Heart Of All Worlds:
A Kingdom Hearts Fansite

Greetings here at HOAW:AKHF!!

Despite being nothing overly new, Nintendo of Japan have officially listed Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for release in Spring of 2012, along with a list of other 3DS games to come over the next year. In addition to this, the news of a release of two new 3DS colors has come forth: Misty Pink and Ice White, making a total of 5 3DS colors to choose from.

Source: KHInsider and Nintendo of Japan

Greetings here at HOAW:AKHF!!!

This isn't really too recent, but regarding TGS 2011 there is some very specific news about not only KH 3D, but also a possible KH (HD) remake in addition. Check this out below:

1. "We know that Final Fantasy Versus XIII won't be at the Tokyo Game Show (in case you didn't know, read this story). So what will Square Enix be showing in its booth (besides Assassin's Creed Revelations)?

In this week's Dengeki PlayStation (as summed up at Sokuho@Hokanko), Tetsuya Nomura reveals that the company plans on having playable versions of Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Type-0, Kingdom Hearts 3D and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

XIII-2 was already playable at E3, and Type-0 will get a downloadable demo later this week. But TGS should end up being our first chance to get hands-on time with Kingdom Hearts 3D and Theatrhythm.

Joining the playable titles, Square Enix will have its usual Open Megatheater showing the latest game footage. Nomura hopes to release the footage from this online as soon as possible (you'll recall that they managed to do this last year, much to everyone's surprise.)

Nomura had some strong words for KH3D, saying that its quality is at the level of a console game. The motions that were shown in the game's trailers have been fully realized, right down to running on the walls. KH3D will have the flashiest motion of the series thus far, he promised.

The development schedule for KH3D has reached high pitch, Nomura said. He hopes to release it as soon as possible following the start of the new year.

The interview also touched briefly on the future of the Kingdom Hearts series. Nomura admitted that it's become difficult to get new players into the series at present. This is one thing they're hoping to address as part of the series' 10th anniversary. One part of this plan is some sort of "HD technical test" for the series.

Kingdom Hearts 3D won't be the only Nomura title that comes out early next year. Nomura also said to expect Theatrhythm, a project on which he's serving as creative producer, early in the new year. He referred to the 3DS rhythm title as the first Final Fantasy 25th anniversary title, suggesting that more could be on the way.

Correction: A previous version of this story wrote that Nomura said Kingdom Hearts 3D is his priority. Nomura did not actually say this. What he said is that he's thinking about the Kingdom Hearts franchise's 10th anniversary, but the completion of Kingdom Hearts 3D takes priority over this."

2. "In the big interview with Nomura, Dengeki talks to him about various developments in the current games he's involved in. They also talk about the Kingdom Hearts series. There are some interesting tidbits there. Nomura talks about how development on KH3D is progressing rapidly, but their schedule is pretty tight. He wants the game to have the quality of a console title, without compromising just because it is on a portable. He also mentions that the game is mostly up and running now, and it looks great. The motion and animation is supposed to be particularly impressive because of the various flashy moves you can do, such as Sora's wall jumping. He says the game is supposed to have the most impressive character movement in gameplay in the series so far, and honestly since it's from the BbS team, I believe him completely."

3. "As for when KH3D will be out, he says there is nothing to announce at the current moment, but he is definitely aiming to release the game not too far in the future. It sounds like he wants to release it by early 2012 if possible. KH3D will be playable on the TGS show floor."

That's all for now, so stay tuned for news as it arises here on HOAW:AKHF!!

Source: KHInsider, NeoGAF, and andriasang

Greetings here at HOAW:AKHF!!

Today I have news regarding the upcoming 2011 Tokyo Game Show (TGS), which will be held from September 15th through the 18th.

For those who may not know what the Tokyo Game Show is, it's an annual video game expo held in Japan and hosted by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) which allows a lot of international video game companies to present new video games and game-related hardware. The main focus, however, is on the Japanese video game market.

