An Unsung Hero

It’s hard to believe it’s been 13 years since we first tried to set sail for other worlds with Sora, Riku and Kairi. Those of us who have stuck by all this time have been able to grow up with them, laugh with them, go on all these grand adventures with them. It feels like we know them like the back of our hands now, but of course, there are others who know them much better. I speak of course of the extraordinary cast behind those characters.

With those of us in the west so recently been able to experience Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix in the latest remaster, it seems like it’d be a great time to go back and check out the interview with the voice cast that was included within the KHIIFM Ultimania. Let’s see what Miyu Irino, Risa Uchida and Mamoru Miyano felt about their characters, their experiences, and the series’s future, back in March 2007.

Many thanks to Rasenth for their work translating this incredible interview. Be sure to visit their website and check out their lovely artwork, and follow them on social networks!

A Look Back: Director’s Secret Report XIII

Kingdom Hearts -HD 2.5 ReMIX- released in North America and Europe just last month, so hopefully many of you have had the chance to play through all of the games in the collection during the holiday season!

Since this is the first time Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix has been available in the west, this seems like the perfect chance to revisit Tetsuya Nomura’s Director’s Secret Report XIII, a thirteen-part look into the various secrets about the world, characters, and storyline of the Kingdom Hearts series. This report was originally included in the “Another Report” booklet that came with the Limited Edition version of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ back when the game released on March 29th 2007.

For those of you who may have never gotten the chance to experience Kingdom Hearts II or read this report before, hopefully you will find this information helpful to uncovering the mysteries of this series and gain a better understanding the world of Kingdom Hearts.

It should be noted, though, that because this information is nearly eight years old, some of it might be contradicted or already expanded on by newer games and interviews conducted by Tetsuya Nomura.

Many thanks to Goldpanner for her hard work in translating this report, and be sure to visit her website for more of her translation work related to Kingdom Hearts!

Exclusive: KHInsider Interviews Tetsuya Nomura - Part 2!

We had the chance to interview Series Director Tetsuya Nomura at the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix launch event in a joint session with Churro from KHUltimania. We were only able to post the first part of the interview previously, but we are happy to finally provide the complete interview for your reading pleasure!

—-In the credits of Kingdom Hearts 1.5, scenes from Kingdom Hearts 2, Birth by Sleep, and Re:coded were shown to hint at the next remaster. In the credits of Kingdom Hearts 2.5, scenes from Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts 3 were shown. Recent updates in Kingdom Hearts X[chi] also showed updated models for characters from Dream Drop Distance.

A comment was previously made that a remaster for this title would be under consideration, but has that changed now that 2.5 has been released?

Nomura: On one hand, technological tests have proven that we are capable of making an HD version of the game, but on the other hand, I also feel that it may not be as appealing (compared to KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 ReMIX and KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.5 ReMIX) if we release KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance]on its own. We are still trying to determine what would be the best course of action.

Eurogamer had the opportunity to interview Co-Director Tai Yasue at the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix launch event in London. With no limits to their questions, they took the chance to ask about recent revelations that have occured overseas in Japan, such as the switch from Luminous Engine to Unreal Engine 4 and Series Director Tetsuya Nomura’s departure from Final Fantasy XV.

He states that UE4 has really impressed the team and has changed the way they develop Kingdom Hearts 3. However, the reason for the switch had nothing to do with Luminous. Rather, they felt that Unreal was better suited for their needs, and along with the existing userbase and active communication channels with Epic Games Japan, it felt as though it was a complete product. 

It was easy for them to transition to Unreal, but it didn’t mean that it was perfect from the get-go. There were many things specific to Kingdom Hearts that couldn’t be done with the default build, so the team had to retool and customize the engine to add these options, one of which is the Kingdom Shader, used to give each world a unique Disney look that is truthful to the source material. 

The great news, however, is that none of the assets we had seen from the E3 2012 or even the D23 Expo trailer were thrown away. And the experience that came from putting those trailers together were able to translate well into their current development. 

In regards to Nomura’s departure from Final Fantasy XV, Yasue states that nothing has particularly changed in development. Nomura is the creative visionary of the game, and oversees the project. They communicate just as often as they previously had done, and Kingdom Hearts 3 development is speeding up as time goes by, but he doesn’t believe it is related to FFXV. 

Eurogamer also asked about Disney, and if they have set any limitations at this early stage yet, to which the answer is “no”. There are many new and old IPs from Disney that they are currently considering to incorporate and work with, but so far, they have had free reign completely.

As a final note to celebrate Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix’s launch in western territories, Yasue says that the remasters will help prepare new players for the end of the Dark Seeker saga. The goal was to develop the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 while making it more accessible with the remasters. It’s been 12 years since the release of the first title, but it’ll all be worth it in the end.

This week, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix releases in western territories, and to celebrate, Square Enix has put together this special launch trailer featuring none other than the fans in attendance at the Casting Call events in Burbank, California and Paris, France! Check out what your fellow fans have to say about their experiences with the series, and the development team in Osaka’s reaction at seeing such a passionate community.

We caught up with Ben Diskin in the wake of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5’s release and we asked him a few questions about Young Master Xehanort, Kingdom Hearts 3, and more!

Missed any info from yesterday’s Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix NA launch event? Check out our recap, as we cover the performance by Yoko Shimomura and Livan, the interview with Tetsuya Nomura and Shinji Hashimoto, and of course, that sneak peak Kingdom Hearts 3 raw footage!

We also have the opportunity to learn about Nomura’s favorite scenes from the three titles in the remaster, his inspiration for KH, his personal life, and much more!

IGN caught up with Tai Yasue and asked whether the ReMIX’s could port to Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

"I think [putting the games on PS4] is something we’ll explore. We understand what our players want, so we will explore the possibility. I’m not making any announcements though, we can’t make any announcements yet!"

Star Wars and Marvel are not off-limits, Yasue confirmed that they are being considered. “Well, yeah. They’re all under consideration,” he said. “Nothing’s off-limits, we’re considering all of the worlds. There are so many wonderful concepts. We’re happy about that, but at the same time it’s really tough to choose.”

EXCLUSIVE: KHINSIDER INTERVIEWS TETSUYA NOMURA

We were lucky enough to sit down and have a chat with Kingdom Hearts series creator Tetsuya Nomura. We ask him about the secret ending of Re:coded, Birth by Sleep Volume 2, and how the scenes for Re:coded were created.

We had the chance to view some exclusive KINGDOM HEARTS 3 footage today!

Some of the things we saw included:

-Sora is seen in his Kingdom Hearts II Valor form outfit, no new outfit reveal. -Land of Departure from Birth by Sleep has been confirmed in the new footage and is said to be massive. -Brand new Heartless designs have also been shown, described to look like “gladiators”.

Tron Legacy Sora has also received a spiffy new model. Can you spot the differences?

If you reside in Europe and you’re still on the fence about whether or not to preorder Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix, perhaps this will help you make your decision! Square Enix Europe has just announced that all preorders of this long-awaited remaster, regardless of edition, will also include a 7” x 5” lithograph of the Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix artwork depicting Sora and Roxas.

Notice anything different when looking at these two pictures?

Staff member Sign assesses whether Kingdom Hearts x [Chi] is giving fans a first look at a HD Remaster of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]!

Upon looking at the image on the right, you immediately notice that something’s been changed. While it may be difficult to see, Riku’s mask is a huge giveaway that his model as received some upgrades. For what reason, you must have figured it out by now.

In an interview with Famitsu Weekly released back in September, Series Director Tetsuya Nomura revealed that he had been getting many requests inside and outside of Square Enix for collaboration projects. So far, we’ve seen the Hatsune Miku and Monster Hunter collaborations, but what could the next one be? To everyone’s surprise, it’s none other than the artwork for Utada Hikaru’s upcoming cover album!

Utada’s cover album, to be released December 9, 2014, features various popular and new artists cover her familiar tunes. Such artists include Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis feat. Peabo Bryson, Yasuyuki Okamura, Ayumi Hamasaki, LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, and many more. The tracklisting has yet to be confirmed.

Nomura also left a message regarding his thoughts toward this artwork. Thanks to Zephyr, you can read it below: