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As part of Epic Games' "State of Unreal" presentation during the 2019 Game Developers Conference, Kingdom Hearts series co-director Tai Yasue gave a brief keynote statement about the development of Kingdom Hearts III, detailing the technical advantages that Unreal Engine 4 provided. Yasue spoke about Kingdom Hearts III's basic gameplay systems, the animation process for the game's special effects, and the technical features that Unreal Engine 4 provided, including volumetric clouds, water effects, and lighting, which can all be easily changed to suit the different environments of each world. Alongside this speech, testing and development footage was shown. This footage included Sora and a player-controlled Rapunzel roaming around a test room in a showcase of their movement, the clouds of Olympus being given different shapes and volumes, the waves of The Caribbean changing in intensity, and the lighting of the Kingdom of Corona lantern scene changing with the placement of additional lanterns. All of these adjustments were done in real-time as the game was running, showcasing the flexibility of the engine. What did you think of Tai Yasue's brief presentation? Do you hope to see the Kingdom Hearts team utilize Unreal Engine in even bolder ways in the future? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Thank you for the correction! I completely spaced that Days didn't have it! I've gone ahead and fixed that.

Epic Games will be having their keynote on Wednesday, so that's likely when Yasue will be speaking.

In a brief statement to Game Informer during the 2019 Game Developers Conference, Kingdom Hearts series co-director Tai Yasue confirmed that the highly-anticipated Critical Mode would be coming to Kingdom Hearts III very soon. Curiously absent from Kingdom Hearts III at launch, the Critical Mode difficulty setting has been a staple for the series ever since its introduction in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, with its only other absences being Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and the original version of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Yasue stated that Critical Mode in Kingdom Hearts III would be more than just a value change, referring to the HP, MP, and damage output of Sora, his allies, and the game's various enemies. He also said that Critical Mode is "more technical and offensive," and will be geared toward those who are "good at action games" and "timing their attacks". He concluded this brief discussion by stating that the skill required will change the way that players will play the game. What do you hope to see in this more extensively-adjusted Critical Mode? Will you be giving it a shot once it finally gets added to Kingdom Hearts III? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

The Kingdom Hearts VR Experience is finally releasing worldwide! Owners of the PlayStation VR headset will soon be able to immerse themselves in some of the series' most memorable scenes, when the application launches on Thursday, February 28th. As with the previously released Japanese version, the Kingdom Hearts VR Experience includes a ten-minute-long interactive video featuring footage and music from the series' history. In addition, players will be able to unlock new content over time, including an interactive battle against several Heartless. Do you own a PlayStation VR headset? Will you be getting one to experience Kingdom Hearts in VR? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

