complete, but would that character be the only one who advanced in the storyline?
Nomura: No, that’s not how it works. If one of them advanced too far, then they would be limited to a point where they could no longer progress.
—As for the exploring part, I felt that the judgment of the Free Flow Action ability was quite severe…
Nomura: It is still under adjustments even now. By only changing its judgment a little, the Free Flow Action often surpasses the intended direction or action, so it’s being repeatedly debugged and regulated.
—Has the Reality Shift technique of each world been decided upon?
Nomura: That’s right. Basically, it’s different in each world and in the same world how you use it and its effectiveness varies. The Reality Shift introduced last time in the Three Musketeers world was implemented to resemble the comic strip style of the original work.
—The Dream Eaters seem to take on different personality traits, like “wise” or “narcissistic”. Are they influencing anything in some way?
Nomura: It’s a component of their upbringing. Not only are their different kinds of Dream Eaters, but depending on the individual as well their characteristics are varying. Since we decided from the beginning that KH3D would have an upbringing system introduced, we were excited to do something with emotion and attachment. Also, in this way Sora and Riku do not become strong on their own, but when they release the abilities of their Dream Eaters, they become even more strengthened. Being able to release abilities like that is a similar system to that of Re:Coded.
The Ending of KH3D
—So will KH3D will be equipped with a system that utilizes wireless transmissions?
Nomura: There is a mini game where you can compete against other player’s Dream Eaters via ad-hoc wireless to upgrade your Dream Eaters. These competitions occur differently than normal battles. It’s a system that we’ve wanted to try before.
—The expectations are rising for fans who want to know the release date and whether or not there will be a special edition release.
Nomura: Please wait just a little while longer for a formal announcement.
—Will the ending of this title also be a heart wrenching one?
Nomura: The ending for KH3D is a little unusual, the plan up until now had been different… But every once in a while I think, it’s good this way. In fact, the first ending I thought up quickly became no good due to various circumstances, but now the ending is something that I worry quite a bit about. As a result, we tried to do something unique for the ending this time. Incidentally, the secret movie will be shorter. Though it is short, like the Re:Coded secret movie, it will connect to the next shocking developments in the series, so please look forward to it.
How are the other upcoming titles coming along?
—The sale date for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is February 16th, can you tell us more about its upcoming release?
Nomura: It seems that the distribution of the trial version was very popular, so I’m not worried about its release. Since it’s been well received and we’d like to give players more opportunity to experience it, we’ll be releasing a 2nd demo about 10 days into February before its sale date.
—A second demo!?
Nomura: Yes (laughs). The plan is to distribute 2 more songs. The game is very addictive, so we’ve prepared the 2nd demo so players can get a real feel of how fun it is.
—By the way, after the game’s initial release, will more songs be distributed for download?
Nomura: That’s the plan. We’d like to make the game as enjoyable for as long as possible.
—There is one more title which you are the director of, would you mind sharing the production status of Final Fantasy Versus XIII?
Nomura: The other day we announced that we did the first graphic check for this title the other day. Compared to the trailers we released last year, the expressiveness has really improved.
—You previously mentioned that Final Fantasy Versus XIII would not have cutscenes, but rather there will be two types of scenes, pre-rendered movies as well as real time movies that the players can control to some extent.
Nomura: Yes. As far as the ratio goes, about 70% of the cutscenes occur in real time while about 30% are pre-rendered scenes managed by Visual Works.
What did you mean by the expressiveness has been improved?
Nomura: I’m talking about the real time technology. The drawn expressions of the characters have rapidly improved. What the players can control in real time varies by scene, like I mentioned before “not everywhere” but there is still a lot of variation in that. In some pre-rendered scenes, the player’s intervention is not necessary; in other cases intervening will not have an effect. Because of that reason, the scene we previously introduced where Noctis and Stella meet has been switched to a pre-rendered one.
—Are there not plans to release a public trailer at a 1st Production Department private event like last year?
Nomura: Right now there are not plans for such an event. We’d like to do some sort of presentation this year, but the details like where etc. haven’t been decided yet. However, the next time we do a public event, I intend to show the true status of the game, since you can’t really fathom how unbelievable the current status of it is from a trailer alone.
