Square Enix have updated their official Japanese website for Kingdom Hearts coded. This update includes additions to the information section, as well as screenshots and renders from Episode 3 of the game. Also included is information about how these relate to Kingdom Hearts Mobile. All included images are available to view below.
>Coded, Japanese website
All images are from Square Enix's official website.
HEARTSTATION.ORG have translated the recent article appearing on Famitsu.com regarding Kingdom Hearts coded and Kingdom Hearts Mobile. Their translation of this article can be read below.
Episode 3 of Kingdom Hearts Coded releases August 5, 2009! ● Let’s go to the Avatar Kingdom this summer and assume different appearances!
The content of the ‘Kingdom Hearts Mobile’, the mobile phone portal site for the Kingdom Hearts series, has been enriched even further! Since the 23rd of July 2009, the city in which the avatars live, Avatar Kingdom, has even changed to a summery blue sky. Along with the introduction of newly added Avatar Items, let’s unveil the latest images of Kingdom Hearts Coded, scheduled for release on the 5th May 2009. Also, the concept of avatars having levels was introduced from the last update. Reach a fixed level by using points to purchase items for avatar use, and receiving experience points from winning a high place in the minigame ranking, and you’ll level up. You even receive experience points from only logging in once a day, so it’d even be good to try and pop in and see the city every day.
Items for avatar use such as Xemnas’ coat are arriving one after the other! Also, it’s also now possible to purchase the special avatar items awarded in previous minigames to people who won a place in the National Ranking. You can buy these with munny saved up from clearing minigames, it seems. Let’s earn heaps while we can!
This is a minigame scheduled for release in August 2009, ‘Rhythm Parade’, in which you hit buttons in time to music from the series. Songs include: ‘Destiny Islands’, ‘Blast Away!’, ‘Monochrome Dreams’,’ Bustin’ Up on the Beach’, ‘Sinister Sundown’, ‘Hand in Hand’, ‘One-Winged Angel’, ‘Working Together’, and ‘Shrouding Dark Cloud’.
There are two modes: Easy and Hard. Easy mode is a mode you can enjoy easily, keeping rhythm with one button. Hard mode is a more serious mode in which you use five buttons, and so it’s aimed at people with confidence in their ability. Of course, we’re keeping up with the National Ranking!
Sora: I’m Sora. And you are? Alice: Hm… it’s no good. I can’t remember a thing.
Sora: Answer me! Have you done something weird to this world? Black-coated man: This world is connected. A world in which memory and reality are connected.
Concerning the contents that are moved away from Avatar Kingdom, Episode 3 of Kingdom Hearts Coded begins distributing August 5, 2009. The next stage takes place in the world of “Alice and Wonderland”. Not only are the familiar characters there, but the figure of the man in the black coat who seems to be a key figure in this title also appears.
Famitsu.com have updated with an article concerning Kingdom Hearts coded and Kingdom Hearts Mobile. The article announces that Episode 3 of Coded will begin availability on August 5, 2009. This episode features Wonderland, and unlike the original Kingdom Hearts, Sora encounters an unknown person in an Organization cloak during his visit. The article includes many images for both Coded and Mobile, which can all be viewed at our gallery.
The 40th annual San Diego Comic Con in San Diego has passed, and at the event, the English version of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was featured. Churro from Kingdom Hearts Ultimania attended the event, and as a result, many photos and videos of it are available. All photos are available to view in our gallery, and the videos can be seen below.
Last week, The Light in Chaos posted a summary of Episode 2 of Kingdom Hearts coded. This episode occurs in Traverse Town. HEARTSTATION.ORG have made a better translation of their impressions, and thanks to them, you can read this translation at our forum.
Amazon.fr have created a page for the eventual release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2. This page reveals that the release in France, and possibly the rest of Europe, will be on October 9, 2009, and that the game will cost EUR 39,95.
Another video of Kingdom Hearts coded has surfaced. A demo for Coded was shown at Japan Expo 2009 in Paris, and Kingdom Fantasy have uploaded footage of this demo. Thanks to them, you can view it below.
Lissar from Kingdom Hearts Insider has translated an Episode 2 summary of Kingdom Hearts coded, supplied by The Light in Chaos. This contains a complete description of the events of Coded's second episode, which was released earlier in July. You can read the translation below.
It starts with a movie summarizing the previous episode. Then there is a movie scene from the end of the last episode, and you arrive in Traverse Town. Pluto wakes up Sora by licking his face. Sora goes to find out if the island is safe while trying to solve Traverse Town’s problem.