During E3 of 2018, Square Enix announced a variety of limited edition products for Kingdom Hearts III, including the Deluxe Edition + Bring Arts figures, as well as a limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro. The former found its way to the Square Enix store immediately, while the latter was sadly nowhere to be found outside of Japan, at least for several months. Upon the news that GameStop and other retailers would be carrying the console worldwide, fans went wild attempting to pre-order this rare system. With a bit of luck and a hit to my spending money, I was fortunate enough to obtain both of these highly sought-after items. Below, you can see my unboxing of the various contents that I received on the afternoon of January 28th. Overall, I am very happy with everything I received! The Kingdom Hearts III Deluxe Edition itself is quite a step up from most other collector's editions the series has had over the years. The inclusion of a standard case alongside the steelbook is very considerate for those of us who love to collect the series' various box arts. The steelbook's design is not only pleasing to look at, but as an attendee of Kingdom Hearts III's Premiere Event last year, it also brought back a lot of good memories for me, due to a similar aesthetic being used quite frequently at that event's venue. The artbook, like others before it, is a treat to look through, showcasing various worlds, characters, and Keyblades from the game. Finally, the pin is quite awesome. While it's not quite as unique as prior Kingdom Hearts pins have been, it carries a lot of charm in a simple design and relatively simple shape. It certainly doesn't disappoint! Regarding the Bring Arts figures, while I found it strange that the Sora Bring Arts figure's head was detached from the body, the fix for such an issue is relatively easy. I will, however, echo a long-standing sentiment about this line of figures: the plastic for the hands should be softer and more malleable. All too often, I see complaints about trying to attach a figure's hands (an issue I actually had in my unboxing), as well as trying to fit weapons into the appropriate hand models. Fans would often struggle to pry the fingers apart in order to fit a Keyblade or other object. This is an issue which has persisted with the Play Arts and Bring Arts figure lines for years, and I hope to someday see a change to reflect this request. Otherwise, these figures are definitely on par with other Play Arts and Bring Arts lines, with every single bit of detail and quality that such a standard entails. In particular, these Toy Story figures look like they could have jumped out from the game itself! Very impressive, regardless of any minor issues I have! Speaking about the PlayStation 4 Pro, the quality of the product is absolutely astounding. I was initially very skeptical about the leather-like finish the console's top plate had received, thinking that it was nothing more than empty marketing. However, after holding the console in my hands and running my fingers across this finish, I can now say that the claims are absolutely warranted. The feeling isn't quite that of actual leather, but the imitation is superb regardless. If this is the level of quality we can expect from Square Enix's limited-edition consoles in the future, I can't wait to see what else they might bring to us in the future. Kingdom Hearts III is now available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One! Follow our master coverage of Kingdom Hearts III and stay up to date with the latest news via our Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Discord! Latest news: - Skrillex talks about producing "Face My Fears" with Utada Hikaru - Kingdom Hearts Snapchat crown filter available for limited time - Kingdom Hearts III trophy list View full article

The wait for Kingdom Hearts III is nearly over! While the game has already been released in Japan as of January 25th, and has garnered critical acclaim from a variety of major gaming publications, the game will release worldwide in just a few more days, on Tuesday, January 29th! After five and a half years of news and updates regarding the game's development, as well as nearly 17 years of story buildup, the Kingdom Hearts community's long journey toward the final entry in the Xehanort saga has finally come to a close. To celebrate this long-awaited occasion, several content creators have produced retrospectives covering Kingdom Hearts III's development, while also asking several fans for their perspectives on the series. In addition, many content creators have released videos that retell the long-running lore of the franchise, assisting newer players in getting caught up for Kingdom Hearts III and allowing older fans to reminisce on some of their favorite moments. We at KH13.com would like to highlight a selection of these content creators for their hard work and dedication toward the franchise, and give fans one last chance to catch up on the storyline and development history leading to Kingdom Hearts III! Development Retrospectives KH13.com has produced its own development retrospective, which was released earlier this month, on January 19th! Several content creators such as KZXcellent and KeybladeSarah were involved with this project, narrating the film and giving their opinions on every step the franchise has taken over its 17-year history. Additional development history retrospectives can be found at the following links: Kingdom Hearts 3 Retrospective: The Story & Journey So Far - VoltEditzz The History of Kingdom Hearts - GameSpot Storyline Recaps We would be doing a massive disservice if we did not particularly highlight longtime contributor Everglow's KINGDOM HEARTS TIMELINE video series. Spanning 122 episodes with over 65 hours of content, this series recently reached its conclusion on January 13th, and has been widely praised as one of the most well-produced Kingdom Hearts fan works ever created. While there unfortunately isn't enough time to fully enjoy this video series before the release of Kingdom Hearts III, it will undoubtedly continue to capture fans' hearts for years to come. Additional storyline recaps can be found at the following links: Kingdom Hearts Story Summary - Suggestive Gaming The complete story of Kingdom Hearts - Eurogamer The (Simplified) Kingdom Hearts Timeline - The Leaderboard While we sadly cannot cover every single retrospective that has been released in recent memory, we appreciate every single content creator who dedicates their time to the Kingdom Hearts series! Kingdom Hearts III is now available in Japan, and will be available worldwide on January 29th! Which of these videos did you enjoy the most? Is there one that we missed that you absolutely adore? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check in on our release coverage of Kingdom Hearts III! View full article

Crit is in the game, but only on subsequent playthroughs. It's not available from the start.

Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura took part in an exclusive interview with Famitsu, just before the release of the game! This interview is quite lengthy, so we're separating it into multiple articles to make it easier to digest. In the first segment, the game's story was discussed, as well as the game's secret ending requirements, which we've separated into a spoiler tag. Some new screenshots also accompanied this publication. You can read a translation of the interview below. Translations are courtesy of KH13 staff member Mio-chan! As stated above, we will continue to publish more of this lengthy interview as soon as we can! Kingdom Hearts III will release in Japan in less than an hour, on January 25. The game will release worldwide next Tuesday, on January 29! Stay tuned for more info and the international release! Follow our coverage of Kingdom Hearts III here and on social media! Recent articles: - Kingdom Hearts III releases in Japan - Worldwide reviews for Kingdom Hearts III published - Tetsuya Nomura discusses the power of awakening, Roxas, and secret ending requirements in Kingdom Hearts III - Tetsuya Nomura discusses writing the scenario (including dialogue) for Kingdom Hearts III and the game's own Instagram-like social network View full article

Good question! I forgot that Anti-Form worked like that during boss fights! It would certainly be an interesting little addition to the form's mechanics.

Within the new two-minute commercial for Kingdom Hearts III, Square Enix revealed a brief glimpse of Sora's new Rage Form in action. Similar to Anti-Form from Kingdom Hearts II, Rage Form uses unpredictable movements and attacks to give off a sense of speed, anger, and lack of control. Unlike Anti-Form, however, this new iteration wields the Keyblade and can be entered (or avoided) if the player chooses to do so. Rage Form locks Sora out of his secondary commands like magic and items, so it seems to be incredibly powerful at the cost of these other abilities, or it could be some way to punish the player in the same vein as Anti-Form, which appeared if players overused Kingdom Hearts II's Drive Forms...but what could this be a punishment for? Using too many situation commands or Keyblade transformations in a given time period? Only time will tell what this form has in store for us, as we quickly approach the release of Kingdom Hearts III! Let us know what you think of Rage Form, its strengths, and its limitations in the comments below! View full article

We are pleased to reveal that a new feature has been added to KH13! Now, if a streamer links their Twitch account with their KH13 account and they are livestreaming any game in the Kingdom Hearts series, a link to their stream will appear in the sidebar of the site. This sidebar addition is located on the right-hand side, between the daily poll and the recently updated topics. It can be seen on the homepage, forum, and video archive. For anyone interested in this feature, you will need to press the “Add Your Stream” button at the bottom of the stream list, and sign in with Twitch on the following page to link your accounts. Whenever you are streaming a Kingdom Hearts game, make sure to set the "Playing [X]" field of your Twitch stream to anything containing “Kingdom Hearts” (e.g. Kingdom Hearts HD II.8: Final Chapter Prologue) in order for your stream to appear. Otherwise, your stream will not show up in the list. Once your stream is in the list, your username, the viewer count, the game's title, and a snapshot of your stream will be shown. You can view an example of this feature below, as KH13 staff member Toominator has linked his account and is live at the time of this article’s publication. Whether you are attempting to beat a speedrun record or are enjoying a series recap, we hope to see plenty of fans streaming the series in the days leading up to Kingdom Hearts III’s release! Let us know your thoughts on this feature in the comments below! View full article

No items, pan only...Final Destination?

Amidst the plethora of new reveals in the Kingdom Hearts III Final Battle trailer, a new Keyblade was featured briefly in one of the trailer's gameplay segments. This currently-unnamed Keyblade is themed around Pixar's Ratatouille, featuring both French architecture and cooking motifs in its design. Its transformation, Frying Pan, was also revealed, and appears to use Speed Form for its basic moveset. The Keyblade will take the form of a shield, and will incorporate the Eiffel Tower into the animations of certain attacks and form changes. Though it is not confirmed, it is very likely that this new Keyblade is a reward that will be obtained from the cooking minigame which features Ratatouille's protagonist, Remy. You can view screenshots of this new Keyblade below. Additionally, the Final Battle trailer which features this new Keyblade can be viewed below. How many of you just can't wait to whack some Heartless with a giant frying pan? (We're definitely raising our hands for this one!) Let us know your thoughts on this Keyblade in the comments below! View full article