—We can’t wait to see it! Lastly, tell us about your outlook for 2012 and your message to the readers.
Nomura: Well first off, I’d like to thank you in advance for your interest in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy which is our commemorative title celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series as well as KH3D which is in its final stages of production. Considering 2012 is the 10th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series, it’ll be good if we are able to do something special for it. Additionally there are the announcements regarding Final Fantasy Versus XIII we are considering, and the HD release of Final Fantasy X as well from the 1st Production Department to look forward to. There is also a secret team working on an unannounced title, so there is a chance that some information about that will be announced this year too, please continue looking forward to these announcements.
Update 1: Oishii from KH13 has translated many screenshots and pieces of text from the article.
Mickey Scans Mickey to Riku: “I think how Sora can be and act so freely is thanks to you, Riku.”
Riku to Mickey: "Ah, I have it"
Sora to Mickey: “It’s rare that I can save Mickey”
Young Xehanort Scan Blue Star: The black coated character appearing before Sora is the latest character introduced in the trailer. This boy with gold eyes does not appear to be an ordinary person.
Blue Text: The dark skinned boy with gold eyes
What is he planning in the world of sleep?
Young Xehanort: “However, that too will end soon.”
Tron Scan Sora: “Ah!This appearance! I know this place!" **
Riku's guard: “It’s a stray program.”
**Note: Sora doesn't literally say he "knows" the place, but it's implied. It would sound terrible in English translated any other way
The World Ends With You Scans Joshua to Sora: “In short, it’s the gate to *illegible* this world.”
Riku to Joshua: “What..?! A black coat?”
Joshua to Riku: "To say, these two sides aren’t simply occurring at the same time."
Pink Star: Sora and Riku each speak to Joshua about this world.
Does he know the truth?
Beat: "You heard it from Shiki. I heard that guy is heroic.”
Blue Text: Beat wishes to be stronger to protect Rhyme. With Beat saying “this time for sure”, we may get a peak into what happened in their past.
Joshua: “Thank you”
Blue Star: Why is it with a lonely smile Joshua gives his thanks?
New Dream Eaters
- The new Spirits are called Handsome Pegasus and Horned Cricket Tobusu (Tsunokera Tobusu)
- The new Nightmares are called Hasemi Stag Beetle (Hasemi Kuwagata) and Monstrous Pierrot (Obake Piero)
Famitsu Weekly → January 19, 2012
Update 2: Square Enix have updated their official website for the game, with the only update being that the March 29, 2012 release date is now shown.
Update 1: Both Amazon.com and the Square Enix e-STORE have created pages for the game. If you live outside of Japan, then Amazon.com will allow you to pre-order the game for ¥5,177 (approximately US$67.46). Lastly, Square Enix have created an official placeholder website for the bundle and 10th Anniversary Box.
4Gamer.net have posted an article about Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which confirms that the game will be released on March 29, 2012 in Japan, with a retail price of ¥6,090 (approximately US$79.35). A limited edition of the game will be released, with an AR card as an extra which unlocks a rare Dream Eater that would otherwise be difficult to unlock.
Also, a special edition Nintendo 3DS will be released at the same time. You can see this below.
The article also states that a "10th Anniversary Box" will be released at the same time, with details about this box to be released later. Lastly, many screenshots from the game were released along with the article. Some of these are new, and you can see them below, in our gallery.
4Gamer.net → January 19, 2012
Thanks to aibo_ac7 and _KINGDOMHEARTS for the tip.
Chapter 14 from the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga can now be read in English thanks to j00yoo and Justice42 from Shounen-Gangan. You can see this below, at our gallery.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 14
The 14th chapter from the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga can now be read in English thanks to j00yoo and Justice42 from http://shounen-gangan.livejournal.com/23935.html#cutid1.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 14
The publishers of Famitsu Weekly magazine have confirmed on their website that the next issue of the magazine will contain an article on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The article is said to contain the announcement of a new world (which probably refers to the Fantasia world, "Symphony of Sorcery") and an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the series. The issue releases on January 19, 2012, however, scans often appear up to two days early-- so we may see scans on January 17. We hope you look forward to it.
