As previously reported, a recent issue of Famitsu Weekly has conducted an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, concerning the Kingdom Hearts series. The Light in Chaos have typed up the entire interview, and HEARTSTATION.ORG have translated it into English. As the interview is quite long, please head to our forum to read it.
DSi-Fans.de have reported that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will not be published by Disney in Germany, but instead will be published by Koch Media. Although this does not change anything for the consumer, it does confirm that there will be a Germany release. The game will be published in Autumn 2009.
Square Enix have updated their official English website for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This update includes the addition of character profiles for both King Mickey and Riku. Although this update is small, the fact that they have updated the site means that we can expect more updates in the future.
A recent issue of Famitsu Weekly has included an interview with the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Tetsuya Nomura. In the interview, he discusses the relationship between and development of Kingdom Hearts coded, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Thanks to FF7AC reunion, a partial scan of the article can be viewed below. HEARTSTATION.ORG have translated this scan, and thanks to them, the translation can also be read below.
―Is there a connection in 358/2 Days between Birth by Sleep and Coded?
[b]Nomura:[/b] At the moment Coded does not have any connections with 358/2 Days, but Birth by Sleep is deeply linked. Birth by Sleep has connections to all the games in the series.
―As for Coded, Chapter 2 will be distributing.
[b]Nomura:[/b] From Chapter 2, the story becomes progressively longer. The story of Chapter 1 had the nuance of a tutorial, but from Chapter 2 item synthesizing increases, and after a stage is cleared, other side quests become available. Since linkage with Avatar Kingdom also becomes full-scale, please look forward to it.
―How is the development status of Birth by Sleep?
[b]Nomura:[/b] It’s doing alright. You could say it’s becoming a confident title. I’ve kept you waiting, but I think some new information will be sent out during summer. Since the plan is to present a trailer showing off the game’s fighting spirit at Tokyo Game Show, look forward to it.
A few days ago, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania, the official guidebook for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, was released. This book contains many pieces of new information, including interviews with and reports by Tetsuya Nomura, the game's director.
Kingdom Hearts Insider have been busy translating content from the book, and so far, they have translated two interviews and an explanation of the game's Secret Reports. You can read the first interview here, and the other pieces here.
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 two new videos. One video shows off Goofy's Limit Break, where the other shows of the Final Limit of various characters. Both videos can be viewed below, or downloaded from 358/2 Days' trailers section.
Square Enix's official website for Kingdom Hearts Mobile has been updated. The update includes information concerning new costumes, avatars and wallpapers that are released on the service, and contains a short announcement regarding Episode 2 of Kingdom Hearts coded. The website reports that it will be released in July, and contains a new image of the episode, which can be viewed below.
As was previously reported, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania, a book to accompany the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, has been released in Japan. It contains an interview with Tetsuya Nomura regarding the future of the Kingdom Hearts series, and Kingdom Hearts Insider have managed to translate it entirely.
The interview, seven pages long, is with the series' director, Tetsuya Nomura. He discusses his thoughts concerning the development and release of 358/2 Days, and then goes on to discuss the production of Kingdom Hearts coded and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He also talks about the future of the series, beyond those two games. The interview is quite lengthy, and may contain spoilers, so please go to the full article to read it.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania, the official book to accompany the release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, has now been released in Japan. The book includes a comprehensive walkthrough, including information on all missions, illustrations, and an interview with Tetsuya Nomura.
FF7AC reunion have obtained a copy of the book, and have posted an extract of the interview on their website, in Japanese. HEARTSTATION.ORG have translated this extract into English, and thanks to them, you can read it below.
“We initially proposed 3 separate titles.”
“Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep from within the company, 358/2 Days from Nintendo, and Coded from Disney.”
“I wrote the lines of 358/2 Days myself. Since it was troublesome when I worked at it, once it was finished I thought ‘I don’t want to do it anymore.’”
“Kanemaki-san thought up Xion’s name.”
“The meaning of 358/2 Days refers to the passing of 358 days of 2 people. I wanted people to imagine it’s meaning in various ways.”
“Does KH3 come from those surroundings? Right now I’m busy with Birth by Sleep and FF13: Versus, let’s think about the future plans of Kingdom Hearts slowly.”
“But the next Kingdom Hearts is not restricted to Kingdom Hearts 3. However it won’t be a side story, but an authentic addition.”
“Separate from that, I’m thinking on the things of Kingdom Hearts 3.”
HEARTSTATION.ORG have translated our collection of cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Feel free to use this footage elsewhere, but make sure that you give credit and link to both KH13.com and HEARTSTATION.ORG. You can view the subtitled scenes at our forum.
Square Enix have updated their official Japanese website for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This update includes additions to the Extra section, including a video for Riku, a video for download, and a video showing off each limit break. All videos can be viewed or downloaded below.
As you probably know, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was recently released for the Nintendo DS. KH13.com have completed a full recording of the game, and rendered each full motion video from the game in the highest possible quality. This collections of scenes can be found here. Or, below is a list of each cutscene.
- Opening - Xion's First Appearance - Coast of Darkness - The Man in Darkness Who Stands Still - Xion Defeated - Naminé and DiZ - Why the Sunset is Red - Disruption of Memory - Riku Comforting Xion - Passing Roxas - Xion's Dream - Xion's Capture - Axel and Saïx - Xion and Riku - Riku's Determination - Mickey and Riku/Ansem - Roxas Leaves the Organization - Xion and Naminé - Xion and Axel's Confrontation - Xion's Transformation - Xion's End - The Winning Stick - Battle at Skyscraper - Roxas and Riku - Riku, Ansem Change - After the Fight - A New Day - Towards the Usual Place
The names of each scene are, for the moment, simply a rough translation and are subject to change with time. Each scene is viewable and downloadable on their respective pages. Feel free to post these videos elsewhere, but if you do, make sure to link back to KH13.com.
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, commonly known as E3 2009, has recently finished in USA. The English version of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was featured at this exhibition, and some previously unseen media has surfaced from the event. First of all, below, you can see photos of the 358/2 Days booth, thanks to Gamekyo.
A trailer of the game was shown to the general public at the event, which you can view or download below. A shortened version of the trailer was also shown at the Nintendo conference.
Download
The press kit for 358/2 Days's presentation at E3 2009 was leaked from Nintendo, thanks to Kingdom Hearts Insider. This press kit includes images and a 15 second advertisement for the game, which you can view or download below.
The Light in Chaos have added a description of the first episode of Kingdom Hearts coded, which was released last week in Japan. HEARTSTATION.ORG have translated the play impressions, and thanks to them, you can read it at our forum.
Square Enix have updated their official Japanese website for Kingdom Hearts coded. This update includes additions to the information section, as well as pictures and information about the newly released Episode 1.