At this year's TGS the CESA chairman has appointed Square Enix CEO, Yoichi Wada, as keynote speaker. His speech is said to primarily be about "The Essence of Game Industry Revolution." After Yoichi Wada has given his speech Sony President Shuhei Yoshida will take the stage to talk about the Playstation Vita.

Square Enix is always a big presence at the Tokyo Game Show so we can probably bet that there will be some exciting things happening come September.

There is more to come yet, so stay tuned.

Source: jeels of KHInsider and andriasang

Greetings once again here at HOAW:AKHF!!

Dengeki PlayStation magazine, in order to commemorate its 500th issue, has been posting past issues on its Twitter, dengekips. So far the site has posted a few covers from games such as Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix II+ and Birth by Sleep! The site may post more covers which I will update with tout de suite! Check out the wonderful covers below:

A very impressive selection that we have here if I do say so myself. Let me know what you think!

Source: KHInsider and FF-Reunion.net

Greetings once again at HOAW:AKHF!!

We have received some news as of yet about the status of KH 3D as well as more info. regarding the future of the series as a whole. Check it out below:

"Here's a bit of the interview with Nomura:

Were there any adjustments to the story for international players?

Nomura: I believe that if something's interesting enough people will accept it, so we didn't pay conscious attention to specific regions. But Disney did tell us it had a "Japanese feeling", which I guess you could call an "Oriental way of thinking" (laughs). Also, in terms of storyline, I was thinking of making it simpler and clearer, but Sakaguchi-san (Hironobu Sakaguchi) gave me a single piece of advice for the KH series. That was, "If you don't make it a little more complex, like FF, you won't be able to compete." I prefer to leave the players scope for imagination and guessing, so I decided to develop the game in that way.

Will 3D also have an enigmatic storyline?

Nomura: It's quite difficult to understand. Right now we're putting the story into the Disney scenarios, and it seems like once through won't be enough to understand it. As for the individual mysteries, they'll explain some of the reasons and connections with the game's scenario. We also need approval from overseas, so we're putting in localisation along the way, which is hard work. But there are those on the Disney side who love KH too, and they have a detailed understanding of the scenario, and have been following closely.

---

At the moment, how far along is development of 3D?

Nomura: About 40~50%. Soon we'll start recording voices. The theme this time is "bold action", but I also want to seriously consider the pacing of the story. From this survey I can see that the storyline is a highly anticipated part of the game, but I don't want it to be too drawn-out.

So will you be reducing the number of game events?

Nomura: It's not like that. Just that when something happens, if you explain everything from square one you weaken the pacing. So we're introducing a new system to avoid that. In FF Versus XIII we've removed the cutscenes, letting players continue playing through game events, and here we're going in a different direction again. Also, in 3D Sora fights alongside some strange companions. We're planning to put together a secret movie, so look forward to that."

That's all for now, so stay tuned!

Source: SQEX and KHInsider

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Popular Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu revealed the results of the poll it hosted a few weeks ago asking a total of 2,400 fans about the Playstation Vita. Of the results, Kingdom Hearts placed fourth in regards to the series people wanted to play the most on the system with 70 votes. Square Enix ranked as the second developer people are looking forward to most, with 250 votes.

There's more to come yet, so stay tuned.

Source: Famitsu and jeels and Sign of KHInsider

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it's seems that Kingdom Heart's creator Tetsuya Nomura has plans to reveal a new title next week in the popular Japanese video game magazine, Famitsu.

Our source FF-Reunion has been quoted saying:

"The usual sources for early magazine leaks are reporting that in this week's Famitsu Tetsuya Nomura says to expect a small followup on Versus in next week's issue. Nomura also apparently hints at a new title announcement."

Could Nomura be planning to announce Birth by Sleep Volume 2? Perhaps a new Kingdom Hearts game altogether? Who knows? Remember folks, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance has already been officially announced.

There still is more to come yet so stay tuned.

Source: FF-Reunion, as well as Marly and StVen of KHInsider.

Greetings here at HOAW:AKHF!!