Update: Thanks to Oishii from KH13, we have a translation of the website's system section.
Basic Action
Character Movement with 【Slide Pad】
If you tilt the slide pad in the direction you want to go, the character will move in that direction.
General Attack with 【A Button】
If you press the A button, you will perform a basic attack. It is possible to perform a combo by pressing the A button consecutively. *The A button will change into this command only under certain circumstances
Jump with 【B button】
At different elevations it is possible to jump up to them. After jumping into the air, if you press the A button you can perform a mid air strike. Also, while dangling off of a ledge, tilt the slide pade upward to make him climb, or the B button to come down.
Free Flow Action
By a wall or pole 【Slide Pad + Y Button】
If you press the Y button near a wall or pole, you will activate the Free Flow Action causing the character to either kick off the wall or swing around the pole.
While performing Free Flow Action 【A Button】→ Free Flow Attack Activates
If you press A while perform Free Flow Action, you will activate the Free Flow Attack. If you strike an enemy you can inflict a large amount of damage.
Action: Wall Kick → Attack: Kick Dive
You can move quickly by kicking off the walls. A button → you will rush toward a target and swing the keyblade to the ground causing an attack wave at surrounding enemies.
Action: Pole Spin → Attack: Turn Cutter
While swinging around a pole, surrounding enemies will be dragged in. A button → while winding around the pole, you will attack the enemy.
Action: Pole Spin around an enemy → Attack: Blow Off
Activate by facing a rather large enemy and you will spin around the target giving them damage. A button → While revolving around the enemy, you can throw the enemy with the rotating force. In addition, various other Free Flow Actions and Attacks exist. (T/N: Yay!)
Link System
With the Lower Screen Touch the Dream Eater’s Icon
When the link gauge of your Dream Eater companion reaches MAX, if you touch the Dream Eater’s icon on the screen below, you will activate their cooperating technique.
Sora’s Case: Link Action
Together with the Dream Eater you can let out their cooperating technique. Depending on the Dream Eater you companion the technique will be different.
Riku’s Case: Link Style
The Dream Eater’s power will envelop the body making you stronger. Depending on the Dream Eater you companion the style will be different.
Dream Eater Training
Touch you Dream Eater Companion on the Bottom Screen
By training your Dream Eater companions their affinity with Sora and Riku will improve and can gain EXP and link points.
Training Toy
Also, by using training toys like balloons and a treasure scope to connect with your companion, you can enhance you Dream Eater.
Square Enix's official Japanese website for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance has been updated with a new "System" section. This section explains some gameplay aspects of the game, and provides new screenshots and videos. You can see these below, or download and watch all of them in our video archive.
Screenshots → Kingdom Hearts 3D, Japanese website → System
Update: Thanks to Oishii from KH13, we now know that the world based on Fantasia is called "Symphony of Sorcery".
The latest issue of V Jump magazine has featured an article on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The article features the new Tron Legacy world and also announces a new world based on the Disney movie, Fantasia. Thanks to sqexgal for the tip.
Update: Amazon.co.jp have created a page where you can pre-order the plushie (but only if you live in Japan, unfortunately). Interestingly, they list the release date as March 9, 2012. Could this also be the release date of the game, Kingdom Hearts 3D? Let us know what you think at our forum.
Earlier at Jump Festa 2012, we were shown a plush toy of a Dream Eater appearing in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Wonder Meow. This plush toy has now appeared on Square Enix's official online shop. You can see images of the Wonder Meow plushie below, in our gallery. Thanks to SQEX MD ONLINE SHOP on Twitter for the tip.
Photos → Square Enix Online Shop → Wonder Nyan
Release date: Spring 2012 (sometime between March and May 2012)
Price: ¥3,800 (approximately US$49.22)
Size: 155mm wide, 300mm tall, 170mm high
Weight: 235g
Play-Asia.com have created pre-order pages for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts title, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Play-Asia.com will allow you to pre-order the North American version of the game for US$44.90, or the Japanese version for an unannounced price. We definitely recommend this if you are hoping to get Kingdom Hearts 3D from another region. Thanks to Nikolasvanitas for the tip.
