Sorry for the lack of news recently, you guys, the site was having some problems.

But now we are back and ready to give you everything you missed in the paste 30-odd days!

The first thing that should be noted is the North American Release of Kingdom Hearts Re:Com.

The game will be going for $29.99 in the US and for 34.90 Worldwide

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Now some UPCOMING GAME NEWS

The player selects “Traverse Town SPECIAL EDIT VERSION” from the main menu screen. Then they are given the options Load Game and. They select New Game and the opener begins, Jiminy Cricket is narrating. Jiminy Cricket: “Two remain containing our travel records.” Jiminy Cricket: “Inside the first book recording our journey, only one line is written.” Upon the first page, ‘Thank Namine’ is all that is written. Jiminy Cricket: “A duty…” Jiminy Cricket: “Was it carried out?” ‘We must return to free them from their torment’ is written. Jiminy brings the journals to the King and they look over the sentence together. King Mickey: “Trouble remembering that sentence…” King Mickey: “There is only one qualified to solve this mystery!” The footage then switches to Sora running across the bridge on Destiny Island. The screen goes black after that and text appears within a yellow border. It’s too fuzzy to read, but I think it’s probably updating the player on the storyline and what is going on in Coded. After that, Sora is shown being woken up by Pluto in a Traverse Town alleyway. Sora can hear King Mickey talking to him. Sora: “This place…” King Mickey: “Sora, are you alright?” Sora: “King, what is this place? What happened to me?” King Mickey: “You seem to have landed somewhere. From there, what can you see?” Sora: “Seems to be some sort of town…” Sora: “Oh yeah! My island? What happened to my island?” King Mickey: “Thanks to your actions, seems all the blocks have disappeared.” Sora: “Is that so…? Seems things have settled for the time being.” Sora: “But what about this place? This town isn’t familiar…” Sora: “Is there a disaster happening here too?” King Mickey: “Yes, seems like it. Sora, could you please check out the town?” Sora: “Understood! I’ll go look at the state of the town.” Sora then runs from the alleyway and into the 1st District of Traverse Town. Cid is to his right, standing in from of his shop. Sora: “Is this the outside world?” Sora: “I’ll go ask that person over there.” Sora: “Hello.” Cid: “Hey there, haven’t seen your face around here.” Sora: “I’m Sora! Nice to meet you.” Cid: “I’m Cid. I’m the keeper of this shop.” Cid: “So Sora, when you came here, you didn’t happen to see those guys around, did ya?” Sora: “Those guys?” Cid: “Three little brothers.” Cid: “They said they went to check out the disaster going on in town and they haven’t returned.” Sora: “The disaster going on in town?” Cid: “Weird blocks been rapidly showing up. Even if you erase them, they’re not gone for long.” Sora: “Weird blocks huh?” Sora: (Are they the same thing that appeared on my island?) Sora: “Which way do I go to see them?” Cid: “If you follow this street into the next district, you’ll find’em.” Cid: “Alright! Think you could keep an eye out for those guys for me?” Sora: “The three brothers right? What are their names?” Cid: “The one wearing red is Huey, the one in blue is Dewey, and the one in green is Louie.” Sora: “Huey, Dewey, and Louie, got it! I’ll try and find them!” Cid: “Alright then. If there’s something you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask anyone in town.” Sora: “Understood! Alright, I’m off!” The player runs Sora about, and then makes their way to the 2nd District. Before entering, the game asks ‘Go into District 2?’ with the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ options. The player selects ‘Yes’ and enters the 2nd District where Sora says to himself: Sora: “This is the 2nd District. Better look for those three kids.” The player runs around the district and fighting some Heartless. When they get to the end of the area, they see Huey stuck on top of some blocks and surrounded by Heartless. Sora then goes to his aide. Sora: “！！” Huey: “Help me!” Sora: “It’s dangerous! Don’t move!” After rescuing the duckling, Sora and Huey talk, but are interrupted by Heartless again. Sora: “Are you OK? Um… You’re Huey, right?” Huey: “Yep, that’s right!” Huey: “The three of us were looking for the cause of the weird blocks!” Sora: “What about the other two?” Huey: “We were separated while examining the blocks, but I said I was looking in the alleyway.” Sora: “Is that so? Well, let’s look around for them.” Huey: “I’ll go along with you!” Huey: “Uwa-!!” Sora: “It’s dangerous! Stay back!” When the Large Body appears, Sora exclaims: “They still keep coming!?” During the battle with the Large Body we see the player select the Highspeed Debug mode from the command menu. That’s where the screen went green and the music changed, we could see Sora being trailed by ‘himself’ because of the action. Afterwards, Sora receives a Prize from the enemy. The informative text says: ★Prize★ You can obtain Prizes from Heartless and Bug Blocks. HP Balls restore HP and Debug Balls restore the Debug Gauge. From a Prize Box, you can obtain items, fragments, etc. You can use the fragments to synthesis items in the Moogle Shop. (You can’t select potions from the Moogle Shop.) Again Sora talks with Huey after the battle. Sora: “This neighborhood has a ton of Heartless.” Sora: “Since I went looking for them, Dewey and Louie probably returned to Cid’s shop.” Huey: “Yeah, I understand. Alright!” Huey: “When I examined the blocks, I found this! Here!” The screen then says: “You received a mysterious fragment.” Sora: “What is this?” Huey: “I found it when I was checking out the blocks! It was shiny and pretty, so I picked it up!” Sora: “Ah… Um… Thank you.” Sora: (Hm… Is this… junk?) Sora: “Ok! Back to looking around the alleyways!” At this point the player chooses to exit from the command menu and turn off the game. From the menu it says ‘Return to the title screen?’ with the options ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, the player then selects ‘Yes’ and is prompted again. The screen says ‘The game will save up to this point so next time the game will start from here. Is that okay?’ with the options ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, the player then selects ‘Yes’ and finishes playing.