Large Updates
You can now use the moogle synthesis shop. The moogle in front of the cafe in First District will go into a synthesis tutorial. When you talk with him he will give you two materials to synth. (First time only.) You can now sometimes get a Debug Prize from Bugs. There will be a Moogle at every save point. Also, at the Second District save point a Moogle will come and talk to you, giving you the Avatar Item “First town wallpaper.” (First time only.) The ability Huey found’s name will change into “Guard Counter.” (First time only.) You with go into Area Debug Mode in a battle with a Bug Snake. The time limit is three minutes. The amount of VP you gain will be lowered. The accessory you got from Cid when you went to look for Luey changes into “Attack Chain.” You will no longer have the Protect Chain. In Area Debug Mode with dividing Bugs, flashing Bugs will no longer appear. So you will longer take damage in this type of Area Debug Mode. You will now have normal encounters in Third District. You will chase a strange man, and when you return to First District there will be an Area Debug Mode fight. The time limit is three minutes. Depending on how quickly you are able to finish the fight you will receive certain items. (For example if you finish within one minute you will get a different item.) If you rescue Luey you will go into Area Debug Mode on the second floor. In boss stages the map telling you where you are or where you should go are gone. If you get game over in a boss stage you can only choose to start over from the same stage or go into the world map. But you can open your menu and change around your items and abilities. The ability you can get from finishing the episodes name changes to “D Thunder.”
You will get certain items by rank received after defeating the boss.
C Rank ~39999Pt - Synth Material “??? Powder +” B Rank 40000 ~ 49999 - Synth Material “??? Shard” A Rank 50000 ~ 59999 - Ability “Auto Reload” (First time only.) Item “Kupo Nut” (Second time onwards.) S Rank 60000Pt~ Avatar Item “First Town’s Carpet (L)” (First time only.) “??? Gem” (Second time onwards.)
After you’ve finished the story, a movie will play showing the Bugs disappearing from Traverse Town. It is shown that “A new power begins to awaken” in Sora. Then, at Disney Castle shadows appear. Of course thanks to King Mickey they were able to get away, but will we now know how they got locked in when they went to tell the residents...?
Lissar from Kingdom Hearts Insider has translated an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, supplied by FF7AC reunion. The interview is apparantly from Famitsu, and is the third part. Although the interview does not mention the Kingdom Hearts series, it is interesting to learn more about the series' creator. You can read it below.
-- You are both a “designer” and a “creator” now, but I believe you started out from just liking to draw, is that right? Have you been drawing since you were a kid?
Nomura: Yes. I’ve liked pictures since I was little, I was always drawing. Well, mostly it was manga I drew, though I never finished anything (laugh.) But I always drew anyway.
-- Of course. So you like drawing, and you wanted to make a career out of it, so you went to Tokyo?
Nomura: Well... that wasn’t really my goal. But I wanted to do something with drawing so I went to art school and studied a lot. I was studying things about advertisment design while thinking “This doesn’t seem quite right...” (laugh.) There was one class where we had a camera and took pictures.
-- You were learning stuff that was closer to an Editor’s job then (laugh.) Though you were doing a lot of things, you were still most interested in “drawing” right?
Nomura: Yes that’s right.
-- So what sort of job hunting did you do?
Nomura: Well there was a job at a publishing house that someone was going to help me get, but that fell through. I looked through the classifieds not knowing what I should do. There was a time like that. At the time there were advertisments for other game companies, but for some reason I got hired here (Squaresoft at the time.)
-- The turning point of your fate (laugh)
Nomura: (laugh) When I first got hired I never thought I’d be here this long. It’s so strange.
-- Sorry to ask this, but why did you stay longer than you’d planned?
Nomura: Well the job just got so fun making so many different things. The team leaders I’m working with now are the people I’ve been with since the beginning. So long as they still wanted to work together, I saw no reason to quit.
-- So you felt “complete” in your job then? By the way, what game left the strongest impression on you as a “turning point”?
Nomura: Well, I would say “before” and “after” games became 3D, how we made games really changed. Before, we decided things as we made them. There were no things decided before hand. Now, everything is decided before we start working. FFVII was the first game that started this. I designed FFVII characters how I wanted to, but after making them there were a lot of difficulties. I learned my lesson, and with FFVIII I only started designing them after everything had been decided.
-- So that’s why you achieved so much with FFVIII.
Nomura: It was pretty bad at the time though. But, I think that was the last time I did whatever I wanted on a game. I still remember everyone scrambling.
-- Finally, I’m going to change questions a bit, what sort of things do you do on your private time?
Nomura: Let’s see... mostly when I’m at home, I just don’t move (laugh.) I just watch TV.
-- So you probably get ideas from that, and you can turn it into new things at work...
Nomura: No... not really (laugh.) I’m just watching it because I want to, I’m not really thinking about work. I’m basically just lazy, lately I just sit around and don’t do much.
-- I see (laugh) I thought maybe there was some hint into the creator Tetsuya Nomura by what you do on your off days. I was hoping that there would be some tips for people who want to become a designer like you, but I didn’t think that you’d say you didn’t do anything (laugh.)
Nomura: Aha (laugh.) Well, move around while you can. No really, I think it’s important to do things while you still feel like it. Since lately the rest of the staff has been treating me like an “old man”.
-- An old man!! (laugh)
Nomura: Well lately all my joints pop and things like that (laugh.) I get angry at everything, and tell stupid jokes. Even though I was only talking about how our future plans. But everyone is nice to me, like they are nice to an old man (laugh.)
-- This is probably weird to say, but it’s a wonderful thing to be able to talk about your future plans clearly. We’ve covered a lot of topics, and I’d like to thank you for talking with us. I feel as though I’ve been able to see the true you.