Update: It appears that the page on Amazon is actually for the German version of the manga. This suggests that the release date might just be a placeholder date, however, it also suggests that the German publisher might know something about the progress of the Japanese manga.
As many of you will know, the manga series for Kingdom Hearts II was discontinued after Volume 5, which released on August 22, 2009. However, Volume 6 of the manga has now been announced, and a page for the manga has been created on Amazon.co.jp. Volume 6 will release in April 2012. It will be available at a price of ￥677 (approximately US$8.82). We hope you look forward to this, and in the meantime, feel free to read the first 5 volumes of the manga at our gallery. Thanks to Karysonson from KH13 for the tip.
Update 2: The article is now completely translated, which you can read below.
Update 1: We now have some translations of the article thanks to Tgirl, with corrections by Oishii of KH13.
Dream Eaters - Spirit
+ Wondermeow's blurb: For a charming Dream Eater, it appears to be a little stupid. It eagerly preserves on one's life in such a reckless way.
+ Goathorn's blurb: It has a high [sense of] noble pride. It uses its horn to attack with various attacks.
+ Nekocat's blurb: A Dream Eater that appears in the form of a cat. On its tail is the shape of a musical note, [making it a] lovely type of cat. It attacks by having a connection with Sora through a tempo command [system] that allows power to be sent out. Damage on the enemy is caused by using a waving motion with music.
(T/N: Hence those pictures.)
+ Frogchef's blurb: A dream eater with a specialty in cuisine. He performs mainly fire-based attacks.
+ Kumapanda (or Bearpanda or Pandabear or whatever you want to call it..): It takes on the appearance of both a panda and a bear. In order to co-attack, Sora's leg/foot must be used in order to rotate, and then, be tossed towards the enemy with energy attached to [his body].
Dream Eaters - Nightmare
- Wondermeow's blurb: The Dream Eater with the same name. However, as it's the case that it's a Nightmare (enemy), it differs in body and eye colors.
- Torpedofish's blurb: In order to swim, it moves dolphin-like into the water, which is actually the ground, and [jump] into the air.
- Kumapanda's blurb: A Dream Eater that doesn't understand whether it's a bear or a Panda, eh? It's a type that doesn't collapse so easily, even when it's being attacked.
- Zouelephant's blurb: It overwhelms its opponent(s) by making use of its long nose and big body. It triumphs also by using its nose to attack long distances such as throwing a rock and blowing a jet spray [of something].
- Seahorse's blurb: Its appearance is Seahorse-like. It attacks by spitting out water-like things from its mouth.
- Poisonsalamander's blurb: It moves around in a fluttery way, setting up attacks with venomous effects.
- Icepenguin's blurb: It attacks by sliding from the ground. The attacks come out as blocks of ice from the ground.
- Auralion's blurb: It attacks by making the upper half of its body, a floating illusion.
- Narubird's blurb: It's one strong enemy, who performs surprise attacks from the sky. It fires, at a [certain] distance, a beam-like thing that separates.
- Nekocat's blurb: It attacks with a strange kind of movement, sort of like running and bouncing around. Also, Its [tail] is the shape of a music note, and it attacks with a wave of music notes.
- Boukunrex or Tyrantrex (alternate for, as you guess it, "Tyrannosaurus Rex")'s blurb: It attacks by spitting out a ball of fire from its mouth. In order to defend against it, use the keyblade to repel [the ball]. Also, a charged up attack may be used.
- Mimibunny or Earbunny (but that sounds awkward)'s blurb: User of ears that are arm-like. It moves [those ears] in order to defend and attack.
Dream Eater (Spirit) Love Contact
Dream Eater (Spirit)
With the Dream Eater (Spirit), there is a communication attempt that's available. It's possible to become properly compatible [with the Dream Eater].
First blurb under four pictures: A Dream Eater with a communication attempt. In all likelihood, it's going to be properly compatible.
Second blurb under three pictures: A challenge in a mini-game with the Dream Eaters. A repeated attack with the touch pen on the balloon[s] will have an outcome.
Confrontation with the 5th District boss makes an appearance!
In the 5th District, a monkey-like boss (Dream Eater) appears. It toys with Sora's party as it freely uses various techniques [on them].