There is some spectacular news regarding Yoko Shimomura, the same person who has composed music in the past for this game series. Have a look see here below:

"Shimomura Interviewed in Nintendo Power - Talks Kingdom Hearts Music

Nintendo Power recently got the chance to sit down and have a chat with Yoko Shimomura, the brain behind the music of the KINGDOM HEARTS saga. The interview was published in their July 2011 issue, and I've scanned the pages for you guys to look at. Only a bit was mentioned regarding KH, but hey, at least it's something--

Musician Yoko Shimomura began her career at Capcom, submitting tracks for everything from Final Fight to a racy mahjong game. Her soundtracks for the company's Street Fighter series raised her profile considerably, but her heart was elsewhere; with few opportunities to write the classically flavored music that interested her most, she joined Squaresoft in the early '90s. There she defined the sound of such RPG franchises as Front Mission, Parasite Eve, and, most famously, Kingdom hearts. But the long hours and a desire to work with a wider variety of creators led her to go freelance in 2002. Contrary to the experience of many composers who take that leap into the unknown, Shimomura's career has only flourished; she continues to compose for major Square Enix franchises such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy, while also finding rewarding work with Nintendo's Mario and Luigi series and, most recently, Atlus's well-received DS RPG Radiant Historia.

NP: How did you feel when you were approached to work on the Kingdom Hearts series?

Shimomura: I was like, "Whaaaaaat?! I get to compose music for a Disney project?! Really?! Me?!" Yes, as you can see, I don't really have much self-confidence. [Laughs] I was struck by a great sense of insecurity by this request. But I tried my best to create the score with the image of Disney's worlds in my mind.

NP: "Dearly Beloved" from Kingdom hearts has become quite an iconic tune. How did you come up with this particular piece of music?

Shimomura: Actually, this tune was originally written for a certain event in the game, and I created it instantly, intuitively...and there were no thoughts running through my mind while I was at it. But eventually, the tune was [cut from the game]. And when I was asked to compose something for the title music (they said it could be a temporary song; just give us anything), I proposed "Dearly Beloved." The next thing you know, this tune was chosen to be the title music! Quite a reversal of fortune! [Laughs]

NP: Was it intimidating to work with Disney franchises that already had such recognizable music?

Shimomura: In the beginning I struggled a lot; all I could do was grope around. But one day, suddenly everything came together, like, "Oh! I see it now!" Luckily, I had never received any "no-good" remarks from Disney. I was very happy."

That's all for now so stay tuned.

Source: Sign and Ventus Air-Man of KHInsider

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As of March 2012, the Kingdom Hearts series will officially be 10 years old, and it seems just a tad more than coincidental that Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase has stated that the company is interested in PSP-to-PS3 game remasters. While nothing yet has been announced for the Kingdom Hearts series in terms of PSP remastering, we can assume that it would be Birth by Sleep up for the rebuffing. However, it is probable that Square Enix's leading franchise Final Fantasy will be the first in line for remastering with its massive catalogue of games. Our sister site Final Fantasy Network totes that titles such as Dissidia and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII may be nominated for the rework, but in terms of 'official status' Kitase stated that nothing was yet definite. Whether this means that Birth by Sleep or the mysterious Volume 2 will be remastered for the PS3 for Kingdom Hearts's 10 year anniversary is still to be seen, but you can be sure to check back here at KHInsider for more information if this does come to fruition.

There's more to come so stay tuned!

Source: Final Fantasy Network and Sol of KHInsider

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Some sad news has just been reported  at E3 2011. Check out this report from KH Ultimania:

"We can confirm that as feared no Kingdom Hearts games are being showcased at E3 2011 this year. Churro, our lead news writer, is at the conference and has searched every-inch of the Square Enix and Nintendo boothes for Kingdom Hearts goodness but to no avail.

"Upon speaking with Square Enix representatives at the event, they commented that Kingdom Hearts was ‘Not at E3′ this year – indicating that the next KH annoucements will be showcased exclusively at TGS 2011.

We’ll continue to keep you updated if anything changes, for now, keep an eye on our Twitter account and Churro’s twitter account."

That is all for now, so stay tuned for more news as it occurs here at HOAW:AKHF!!

Source: Churro of KH Ultimania