The North American version of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has received a rating from the ESRB. The rating received was E10+, for fantasy violence. The ESRB's description and justification of the rating is below. Be warned, this description could be considered to contain spoilers.
This is a role-playing game (RPG) in which players complete missions in fantastical settings, collect magic hearts, and use "melee" and magic attacks to defeat enemies. Players wield a giant key-shaped sword to slash at various creatures such as monkeys, pumpkins, lizards, robots, and dragons. Small explosions, cries of pain, and realistic slashing sounds can be heard throughout battle. During one dramatic cutscene, the central character watches a female character in pain slowly transform into glass/ice, then disintegrate into the air.
Square Enix have updated their official Japanese website for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This update is an addition to the extra section, and contains four new videos. This includes King Mickey's Limit Break, Sora's gameplay and Limit Break, and a video of Roxas dual wielding. All videos can be viewed below, or downloaded from 358/2 Days' trailers section.
Lissar from Kingdom Hearts Insider has translated an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, supplied by FF7AC reunion. The interview is apparantly from Famitsu, and is the second part, with more parts coming later. You can read it below.
-- To ask you more about the KH series, your latest game KH358/2 Days has been a big hit. The story/system of the game and even the graphics are better than any other DS game made previously.
Nomura: It came about just from me being so stubborn about it. Though because of that it went on sale a little later than we had planned. These days “serious games” (educational games) have become so popular. But I’ve felt inside myself that this is a problem. “Those can’t be the biggest sellers” I thought. Of course, the kind of things I make are games. I felt very strongly about this. There are tons of gamers out there who only play huge games like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. In other words, if only we can attract their interest they’ll play my games too. So, I want to win them over. If I don’t, we’ll just end up losing.
-- I think so too.
Nomura: There is no real analysis of trends in the game market. It’s just thought that if you make a good game, a fun game, people will buy it.
-- So that’s why I don’t feel as though you’re compromising your games. Not just with KH358/2 Days, but with FF7ACC, I was surprised about how much you remade!
Nomura: Up til now I’ve never been happy with a simple port. That’s why my company is always giving me nasty looks (laugh) Of course right now we’re in a depression, so it’s difficult to “challenge” myself in this way. But, it’s because of that I think I need to do the best I can.
-- Yes you really need to. And I think the most amazing thing is that you always make good on your promises, with good results. To go as far as making a movie, I always think you must really love your job (laugh)
Nomura: With FF7AC I wanted to see if something could be done with just visuals. We talked about it in the office, but there almost was going to be nothing happening with it and it was in danger of disappearing for good. But I felt it would be such a waste, I thought “If I fail I’ll just take responsibilty for it and never direct again” (laugh)
-- So that’s what happened. And that’s how FF7AC got finished. But did it influence other development teams in any way?
Nomura: Toriyama (FF13 Director), and the Dissidia development team both wanted to make battles like were shown in FF7AC. I felt good about it. That it was able to go back into games.
-- That’s logical. Did you plan this beforehand?
Nomura: No, not at all (laugh) It’s just that with visuals only there was no limit to what you could do, you were really free, I wanted to see what would happen if I could do what I liked. In game cut-scenes you have to limit yourself to what can be shown in the gameplay. But since I made it without those limitations everyone thought “If only we could remake this in real time”. I was very happy.
-- I see! Well now I’m going to change the subject a bit, in both KH and FF7 there is one world with many stories. Are these things an expression of something inside yourself that you want to “tell” others?
Nomura: Not really. I’m not really thinking of how it’s going to develop from the start. Only, with the story I don’t want it to be just some fantastic tale, I want people to sympathize with the story, say “Ah, I know this.” I want them to feel as though it happening close to you.
-- So that’s why you create so many characters that feel “close”. But you even mange to express these connections and environments through “pictures”. How do you come up with the key visuals?
Nomura: It’s mostly just in my head. When I’m thinking about the scenario the “scenes” or “pictures” just pop up. Most of the scenes are based in the experiences that everyone had growing up.
-- In KH358/2 Days the evening and ice cream eating scenes left quite an impression. So for people to feel close to the scenario images, it depends on whether or not they’ll be able to empathize.
MeleeGurl from Kingdom Hearts Ultimania has conducted an interview with Zexion's English voice actor, Vincent Corazza, where he discusses his career as a voice actor. The interview is a voiced interview, and can be heard in a YouTube video below.
Square Enix's official Japanese website for Kingdom Hearts coded has been updated. This update includes screenshots and renders from both Episode 1 and Episode 2 of the game. Also included is information about how these relate to Kingdom Hearts Mobile. All included images are available to view below.
>Coded, Japanese website
Wed 08 Jul 2009 11:35:23 PM EDT
All images are from Square Enix's official website.
HEARTSTATION.ORG have scanned 77 pages from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania, the official book to accompany the release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The scans are of extremely high quality, and reveal information such as stats for each playable character. You can view them below in our new gallery system.
>358/2 Days Ultimania
Wed 08 Jul 2009 11:35:23 PM EDT
All images were scanned by HEARTSTATION.ORG.
