GameFAQs’ TheWertle translated an interview from FF13Vids, who got it from the Japanese magazine “Dengeki PS” (電撃PS):

Question: Your debut as director was with Kingdom Hearts. What was the process of bringing that out like?

Nomura: With the designs of Kingdom Hearts, I had designed a plot around the time that Final Fantasy VII was in production, and by the time of Final Fantasy VIII, I had full out designs. But at that point the Disney characters hadn’t completely appeared. Shinji Hashimoto came up with the idea of a story with Disney. Since, at that time, Mr. Disney was in the same building, Hashimoto would sometimes talk with him on the elevator - And I guess they worked something out.

Question: Were you the director at that time?

Nomura: No. I was polishing up the Kingdom Hearts designs and thinking of what the next line of development would be. Someone else was appointed as the director for this “Disney game”. I think until then the things I did were often pretty useless. But the Kingdom Hearts team told me “We want you to participate with us Tetsu-san. No one else would make a better director“, and so they pushed for that afterwards.

Firstly, IGN have posted information on two Tetsuya Nomura interviews:

• With Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix & Re: Chain of Memories at last out in Japan, Tetsuya Nomura and crew can now devote all their energy to their next project, which appears to be another Kingdom Hearts game, or at least another tie-up with Disney. But is it Kingdom Hearts III?
• Speaking with Japan’s Gemaga and Dengeki PlayStation publications, Nomura gave a few hints on the new project, which he’s previously hinted would see formal announcement later this year.
• Gemaga asked if the characters who appear in the new CG “secret movie” added to Final Mix are from the new title. “They are people who have some relation to the new series,” said the producer. “However the next title won’t just be Kingdom Hearts III. If it were III, we wouldn’t call it a new series.”
• When asked if Sora and Riku would make an appearance in the new game, he said with a laugh, “I can’t say.” He also hinted that the new game would have something to do with Xehanort, the main villain of the Kingdom Hearts series.
• He was just as direct when Dengeki PlayStation asked for some details on the new title. “First, it’s not Kingdom Hearts III. Of course, because we’re calling it a ‘new’ series, it won’t be KHIII. Also, it’s a series, so it probably won’t be just one title.”
• Nomura once again promised an announcement of the new game, whatever it may be, some time this year. In the meantime, he suggested that players attempt to unlock the Final Mix secret movie and start imagining.

Secondly, more videos!

A- Don’t let them hit you! (Land of the Dragons) (Number IV)
B- Don’t stop attacking it! (Hollow Bastion) (Number III)
C- Collect the disappearing orbs! (Beast’s Castle) (Number IX)
D- Destroy them as fast as possible! (The Underworld, Olympus Coliseum) (Number VI)
E- Wake it up! (Agrabah) (Number V)
F- Attack its back! (The World That Never Was) (Number I)
G- Don’t let it fall! (Yen’s Tower, Twilight Town) (Number VIII)
H- Deflect the beams! (Christmas Town, Halloween Town) (Number II)
I- Get to them quickly! (The Mansion, Twilight Town) (Number XII)

Previous videos are shown in the Lots of New Final Mix Videos! News Post.

Today we have some confirmed information of some previous speculations:

To unlock Theatre Mode, both Re: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ must be beaten. It is possible to view the cutscenes shown in Kingdom Hearts II in Japanese or in English voices, but the additional scenes DON’T have that option. (I presume this means we won’t have a way of seeing them with English subtitles neither.)

Completing a puzzle in Piece Collection Mode is necessary for unlocking a cutscene in Japanese, without the English option, in Theater Mode.

From the VJump article, it is confirmed that Sora is wearing a crown and not that it is behind him. It is related to the Crown Quest in some way.

The “Card Duel” mode is added at the start of Riku’s Story. Once a “Card Duel” is defeated and “Successful!” is shown across the screen, the outcome of the battle appears on the left hand side of the screen. In a “Card Duel”, it’s most impressive when multiple stock technique cards are used together. However, VJump believes that it seems that the most common number cards in a deck appear less often. The cards that break the enemies’ cards’ attacks are the most important though. After a “Card Duel”, you win some cards, but to win more cards, a play has to think strategically and offensively.

Not really something we didn’t already know, but the new project that’s being created along with Disney will be announced this year.

KingdomHearts3.net has been kindly informed by reader Phillip Tucker that IGN have released an article in response to Dengeki PlayStation’s recent interview with Tetsuya Nomura.

“We’ve already been approached by the Disney side saying that they want us to make it,” said the busy producer regarding the next installment in the series. “What I can say at this time is ‘We have various ideas, but we’re not at the point where we can say that.’ Looking at the development schedule, after KHII FM+, the Kingdom Hearts team has Final Fantasy Versus XIII awaiting, so it’s physically impossible at the present. I feel that it’s not the right time to talk about the future of Kingdom Hearts.”

Clearly this is not confirmation that there will be a Kingdom Hearts III, but this is probably as good as we’re going to get for a while. All the FINAL FANTASY games are coming out, so they will not wish to overly congest their market.

More soon, KH3 fans!

Sources: Mr Tucker, IGN, Dengeki PlayStation.

Yes, the time has finally come when the long anticipated sequel to the surprise Disney / Square Enix hit has been released on an (almost) worldwide scale!

Have you bought Kingdom Hearts 2 yet? Played the secret Kingdom Hearts 3 related ending? Please provide us with all your KH2 thoughts and what you think the Kingdom Hearts series will provide in the future!