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Square Enix NA has made another Kingdom Hearts eCard available on their Members page! Here’s the information listed on their blog. If you’re not a member yet, go sign up and get updates on the latest news coming from Square Enix!

New KINGDOM HEARTS eCard now available

The November edition of KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories eCard is now available for you to share with your friends and family. Send your Thanksgiving greetings with this cool new eCard and be thanked for it!You can get your hands on KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories next week (December 2), but in the meantime, you can get a copy of CHRONO TRIGGER, which came out today. Goodness overload!

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While it might not mean much to fans outside of Japan, for those people who interested, new information of Kingdom Hearts Mobile is now available. The avatar and gaming service is scheduled to begin in the middle of December 2008 with plans raging between 300, 500, 800, and 1000 yen. (That’s roughly $3, $5, $8, and $10.) Thanks again to the Light in Chaos blog for the update.

They shared this comment about the service:

“The mini games, Aerith’s head, and the queen’s dress are really too cute!”

The Kingdom Hearts Mobile service is available on NTT docomo FOMA 703i and 903i phones, as well as all later models of docomo phones like the Prime P-01a.

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At the moment, the only Kingdom Hearts title among the three new releases mentioned on the Square Enix featured titles list of the Jump Festa website is Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. In the past, all three titles were featured, so this may seem slightly unusual. Since V-Jump, the host of Jump Festa, heavily promotes 358/2 Days over the other titles, it’s understandable why it’s the only one listed.

Does that mean the other titles won’t appear at the event? I wouldn’t be so sure. I think it’s very likely we’ll hear about them anyways, Square Enix rarely misses a chance to promote their titles and with demos at hand, this is a great opportunity for them.

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FAMITSU.COM – The boy who appeared in Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas. This time he is the main character of the action RPG, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This title follows the daily life of Roxas during his time as a member of Organization XIII, at the same time revealing what the Organization was up to. In this article, we take a look at the mission and cut scenes of Halloween Town.

Xion: “Hey… How could I be the same as you two?”

On Destiny Island, Xion confides her troubles. She feels “different” than Axel and Roxas, and seems to be concerned about it. Her modest desire is to be with the two of them, but it appears that wish does not come true as of now.

Xemnas: “The time is up.”

This is an event scene in the game. According to Xemnas, Member No.1 of the Organization, the group is fully prepared and ready to begin moving forward with their plans. This is the story that leads to Kingdom Hearts II.

Jack: At a very familiar place… Suddenly disappearing… Suddenly appearing…

Speaking of Halloween Town, it’s the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington. Seems the three lovers of mischief Lock, Shock, and Barrel appear too.

Xigbar: “Hahaha! Saix sent me a really reliable guy!”

Top Screen: Information… Subdue the Dualblade*.Bottom Screen: Area- Suspended Bridge, Mission- Subdue the large scale Heartless.

Roxas is new to Organization XIII, so sometimes the other members are asked to support him on missions. But on the contrary, this time Roxas is the member doing the supporting.

*Dualblade is the name of the enemy Xigbar and Roxas are fighting in the last screenshot.

Credit to KHINSIDER for Translation

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In other news, in a press report released by Square-Enix announcing the arrival of Re:CoM today, they also made the official announcement that Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days will be releasing in North America. While this may not be much of a shock to a lot of you, it certainly is good to finally have an official confirmation. Read the excerpt of the press release below:

About KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days

Uncover the events that took place during the year Sora was asleep regaining his lost memories. KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days revolves around Roxas, the “other” hero from KINGDOM HEARTS II, and his days as a member of Organization XIII. Follow Roxas and the rest of Organization XIII across the various Disney Worlds, and discover the connection between him, Sora, and the mysterious 14th member, and the reasons behind his eventual departure from the organization. KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days also features a multiplayer mode for the first time, allowing players to control their favorite Organization XIII members!

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The Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days Japanese Official Site has updated with some new content. A new section entitled “Events” has been added. In the event section, there are currently three events, each event – when clicked on – plays a short video clips followed by two. Each event contains some information on what is taking place. The three events up now are: Roxas’ entering the Org, Roxas and Axel atop of the Clock Tower and Mickey meeting a Cloaked man in the Twilight Town forest. Under the “Characters” section, a profile for Xion has been added.

We plan on having the translations for all new content up shortly, until then, be sure to check out the site Here.

Source: Square Enix’s Official Japanese 358/2 Days Site

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CHARACTER PROFILES

XION

She is introduced as member No.14 into Organization XIII. Similar to Roxas, she is one of the few wielders of the Keyblade. Probably since it’s a common feature between them, she seems to get along with Roxas well, and opportunities to hang out with both Roxas and Axel increase. Triggered by events during missions, she comes to gradually doubt her own existence.

SECRET PROFILE – ROXAS

Xemnas: “Do you desire significance?”

KINGDOM HEARTS

The boy with no memories and no name

appeared in front of the haunted mansion

of the dusk city, Twilight Town.

Xemnas: “You are a new person.”

Appearing in front of that boy

was the one called Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII.

He bestowed the name “Roxas” to the boy.

Roxas: “Again, a dream of that guy.”

Then about 1 year later—

KINGDOM HEARTS II

Roxas awakens inside his room in Twilight Town.

For the past few days, he’s been having mysterious dreams.

He is spending the remainder of his summer vacation

with his friends. Then mysterious events surrounding

Roxas begin to occur one after another.

Axel: “The wielder chosen by the Keyblade.”

Axel, a member of Organization XIII,

appears before Roxas.

He approaches him,

incessantly trying to make Roxas remember something,

but he is unable to remember anything.

Roxas: “Am I feeling Sora…?”

As such things continue,

Roxas comes to have doubt about his own existence.

Roxas: “What will happen to me after this?”

And so Roxas is lead to arrive at the mansion,

where he would come to know the truth about his existence…

SECRET PROFILE – AXEL

Axel: “So… Are you already Marluxia’s puppet?”

KINGDOM HEARTS

CHAIN OF MEMORIES

A member of Organization XIII,

Axel is the life of the Organization.

He often goes to Castle Oblivion,

a place controlled by the Organization.

There he comes to meet the Keyblade

wielder Sora and his fellow companions.

Axel: “If Sora disappears,

it could be dangerous for the Organization’s plans too.”

The plans of Marluxia,

the person in charge of Castle Oblivion,

were thwarted by Sora and company.

Axel alone returns from Castle Oblivion

to the other Organization members,

having harvested some kind of feelings from Sora.

Axel: “The wielder chosen by the Keyblade.”

KINGDOM HEARTS II

Axel left Organization XIII to recapture his close friend Roxas,

so he entered into the virtual Twilight Town and

urged Roxas to recall his memories.

Axel: “I’ll meet you in the next life.”

However, the memories of Roxas won’t return,

and in the end Axel has received commands

from the Organization to erase Roxas.

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INTERVIEW WITH NOMURA

KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep

—How do you express “KH Birth by Sleep” in a word?

Nomura: It’s Kingdom Hearts, evolved.

Yasue: It’s like a wonderful course made up of unexpected spices. To take in everything, from the unprecedented presentation, and every little bit of technology; it combines to complete a three star game.

Yoshimoto: It’s gonna be fun for the PSP.

—What does “KH Birth by Sleep” mean for you?

Nomura: Since the concept was “inevitable fate”, I wonder now if making this game was inevitable?

Yasue: Working on this thing was like competing in an Olympic event with a mix of an 100m race, an obstacle competition, a marathon, and wrestling! I ran my hardest at full speed, flew over the obstacles, used pinning techniques, made decisions, became annoyed, and after it all, I couldn’t even decide on a guts pose.

Yoshimoto: It was a mountain with invisible giants atop it. The climb is steep and difficult.

—How is “KH Birth by Sleep” different than other games?

Nomura: There probably isn’t another portable game with the same volume and feeling of variety as this.

Yasue: Times three is a big characteristic! There is three main characters, three stories to follow, and three game systems that are directionally totally different from each other. That’s three times the excitement!

Yoshimoto: The scenarios of the three main characters is the main feature! The image display challenges the limits of the PSP, it’s gritty but gorgeous! And the Disney characters are surprisingly luxurious! This is KH Birth by Sleep, it’s what everyone is anticipating.

KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days

—How do you express “KH 358/2 Days” in a word?

Nomura: A painfully sad story and bold system.

Hasegawa: A Kingdom Hearts everyone can play together.

Yamamoto: Careful scenarios! Crisp action! A cool collection!

—What does “KH 358/2 Days” mean for you?

Nomura: Day after day of trial and error.

Hasegawa: An encounter with new friends.

Yamamoto: Because of the new experiment with the multiplayer interaction, it was about keeping the action itself in mind and sustaining a conventional feeling on the DS hardware

—How is “KH 358/2 Days” different than other games?

Nomura: I think with the stand alone story characteristics and the systematic nature of the multiplayer, the ways people will enjoy the game differ depending on the player.

Hasegawa: You can play as members of Organization XIII!

Yamamoto: In multiplayer mode, everyone will run about and play together, it’s a fresh idea!

KINGDOM HEARTS coded & mobile

—How do you express “KH coded” in a word?

Nomura: The components were carefully selected simply throughout it.

Tabata: Anyone can play it at their own pace, it’s the Kingdom Hearts game that continues and expands on the story people are looking forward to.

—What does “KH coded” mean for you?

Nomura: Including the portal site, it’s a compilation of information on the mobile phone.

Tabata: The portal site becomes a compilation of know how through the mobile game.

—How is “KH coded” different than other games?

Nomura: It’s the front for linking to the Mobile portal site. Also, I want to hype it up as a place for communication for fans of Kingdom Hearts.

Tabata: Linking not only through KH coded, but also through the Mobile portal site, all the players of Kingdom Hearts can come together in the Mobile world and enjoy it together.

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COMPLETE JUMP FESTA COVERAGE

KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days

- The Japanese release date for 358/2 Days has changed from February 2009 to Spring 2009.

- A new illustration featuring Roxas, Axel, Xion, Riku, and Mickey was displayed.

- Luxord and Demyx were introduced as playable in the multiplayer demo.

Arika-san from the Light in Chaos blog has played as both Luxord and Demyx in the 358/2 Days multiplayer demo.The first time she wanted to play as Demyx, but another player stole him. So she played as Luxord. He reportedly fights by scattering around cards which gives a wide attack range. He has high magic stats but low mobility, also doesn’t jump very high. She came in first. When she played as Demyx, she reported that he had strong magic attacks and that using skills like Thunder was very helpful. But since the number of spells a person can cast is limited, she had to be cautious not to run out. When Demyx was idle and not fighting, he sings and dances with his sitar. She regrets that she could not here his voice during the demo.

- The single player missions were the same as at Tokyo Game Show 2008.

1. Axel in Twilight Town
2. Xaldin in Beast’s Castle
3. Xigbar in Halloween Town

- 358/2 Days was the only Kingdom Hearts game to feature a new trailer.

358/2 Days Trailer Impressions from The Light in Chaos & FF&KH Online:BGM: Passion -after the battle- Voiced scenes. Xion: Who the heck am I…? Destiny Island. Roxas is standing on the shore and picks up a shell. Roxas: Xion… Twilight Town. In the pod room Sora sleeps. Namine: If it’s connected to another memory, surely she can’t endure it Diz: She? Beast’s Castle. It looks like it immediately follows the DKS3713 scene. Riku defeats Xion, she is fallen over, the keyblade that left her hand disappears. Xion: You say this keyblade is a fake…? Don’t say such a selfish thing! Xion moves to grab the abandoned keyblade. Xion: Hyaa–! Riku avoids her attack and deals a blow to her side. Xion: Augh… Riku: Here’s some friendly advice, get away from those guy’s base immediately Riku: If you do, you can be together with those two people Riku starts to walk away. Destiny Islands. Riku and Xion are talking beside the paopu tree. Xion: Do you hate me for taking away your friends? Riku: No… But I’m sad Xion: I’m sorry, but I can’t disappear now The King and Riku (as Ansem) appear in the forest. Riku puts on the blindfold and regains his original appearance. Destiny Island. Axel, Roxas, and Xion are together by the paopu tree. Xion: Do I not exist? Axel: What are you going to do, Xion? Xion: I… I want to be together with the two of you Roxas: Well, then come back Xion: But… I can’t return as it is now Xion: How can two people be the same? Twilight Town forest outskirts. Xion is being detained by Axel. Axel: Xion! … What are you doing? Xion: I’m… I’m going back to where I belong Axel: At first, I thought that was the best thing to do too… Axel: But… I couldn’t accept that. There had to be something else I assume these lines are in the same scene, but the bloggers weren’t specific. Axel: Even if I become a dusk, it’s fine Xion: At any rate, I’ll still be erased The World That Never Was. Saix: Your worthless friendship or the annihilation of Roxas Saix: Which one is more important to you? Castle Oblivion (Destiny Island world) Roxas: Huh? Zexion: Surely you knew this would happen Riku: Why would I know that!? Riku is standing behind Roxas. It’s very similar to the scene in Chain of memories, except that Roxas is present. Twilight Town, the clocktower. Axel and Roxas are waiting for Xion. Axel plops himself down beside Roxas. Roxas: Still… It’s getting late After Roxas mutters, Axel stands up. Twilight Town, open tram space. Roxas is on his own and Xion turns the keyblade on him, then Axel enters. Roxas: Wait! Xion points the keyblade toward him. Roxas: !! As they are about to fight, a chakram flies out and Axel appears. Then Axel and Xion begin fighting. Roxas: Cut it out! Xion: Hya–! Ha–! She fights back against Axel, they don’t hear Roxas’s voice at all. By the way, Axel fights in complete silence. Roxas looks to the sky. Roxas: Stop it! Also, Roxas does not have his keyblade. -Battle scenes- Twilight Town clocktower. Roxas and Xion are there, she is wearing her hood. Xion stands up. Roxas: Huh? Xion removes her hood, Roxas looks surprised. Xion: My power, it’s going to be fulfilled very soon. Like a vessel overflowing with water, now my memory is full of memories of Roxas. To Roxas… How do I appear now? The title appears, coming this Spring.

Not voiced scenes, not in any particular order.Beast’s Castle. Xaldin (So it seems): The master turned into a monster? (It’s probably part of the mission in Beast’s Castle) Blogger forgot where. Xion finds a seashell. Xion: This, it was put here for me. She puts the shell to her ear. Xion: I can hear it… Yeah, I can hear the sound of the waves. Twilight Town. Roxas: Xion can use the keyblade too. White Room. Axel: There’s nothing here. Xion: Lies! My secret is here Blogger forgot where. Roxas: If Xion and I are special Nobodies, (blogger forgot) Blogger forgot where. Roxas and Xemnas are talking. Roxas: What’s wrong with ___?* Xemnas: It’s an important Organization member, I’m going to take a rest now. *Blogger just lists ??? for the person The World That Never Was Castle. Xion is alone in a room and appears to be crying on a bed. Xion is sitting with her knee pulled up. Xion: What should I do…Riku? Blogger forgot where. Axel (So it seems): Recently it’s Xion who has escaped. Olympus Coliseum, Xigbar and Roxas. Xigbar: We’re also entering the tournament Roxas: Huh? I’m entering too!? Continuance of the Coliseum conversation? Roxas: Demyx! What are you doing here? Demyx: What, I’m here to help you out! Anyways, that Xigbar guy sure is strong! Xemnas and Saix stand over Roxas sleeping in a bed. Saix: As I thought it seems to be the influence of Namine Xemnas: Is he waking up? Saix: ??? Xemnas: Axel, Xion, Roxas. They have shifted again (???) Roxas gathered up seashells and brought them to Xion. The World That Never Was Castle. Xion: I… It wasn’t me? Xion looks downward in sadness. Twilight Town. Roxas: Xion uses the keyblade too. Xion: Roxas too? Twilight Town white room. Namine and Xion are together. Xion: What should I do? A mission where Xion is wearing her hood is shown. The first appearance of multiplayer mode with Demyx and Luxord is also shown. Olympus Coliseum. As Roxas fights on his own, Sora seems to bear the damage he takes too. On the top screen Roxas fighting Heartless and this HP display is shown. On the bottom screen, Sora is shown without the HP display and Heartless. In the battle scene where Roxas and Sora overlap, there was a Shadow heartless with Sora. However, since his movements don’t match Roxas’s exactly the same, so he often misses the Shadow. ??? (Facing Roxas): Xion is different from you Twilight Town. Roxas: The members in Castle Oblivion are being annihilated– Axel: It’s because I’m strong

KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep

- The playable demo was the same as at Tokyo Game Show 2008.

- The trailer shown was also the same one shown at Tokyo Game Show 2008.

KINGDOM HEARTS Coded

-The demo and trailer was also the same as shown at Tokyo Game Show 2008.

KINGDOM HEARTS Mobile

-The demo and trailer was also the same as at Tokyo Game Show 2008.

- Players received a clear file and postcards after completing it.

- There were also promotional cards with info to add Tetsuya Nomura to your Mobile friends list.

A HUGE thanks to RXS from the forums for putting this together in about 30 minutes!

That’s all for now, check back later!

Kx.

TheWertle has struck again! This time with an excellent interview with Tetsuya Nomura from Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Ultimania called “Scenario Mysteries”, in which he confirms the Enigmatic Soldier’s name as Terra!

In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, many mysteries are answered but many new mysteries are also born.

In this version, things relating to additional scenes are included, but during the story there are some questions that pop up, so we’ll see if Nomura can point us in the right direction.

Question: In the original Kingdom Hearts, the King searches for a Keyblade in the Realm of Darkness, but when he meets Ansem the Wise, is the Realm of Light Keyblade he has the one that Sora is currently using?

Nomura: No. The King has the ability to use Keyblades from both the Realms of Darkness and of Light. This is an important point – There isn’t just one Keyblade from each world, but just as many as there are people with qualified hearts.

Question: During the meetings, the members of Organization XIII are sitting in chairs. Is the height of these chairs determined by things like their skills and abilities?

Nomura: No. The height of the chairs is not fixated – They move. That is to say that the height is up to each person. The leader, Xemnas, is always the highest, and to be at the same height as him would give that member a pretty bad feeling, so the other members wouldn’t do that. *Laughs*

Question: At the end of Sora and Riku’s stories in Re: Chain of Memories, Roxas looks back while Hayner and the rest are walking and eating ice-cream, and without seeming to care, Hayner and the others continue walking. Is this because they can’t see Roxas?

Nomura: Well it’s just because they don’t know Roxas that they don’t notice him, not because they can’t see him. At that time, right after Xemnas explains Roxas’ name, Axel says to leave things to him. Then, Roxas seems jealous of how Hayner and the others are enjoying themselves while eating ice-cream, and Axel interprets this as him wanting some ice-cream, so he is obliged to go buy him some.

Question: In the real Twilight Town, didn’t Roxas cross paths with Hayner and the others and make aquaintances with them?

Nomura: I suppose. You can think whatever you want about that.

Question: What triggered Roxas’ separation from the Organization?

Nomura: As he kept having recurring dreams of Sora, someone he didn’t know, he felt he needed to leave the Organization to find out who these people he didn’t know were. As Axel didn’t want him to go, he didn’t tell Sora about Roxas in Castle Oblivion, did he?

Question: In Riku’s ending in Re: Chain of Memories, could you tell us the meaning of the scene where the King and Riku are walking together and Riku suddenly plops down.

Nomura: That’s because Riku realized he couldn’t completely get rid of the Darkness inside of him. The King mentioned in Kingdom Hearts II that as Riku held Xehanort’s Heartless in his heart, he disappeared from the King’s sight. It’s a sort of foreshadowing. In this scene, the King’s face looks worried for a moment because he felt that Riku might eventually no longer be there. Riku headed towards DiZ in order to restore Sora’s memories to normal, but in the end, his departure from the King was so that he wouldn’t show his preparations to use the Darkness.

Question: Could you tell us at what point Riku covered his eyes?

Nomura: When he departed from the King. You don’t know after the scene, but in Riku’s ending in Re: Chain of Memories, when he comes to wherever DiZ is, he’s already covered his eyes.

Question: Please confirm some things about Castle Oblivion. In the additional event “The Truth about the Chamber of Sleep”, you can gather from Xigbar and Zexion’s conversation that Castle Oblivion existed in the Inbetween Realm before the birth of the Organization. The Organization then found it and used it for experiments about memories and to look for the Chamber of Awakening, right?

Nomura: Yes. Since their conversation was about Marluxia’s entry, they discovered the Castle before that. In fact, its use, according to Secret Ansem Report 7, was for only 13 Organization Members. Naminé awoke in Castle Oblivion, but as she and Roxas were born at the same time, half of the Organization moved to the Castle.

Question: In the additional event “To Put an End to Everything”, