The first of the three newest installments to to Kingdom Hearts series is now available…in Japan, at least.

Thanks to Akira-san at The Light In Chaos for this first-hand report and thanks to KH Insider for the translation

I’ve begun to play Coded, even though there are only 2 features to check out right now. I didn’t have a lot of time today, so I only played the Olympus Coliseum feature. Oh and by the way, the phone contained an email decorated with a Kingdom Hearts Mobile motif which contained information about the Coded preinstallation. I am looking forward to Mobile very much!

OLYMPUS COLISEUM

Sora meets with Hercules and Phil. At first there is no one around, but then after wandering a bit, Phil appears. However he shows up in a hurried tone saying, “Help me out!” As you’d expect, there are Heartless needing to be dealt with.

This time it seems like the battles are consecutive mixed with a tutorial on how to play the game. (Though I didn’t see where they explained how to use Jump.) Feels like the Heartless steadily increased in a pattern like this as you defeat them: 1>3>5>(for a moment it went back to 1)>8>100… I forgot to mention here that the 9 key or pressing a directional button twice does Dodge Roll and the 6 key does Guard.

By the way, when it returned to 1, I was fighting against a Large Body, therefore attacking it from the front was useless. Since there are no Magic attacks, I had to attack it from the back. Also, since the Large Body summoned the bug blocks, breaking them and avoiding attacks was necessary in order to not be hindered by them. At first a few would appear at the same time, making it so you had to Jump more often to move about.

When enemies are defeated, they drop debug prizes which are rarely HP balls, and when you break the bug blocks, HP balls are dropped. 100 points were earned after battling and then there was an ending event scene.

At first I forgot what buttons to press, so I only could Guard. (I’m a fool ;^;) So I started it once again from the beginning and it was easier to clear after that. As usual, the Large Body still repel attacks, lol.

The sound quality wasn’t the best, but for the time being it looks better than Chain of Memories on the Gameboy Advance. By the way, there were battle voices. Sora said things like “Ha!” and “Take that!” during the battles, and then things like “Ugh!” and “Ahh!” when he took damage.

But, sometimes the movement became slow and would stop suddenly, which worries me. ;^; Oh the capacity… I feel there is no hope for it.

Overall it took about 20 minutes to do. (And then afterward write this guide.) I think I’ll practice here until I am used to it.

After the battle in the event scene Hercules comes out, then at that time Sora says something about bringing a “certain thing.” (It has to do with the previous Kingdom Hearts.) I try looking for it, thinking “Is it that? It’s not that! Was it dropped?!”

Well, then after that Phil seems to have discovered it… Seems to be that the flavor is “salty, but sweet.” It’s other meaning makes me smile. …Then at once Hercules disappeared! In every sense!

Since the Traverse Town feature is there too, I think I’ll give it a try tomorrow.

It has been an exciting Show for the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Let’s recap and go over what was revealed this year!

First up,

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

We know that Square-Enix announced that Days will be released in Japan next year in February. In the new trailer, Xion’s face is shown completely; her hair is black and similar to Kairi’s, except for she parts it on the opposite site. Also in the trailer, Roxas, Axel, and Xion are seen on Destiny Islands that -according to reportors- resemble scenes between Sora, Kair, and Riku; Xion is revealed to be a Nobody with a “special birth”.
In the demo, according to a blogger, each Organization member is shown, but only six were available for game play. Does that mean that one needs to unlock the other members?

Here’s a trailer description by FF&KH Online and The Light In Chaos

358/2 Days Trailer Report From The Light in Chaos and FF&KH Online

Background Music: The Other Promise, drammatica version.

Twilight Town, the white room.
Xion has come to see Namine.
Namine: “I wanted to meet you, Xion.”

Xion removes her hood, completely revealing her face.

Destiny Islands, along the shore.
Roxas picks up a seashell.

Twilight Town, on the clock tower.
Roxas: “It is the 255th day since I entered the Organization.
Axel: “You’ve memorized the number of days?”
Roxas: “I want to remember that I was born.”

Twilight Town, in the forest on the edge of town.
Riku in the form of Ansem meets with the King.
For a moment he raises his keyblade in defense, he recognizes Riku.
When a blindfold is tied around his eyes, Riku’s figure returns.
His expression appears surprised.

Twilight Town, in the pod room.
Diz: “If he is lacking a few memories, will he have a problem waking?”
Namine: “In his case, it is an important key if he’s going to wake up.”
Diz: “Namine, what do you foresee?”
Namine: “If it’s connected to another memory, surely she can’t endure it.”
Diz: “She…?”

Destiny Islands, along the shore, near the paopu tree.
Roxas, Axel, and Xion talk while watching the sunset.

Xion: “Do I not exist?”
Axel: “What do you want to do, Xion?”
Xion: “I… I want to be together with two people.”
Roxas: “Well, then you should come back.”
Xion: “But I can’t return as it is now.”
Xion: “… How is it possible for two people to be the same?”

The World That Never Was, in the castle.
Saix orders something to Axel.

Saix: “Your worthless friendship or the extinction of Roxas.”
Saix: “Which is more important to you?”

Axel looks ticked off.

Destiny Islands, at the shore?
Blindfolded Riku and Xion are talking.
Xion: “Will you tell me about it? About Sora and the girl he’s always together with.”
Riku: “You mean Kairi?”
Xion: “Kairi… The girl looks like me.”
Riku: “She’s the girl Sora cares a lot for.”

Xion’s face looks flustered.

Xion: “I’m sorry… But… I can’t disappear now.”
Xion: “It’s because I have an important friend.”
Riku: “Is that so…?”

Riku places a hand upon her shoulder.

Riku: “In that case, think about it. You should really return to your original self.”

Footage of gameplay is shown.
With Xigbar in Halloween Town.
With Xaldin in Twilight Town.
With Saix in Olympus Coliseum.
Multiplayer footage was shown as well.

Twilight Town, tram plaza.
Roxas and Xion are shown engaged in a fight.

Roxas: “I’ve been searching this whole time with Axel――”

Xion, in silence and with a severe face, points the Kingdom Key toward Roxas.

Twilight Town, in front of the mansion.
Xion is in an argument with Axel, Roxas is to the side.

Xion: “Don’t go easy on me, Axel.”
Axel: “You’ve gotta be kidding! Don’t screw with me.”

Appearing in his hands are his chakrams covered in fire.

Axel: “I’ve decided. No matter how many times you escape, I will bring you back.”
Xion: “…”

Twilight Town, the pod room.
DiZ, Namine, and Riku stare at the pod Sora sleeps in.
Have the reproduction of Sora’s memories stopped…?

DiZ: “Has it stopped completely?”
Namine: “Yes.”
DiZ: “We have no time to lose.”

Destiny Islands, the shore.
Xion is lying down, worrying.

Xion: “Who am I?”

Releasing February 2009.

358/2 Days Demo Impressions From The Light in Chaos

Multiplayer mode
Playing as Marluxia.

He had the greatest HP and offensive abilities, a high critical attack percentage, but his movement is slower, especially in large areas. The stats can be read on the upper screen, while the selection is made on the lower one. I wonder if his fault is that his attack range is too wide and he hits the other players?

Because the levels were the same as last time, the contents of the demo felt slightly more polished. I attacked too aggressively and they were slightly sluggish, so I wasn’t able to use potions quick enough and suffered damage as a result. But as the offensive strength indicated, his attacks caused a large amount of damage.

358/2 Days Demo Impressions From The Light in Chaos

Singleplayer mode
Place: Halloween Town
Boss: Dual Blade

At first you start as Roxas and you must find Xigbar. You encounter him in the main plaza area of the level. There is an indication of where to approach on the map. If you go from the bottom of the stairs, toward the area around the coffin, you’ll find Xigbar. After that, Xigbar joins Roxas in the single player mode.

The next encounter is in front of the bridge leading to Oogie Boogie’s home. There is are big snow crystals inside ice cubes scattered about. You have to watch out because they are powerful and have a large attack range. After defeating them, the Dual Blade boss appears. It has powerful attacks, causing you to freeze if you’re hit, so avoid them and attack when it’s guard is down. The demo ended after defeating it.

Seems this time instead of being supported by Axel or Xaldin, the role is reversed and Roxas is supporting Xigbar. Well, at least Roxas wasn’t a “drag” again.

Next up,

Kingdom Hearts: Coded

KH: Coded had a playable demo, which was not expected, and according to reports, it possesses a nostalgic feeling similar to the first Kingdom Hearts. The demo had two playable puzzles.