Left side blurb below pics: It attacks by stretching out its arm in a boxing-like style.
Right side blurb below pics: When it drives in a punch, the ability to move becomes impossible to do.
Traverse Town (4th & 5th Districts)
To players, who are familiar with the "Kingdom Hearts" series' Traverse Town, [in DDD], the 4th and 5th Districts are introduced. Compared to Districts 1-3, [these new districts] are given a splendid, and hopefully impressive, modification. Within their spacious areas, they have both a high and low difference, and, lots of activity going on.
Pranksters' Paradise (from Pinocchio)
Image pair 1...
Blurb on left: As Jiminy barrages Pinocchio with questions, as usual, Pinocchio keeps telling lies making his nose grow until it reaches a stopping point.
Blurb on right: The situation of a plan to pick up Pinocchio is definitely going to end up in trouble......
Image pair 2...
Blurb on left: The Blue Fairy gave life to Pinocchio. The mentor, Jiminy, is not just worried about Pinocchio, but he also points out about Pinocchio's nose growing.
Blurb on right: The Blue Fairy meets with Sora. It appears, the Blue Fairy seems to know Sora.
Screenshot quote on top of this blurb (Sora): "Ye-yes. Are you a sorceress?"
Image pair 3...
One blurb: This world is "a world we see inside a dream that doesn't subside", with the exception of Sora and friends saving the world in the past This Jiminy did not meet with Sora and Riku yet.
Image pair 4....
Blurb on left: When Pinocchio gets lost, Gapetto gets really worried. This takes place in a familiar location, which is inside Monstro's stomach.
Blurb on right: Jiminy gives various amounts of advice to Pinocchio. Riku listens to these words as he thinks about how to handle the important existence for himself.
La Cité des Cloches (from Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Image pair 1...
Left blurb: Pheobus is reporting to Frollo about the Dream Eaters appearing in the city. [However,] Frollo's innermost hatred is penetrated by another person in the city.
Right blurb: Quasimodo is surrounded by Dream Eaters in the plaza so Sora lends him a hand. The gypsy, Esmeralda, also comes to help......
Image pair 2...
Left blurb: Quasimodo picks up Esmeralda as he wanted to return to her a favor.
Right blurb: As long as Frollo continues to detest the witch, Esmeralda, he'll keep on removing gypsies from the city.
Image group 3...
Left blurb: Esmeralda speaks regarding Frollo. Riku reacts when he hears her speak of "darkness". Just what is it that he's thinking of?
Center blurb: Pheobus was involved in trouble and Riku helped save him. Pheobus, who is the summoned defense commanding officer*, appears to not be happy.
Right blurb: Inside the bell tower, the gargoyles are talking about Quasimodo. Since they talked all of a sudden, Sora isn't hiding his surprise about this.
Country of Musketeers (from The Three Musketeers)
1- Six images...
Blurb: Mickey doesn't seem to know anything about Sora, which appears to happen in the world within sleep. Sora mistook this Mickey as the King when he [first] saw him. However, there is a profound meaning to what Mickey says, but this something may not be known [for now].
2- Three images...
Left blurb: Pete gives orders to the three: Goofy, Donald and Mickey. There seems to be a feeling of suspicion here....
Right blurb: The Princess appoints the Three Musketeers to be her escort guards....
3- Three images....
Left blurb: The Beagle Boys look like they're doing mean things, which indicates a possibility that they're the "Boss". Of course, the "Boss" is......
Right blurb: There's someone, who appears to be successful at being irritated at something.
4- Three images....
Left blurb: Mickey's team feels the feelings of tension before the Princess.
Center blurb: Princess Minnie keeps the same brave stance as she tries to resolve trouble with Riku.
Right blurb: Even though they're not with Sora, their hearts are always going to be connected. Free Flow Action -> Free Flow Attack
Raulsen's translation of this part: During a slide (Y button), if you touch a wall or a pole, you perform a Free Flow Action, and furthermore, if you press the A button during a Free Flow Action, you can unleash a Free Flow Attack. When you use a Free Flow Action, your attack commands change. The commands that you input depend on the Free Flow Action.
Kick Type
When kicking against the wall, you can produce big damage.
Turn Cutter
With a big rotational kick, you can kill the enemy.
Reality Shift
When the marker on the Lock-on target shows up, it becomes useable. When you use Reality Shift, it allows you to coordinate a location of (a target) impact so the action shows up differently in each world. Within that targeted area, you're able to give damage to the surrounding enemies by discharging while canceling the "Touch".
[ Reality Shift: Traverse Town ]
Picture group 1...
Left blurb: Both the bottom and top pictures show how you can dive.
Picture group 2...
Center blurb: In the top picture, you're able to fly/hurl [across the area], while the bottom picture shows the enemy being surrounded by a ball of light with [streams of light] stretching from it.
Picture group 3...
Right blurb: In the top picture, a jumping/hopping enemy makes a big explosion [on the ground]!
[ Reality Shift: La Cité des Cloche ]
Picture group 1...
Right blurb: When the Lock-on target marker shows up, it allows you to start the Reality Shift.
Picture group 2...
Center blurb: In the bottom picture, after you dive, you link the enemy marks with a line.
Picture group 3...
Right blurb: In the top picture, you're gliding above the [Holy] Rope in return in order to damage the enemy.
GAME Watch has posted an article about the upcoming Kingdom Hearts title for the Nintendo 3DS, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. This article contains many new screenshots and renders, as well as many we have previously seen, which are now available without a Famitsu.com watermark for the first time. You can see all added screenshots and renders below, in our gallery (please click for larger, clear images).
There are 165 images in total, so we can't embed them all here. Please make sure you click the gallery link below, in order to view all screenshots and renders.
Screenshots → GAME Watch → January 4, 2012
Update: This event starts today, and with all seats sold out, it looks to be a great concert if you're interested in music from Kingdom Hearts. We will update here with any videos of the event that appear (if they do).
Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix was a video game music concert that took place in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on September 11 and September 12, 2009. At this event, music from various Square Enix franchises were featured, including music from the Kingdom Hearts series-- specifically, Dearly Beloved, The Other Promise, Happy Holidays!, A Fight to the Death and Hand in Hand.
On January 7 and January 8, 2012 the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus will perform Symphonic Fantasies again under the leadership of Eckehard Stier. On July 5 and July 6, 2012 the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will also perform Symphonic Fantasies again, conducted by Niklas Willén. Thanks to FF-Reunion for the tip. You can also visit Square Enix's official site for the event, where you can hear a snippet of Hand in Hand.
So far, 21 chapters (spread across 3 volumes) of the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga are on sale in Japan. However, these chapters take a while to get scanned and translated, and appear online. Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 have finally appeared online, supplied by taime. You can see these below, in our gallery.
Manga → 358/2 Days → Chapter 12
Square Enix's official website for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance has been updated. This update is an update to both the Characters and and Worlds sections. The update to the Character section is the addition of new Dream Eaters. As for the World section, Country of the Musketeers from The Three Musketeers has been added. New screenshots and renders are available from this updates, and you can see all of these images below. Thanks to the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter for the tip.
Screenshots → Kingdom Hearts 3D, Japanese website
Screenshots → Kingdom Hearts 3D, Japanese website → Characters
Screenshots → Kingdom Hearts 3D, Japanese website → Country of the Musketeers
Update 2: Kingdom Hearts 3D was shown at the event, however, the content shown was the same as that from Jump Festa 2012. If you want to watch the Jump Festa 2012 trailers, you can see the short trailer here, and the long trailer here. KH13 streamed the event with a chatroom, and we thank everyone for joining us! Please look forward to the next event.
Update 1: According to a Tweet by Nintendo, the Nintendo Direct event will show off "games releasing through March 2012". With Kingdom Hearts 3D releasing in March 2012, it is very likely that we'll see the game featured. Remember to check here to see the exact time of the event in your timezone.
Nintendo is holding another Nintendo Direct event on December 27 (at 12PM in Japan), and this event will be livestreamed online at Ustream. Last Nintendo Direct, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was featured with a new trailer, so it's quite possible that we'll see the game featured again. Thanks to aibo_ac7 for the tip.