Coded Trailer Impression from FF&KH Online and The Light in Chaos

Background Music: Destati, drammatica version.

“A forbidden secret――”

Traverse Town
The King holds out a hand to Sora coming out of the back alley.
King Mickey: “Sora, your journey began here.”
King Mickey: “What you don’t know is, that I was here on that day too.”
King Mickey: “I’m going to tell you the truth.”

Destiny Islands, the secret place.
A person wearing the coat of a Organization XIII member appears before Sora’s eyes.

Organization member: “This world is damaged.”
Organization member: “You’ll have to go if you want to heal it’s wounds.”

Battle screens are shown.

Traverse Town.
Sora receives something glittery (probably data) from the person in the Organization coat.

Traverse Town, first district.
The person in the coat stands in front of some stairs.
Bugs spread from under their feet, appearing as black and red blocks.
Sora confronts the person in the coat

Sora: “It’s you causing this catastrophe!?”

Disney Castle, the study/libary room.
The person in the Organization XIII coat appears in front of the King, Jiminy Cricket, Goofy, and Donald.
Again, the bugs spread from underneath their feet.

Kingdom Hearts: Mobile

Famitsu Interview with Nomura (KH Mobile)

──Seems like the start of the Mobile site service is quickly approaching.

Nomura: Indeed. It’s being gone over daily to make sure there are no bugs in it. The avatars are even more interesting than you could imagine. In the promotional video, if Sora is Sora, and Riku is Riku, they could rearrange their appearances so one avatar has the head of Sora and the body of Riku, and vice versa. Actually, every part will be able to be customized freely. The impression in the trailer we wanted to display is that te feature is packed with a wide variety of contents.

──Do you have your own avatar?

Nomura: Would you like to see it?

──Of course!

──It’s cute with a devilish nature. (Laughs) So can you play with it?

Nomura: I made a new type of heartless. (Laughs) There is a demo with playable mini games in the mobile corner, please stop by there if you get the chance.

Someone graciously recorded part of the Coded trailer

And last, but definitely not least,

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

The release for BBS is still planed for 2009 in Japan. The trailer shown at the TGS did not change much from the one shown at DΣS3713, as well as the playable demo. However, these scenes were added to the trailer:

Background Music: Fate of the Unknown

Castle of Dreams.
Aqua glances Cinderella running to her carriage, and runs after her.
Cinderella drops one of her glass slippers.

In the world of Snow White.
Aqua looks into a mirror and the figure of the evil witch is projected.
Aqua jumps for a moment and steps back, then plunges into the mirror.

Aqua’s battle scene.
Her fighting style seems like floating.
She does not hold the keyblade, the keyblade attacks as if it knows her intentions.
Sort of like Final Form from Kingdom Hearts II.
Her mode changed to something pink, but the name of it is unknown.

Trailers of game play can be found here and here.

Famitsu Interview with Nomura

──If 358/2 Days was emphasizing Xion, then was Birth by Sleep emphasizing Aqua?

Nomura: Aqua’s battle scenes were exhibited for the first time to the public, her movement is fast and easy to overlook. So that you don’t lose sight of her, concentrate and try to keep your eyes on her. Frankly speaking, since its hard to see clearly, she is teleporting in the battle scenes. Because the teleportation occurs instantaneously, it’s hard to catch sight of. (Laughs)

It was an exciting Tokyo Game Show this year. But before you go, here’s an artist’s rendition of what Xion will look like:

Make sure you join our Forums to discuss everything that happened with other members.

New scans from the French Magazine, Role Playing Game No.7 have been made available. Scroll down below the images for the Translation of the Scans.

Thanks to KHIsland.info , KH-Network and to Riku for translating the Scans!

Riku Edit: Very well, here we go with the translation. There is some new stuff in here so do read it. Only took 7 hours:

Page 10

“Kingdom Hearts quickly became a top franchise of Square Enix; it was therefore logical that this series would arrive on the two main portable consoles of the market. The DS will follow the short life of Roxas in 358/2 Days, while the PSP will be entitled to the prequel Birth by Sleep. Which, of the small nomad of the double screen of Nintendo or of the technological animal of Sony, will hold the most responsive reception with this mixture, which was still unlikely a few years ago, of Disney films and Final Fantasy?”

—————————

BIRTH BY SLEEP

Realisation
“Birth by Sleep, co-realised by Tai Yasue, is developed by the same team that was in charge of Re: Chain of Memories; although its production had begun first, it will be the last of the three new projects to be released. Technically, the name Birth by Sleep is therefore a bluff, and the graphics should appear as beautiful and animated as well as Kingdom Hearts II! Aspects dedicated to the PSP will include new Disney worlds, such as those of Sleeping Beauty, Snow-White and Cinderella (the remaining Princesses of Heart it seems), as well as surprising training courses… Birth by Sleep being held a few years before the first adventures of Sora, certain worlds will take this into account; for example, one can expect to see an adolescent Hercules in Olympus Coliseum.”

Gameplay
“Following the example scenario, the gameplay will differ according to the character: Terra will impress us with his power; Ven will be the most agile, while Aqua undoubtedly proves the specialist of forces/magic. The combat menu conceals a new gauge, Command, which fills up by attacking and is executed by pressing Circle or Triangle (the actions associated with this button are modifiable) and gives access to additional techniques; for example, Terra will be able to enter into Fatal Mode to carry out combos and then finish with devastating move. Another change, the MP disappears; certain magic will require a time of loading and can be launched only when their gauge is full. The progression system (which is still quite mysterious) and some of the enemies will also be new…”

Music
“Once more, Yoko Shimomura will compose her memorable, melancholic music to accompany the journeys of Terra, Ven (which has been said to be an abbreviation of the name of this character, who is undoubtedly called Ventus) and Aqua. As new software for creating the music is a priority, including only a few elements of the previous software, the majority of the pieces should be new. It would be logical that the theme of the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, precisely entitled Birth by Sleep(Riku: Or Fate of the Unknown I think they’ll find), would be the primary theme of the new soundtrack… Moreover, one will discover doubtless arrangements of the melodies representative of each new Disney world – unless, as for The Lion King in Kingdom Hearts II, the artists (Riku: Disney composers) offer compositions of their own.”

Scenario
“This dark and complex adventure will be divided into three scenarios which you will be able to make in the order of your choice. You will therefore follow the destinies of the three main friends, each able to wield a Keyblade: the warrior Terra, Ven, the double of Roxas (this mystery will be explained in the game), and Aqua, the young girl with the blue hair. The epic story will proceed well before the events of Kingdom Hearts I, when Sora, Riku and Kairi, were still children. Terra is seen overseeing them with Ven, and in the company of Yen Sid, Donald and Pluto. This chapter will raise the subject of the War of Keyblades, the capacities of their owners and, undoubtedly, the origins of the amnesic disciple of Ansem the Wise…”

Page 11

358/2 DAYS

Realisation
“Conceived by the studio h.a.n.d. Inc. (Chocobo Tales) and co-directed by Tomohiro Hasegawa (Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts), Nomura obviously heading all the projects related to its series, 358/2 Days profits from a fine and detailed realisation all in 3D, with fluid animation. As for the cut-scenes, they do not diminish in comparison with those of the second episode. Definitely, the DS will not finish astonishing us… The keys L and R will make it possible to direct the camera in order to better locate enemies and to explore the locations; the latter accurately take on the environments of the preceding worlds, such as the World That Never Was, Twilight Town, Agrabah, Olympus Coliseum or Wonderland – As a priority, the title will not accomodate a new universe.”

Gameplay
“As a great innovation, the DS will comprise a multiplayer mode where one can direct the members of Organisation XIII! These missions with the varied objectives will be independent of the scenario, and each character will possess their own forces and weaknesses. The lower screen will post the chart, but a chat system may also be included; on the other hand, the tactile functionalities of the console do not appear to be exploited. In solo mode, Roxas will have as a daily task to fight the Heartless in various worlds and then to return to the World That Never Was. The combat menu and the actions are the same as the previous games, like jumping and gliding, blocking, etc… Lastly, Nomura promises that the systems of level-up and personalisation will allow great freedom.”

Music
“Like the other epic chapters of the Kingdom Hearts saga, the music of 358/2 Days will most likely be written by talented Yoko Shimomura which, definitely, often works with Tetsuya Nomura – moreover, the great woman also occupies the position of composer for much-awaited Final Fantasy Versus XIII. On the other hand, even because of the scenario, there will be few new pieces, while it will often be more likely to hear the themes of the Organization and Roxas… which won’t displease us! New worlds are also quite unlikely with the program as it is, so there are strong chances that the music of the Disney worlds visited in Kingdom Hearts I and II will be brought back, as that had been the case in Chain of Memories.”

Scenario
“Imagined by Daisuke Watanabe, like that of PSP games, the history of 358/2 Days reveals a year in the life of Roxas, his establishment in Organization XIII, his escape and his fateful duel against Riku. These events remained covered with mysteries or were only seen briefly; the fans waited impatiently for more on Roxas and his relations with his former colleagues. The plots of the charismatic members of Organization will therefore be presented in more detail. We will also discover what makes the Organization change the name of the group… (Riku: Referring to the mysterious 14th member) The story will therefore show many revelations on some of the most important characters of the series.”

—————————

“You have to like these two episodes of a series which doesn’t cease growing : an enthralling scenario, promising gameplay, a technical realisation of impressive actions and attractive characters. However, the DS game of Kingdom Hearts will not really quench the thirst for innovations of some players, as its worlds, its music and undoubtedly the majority of its characters are already known. On the contrary, the PSP game brings on the innovation and will finally clarify some of the enigmas which have puzzled us since the first chapter; for this reason, it is even more awaited than the adventure of Roxas.”

Page 14

KINGDOM HEARTS: CODED

“Fans of the lovable trio made up of the brown-dishevelled-haired Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy should be delighted, as episodes of Kingdom Hearts go portable and the series attacks mobile phones (Riku: I’m still fairly sure this will only be available in Japan). A digitised version of Sora will be thrown into a virtual world to eliminate all the bugs which cover its memory like dust; the game will include a mixture of 2D and 3D and may support vibrating when performing certain actions, following examples of other mobile phone games. Kingdom Hearts: Coded should logically be released this year, and there’s a rumour of there being a new world; we’ll see…”

Special thanks to Kota and Aerith

Providing you a detailed analysis & transcript of the new Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep trailer that is being screened at the event.

“Sleep gives birth to the concealed fate of the past.”

Conversation between Ven and Terra in Destiny Islands
Terra: “Wasn’t there a time when you was saving me?”
Ven: “Back then it was probably because we were friends.”
Terra moves his hand to rests it on Ven’s shoulders.
Terra: “Thank you, Ven.”

Scene changes to Terra and Master Xehanort in the Place of Gathering
M. Xehanort: Did you believe about reaching forward to grasp that last glimmer? The wall of light and darkness exceeded each other, creating the original me, and Terra waited for me impatiently.” (While M. Xehanort is talking he opens one of his hands in a greeting fashion, enraging Terra.)
Terra: “I have a ‘Friend’.. What you have done has given me hatred to Xehanort.”
Terra then summons his keyblade

We then see Ven meeting Xehanort in Olympus Coliseum.
Ven: “Who a-…I’ve met you before. (Ven is surprised as he is remembering something.)
Xehanort: “It seems you have lost something. However unless what you have lost is put back into your hands, it will be an eternal lost. Once you obtain it, grip it and understand the truth.”
Xehanort is soon holding his hand out, as it begins to glow, Ven is watching with an expression of fear and confusion.

Trailer now shows a montage of gameplay featuring both Terra & Ven as playable characters

Scene cuts to Yensid’s Tower
Mickey is shown defending himself with the keyblade. However soon he begins to fumble with the keyblade and it vanishes. Goofy, Donald, and Yensid watch Mickey. Mickey soon looks back up to the Wizard, and summons his Keyblade once again.

Fade to Sleeping Beauty world
Maleficent is looking around the castle where vines are everywhere. Then, a crow lands on Maleficent shoulder and she turns towards Terra. Terra looks at Maleficent, as she begins to laugh doubtfully.

Trailer switches back to the Place of Gathering
Ven is facing off against the Dark Soldier, and knocks off his helmet, however his face is not shown. The scene soon switches to Terra holding an unconscious Ven, with Master Xehanort looking desperate, and apologetic.

Xehanort: “The person who has wrapped himself in the darkness does not have the qualification to wield a keyblade. He is a demon who has been taken by the darkness. Please correct my mistake…”

Trailer Ending
Ven is on the Destiny Islands coast looking towards a young Sora & Riku who are playing at the beach. At the same time Ven is at Twilight Town watching the Coast. He is looking down, and appears to be sad.
“I don’t want to be depended on, you are my ‘Friend’ ..just erase me.”

Apologies for the translation, it’s a little rough in parts. Either way, it’s good to get a nice insight into this game currently marked as a ‘Work in Progress’. If you didn’t know already, both KH: 358/2 Days & KH: Coded are set for a Summer 2008 release.

Jump Festa 2008 has officially kicked off and the first bits of information regarding the presence of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, Birth By Sleep & Coded have trickled in.

KINGDOM HEARTS: 358/2 DAYS
Playable Demo Report
• Roxas, Axel, Xigbar or Saix are all playable in a Twilight Town based mission
• Each playable character differs, Axel can use his fire attacks etc.
• Enemies in the demo included Small Wizards, Shadows & a Fat Body.
• After exploring the stage, you have to defeat a familiar boss, a Dark Side.
• Upon mission completion, the user can view statistics on how they did.
• Game has a planned release date of Q2/Summer 2008
Each forthcoming game also has a new trailer being screened behind closed doors at the event. Firstly, the 358/2 Days trailer features the still-secret Organization member, XIII, helping Roxas & Axel after being surpised by Heartless. Also, King Mickey (in Organization attire) is shown looking towards the Twilight Town forest. Lastly, there is brief scene of Roxas with Aladdin & Jasmine in Agrabah.

During the Birth by Sleep footage is noted that combat scenes with Terra are shown alongside a scene with Ven conversing with Aladdin (of Agrabah). Regarding the KH: Coded trailer, there are a few quick glimpses of Kairi & Riku alongside a mysterious annoucement of something called “High Speed” mode.

Thanks to www.kh2.co.uk for all this info. Good work ;]
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I just wanted to quick post these up, for they really do help out alot of what we can expect from each of the portable handheld games!! Enjoy!! Ohh..and by the way..Nomura talks about the “relationship/connection” of why Roxas and Ven are so similar in the KH: Birth By Sleep interview(but he doesn’t give out too much info.)

Nomura Interview – Birth By Sleep (PSP):

Interviewer: Can you tell us a bit about the development of Birth By Sleep?
Nomura: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is being worked on by the same team that created re: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep’s development had originally started before the development of re: CoM, but production was stopped to complete re: CoM. At first it felt a bit weird starting the project again. I believe this project started before the other two of the Kingdom Hearts games, and I also believe it will be the last to hit the market.

Interviewer: The game still relates to Birth By Sleep? [KH2: FM+'s secret ending]
Nomura: The secret ending [from KH2: FM+] is actually a scene from Birth By Sleep, therefore the title of the game is also the same. However, because it is difficult to express such a violent battle as playable content, the secret ending [from KH2: FM+] is an image of the end.

Interviewer: How much talk was put into it, as it seems to be a game taking place in the past.
Nomura: This game goes the farthest back in the Kingdom Hearts timeline, about ten years before the original Kingdom Hearts. There is a screenshot of two children playing on the beach, and I believe the fans can understand what that means. [Sora and Riku as children?]

Interviewer: In the story it’s said that there are “Three Scenarios by Three Heroes”. Is there a relation between each scenario?
Nomura: There are three Heroes: Terra, Ven, and another character in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. We have already prepared a story for each of them. Therefore, in a way you can say three games were made at the same time. (Laughs) It’s difficult to zap through the explanation right now, as we are still creating all of the scenarios. However, the beginning will be a bit hard to understand, but by completing all three scenarios, the player will understand the entire story.

Interviewer: Do the names of the three heroes represent something? Nomura: In Kingdom Hearts, Sora meant Sky, Riku meant Land, and Kairi meant Sea. In this game, the three meanings make a large impact on the game.

Interviewer: Do all of the scenarios take place at the same time?Nomura: All of the scenarios do take place around the same time, however there are also some gaps between the timelines. Also there are times when all three heroes will meet.

Interviewer: Is the playing order [for the scenarios] decided yet?
Nomura: I believe it would be better if we gave the players a freedom of choice. However this is still being talked about, but I believe it would be better to choose whoever you want out of the three.

Interviewer: What is the importance of story?
Nomura: For example, the name Xehanort is bought up in Kingdom Hearts 2. The game will answer several things like, “Why is the elderly person who appears in Birth by Sleep bringing up the same name?” and ,”Why is he wearing the same clothes as Ansem in the original Kingdom Hearts?” Another thing I want to bring up, is, “Ven has the same hairstyle, face, clothes, and voice of Roxas, but just who is he?”

Interviewer: Is the voice actor of Ven the same as Roxas?
Nomura: Yes, it is the same actor. Therefore the player will only look at Ven as Roxas from Kingdom Hearts 2.

However, are Roxas and Ven really the same character?

Moreover, what about the mystery surrounding the existence of Ven and Roxas?

These are keys that will be revealed from playing Birth By Sleep. You will be able to separate Ven from Roxas with ease; I will hint though by connecting the story between Roxas and Sora, you will understand who Ven is.

Interviewer: May I believe that the one you fight in KH2FM+, and Terra are the same person? Because they both use a very similar kind of Keyblade.
Nomura: If they really are the same person or not is uncertain, though it doesn’t matter if you think they are the same person.

Interviewer: In Birth by Sleep, after all three are divided, the king appears? Nomura: It may be deeply related to the story,however I cannot tell whether or not that he is a”King” at that current age. This is because the development of Birth by Sleep will contain a very serious story. [Meaning...Mickey hasn't been officially crowned a king yet??]

Interviewer: In Birth by Sleep, is the gameplay done by choosing action commands lined up in command list?
Nomura: I believe it is necessary to say first, The Command Menu that was shown to the public [A.K.A scans, and video] has now changed. A system close to that of re:COM has been created, feeling like a command deck. However, the present screen shots show it was a bit too close to the idea of re:COM. The battle screens you see in the images now, have already been changed. However the operating sense is similar to that of the Kingdom Hearts series. The gameplay has slight influence from the DS game “It’s a Wonderful World”.

Interviewer: Are there any features for the Growth System? (Leveling System)
Nomura: A new Growth System has been added into the game, in which you have to match four obligations with the scenario (?). We tried this variously because it was a bit hard with the PSP. However we made the best use of its Analog.

Interviewer: Are there new enemies you can confirm that are not shown in the screens?
Nomura: The new enemy is not a Heartless, or a Nobody, because the story takes place before even they appear. I can only give out more information, little by little, as time passes: an example being like the Shadow enemies that are heartless, and the Dusk enemies that are nobodies.

Interviewer: With the PSP, will it be possible for two people to communicate through a connection method?
Nomura: It’s too early to answer that, however, there will be some features that will be taking advantage of the PSP. [Monkey Note: I believe they are discussing the possibilities of things like wifi, however, only 358/2 Days has been confirmed to have multiplayer].

Nomura Interview – 358/2 Days (DS):

Interviewer: Is the beginning of 358/2 Days going to focus on Roxas’ birth?
Nomura: Roxas’ birth will be covered in the game’s prolouge, however the game really begins at the time in which Roxas enters the Organization XIII.

Interviewer: Will this game have an ending that has already occurred, like Crisis Core had?Nomura: Where do you think the end is? The point is, how did it get to the point where Roxas to left the Organization? The details of that will be discussed game.

Interviewer: Will we be going through Disney worlds in this story, like previous Kingdom Hearts games?
Nomura: The story does not entirely progress going from world to world, but there is a progression in story.

Interviewer: Is the 14th Organization Member [Newly Revealed] a new character in the Kingdom Hearts Series? It appears as though the character is…a woman?
Nomura: I should bring it up now, that the XIV member is not Namine, since some people believed it to be Namine by seeing the trailer. However it will be explained as to why there’s no pillar for this character, as well as why she never appeared in Kingdom Hearts 2.

Interviewer: In the trailer, four characters are shown playing simultaneously. Is this possible in game?
Nomura: Multiplayer can be played with up to four people. Not only that, multiplayer gives a sense of freedom, as this mode has no effect on the story. But it is possible to choose less then four, for the multiplayer content.

Interviewer: How does the multiplayer mode progress?
Nomura: The point is to basically complete given missions. For instance, defeating an enemy or whatever the goal of the mission is. There are various goals, both big and small. There is a constant feeling of competition in multiplayer, so sometimes the player may forget just what the goal is!

Interviewer: Is multiplayer mode possible for one player only?
Nomura: Multiplayer mode is rather complicated ; we had to design a growth (leveling) system. For example, when Axel is used in Multiplayer mode, Roxas will gain some extra experience from this as well. Also, you are able to customize your character freely.

Written by: Kh3fan02 from the forums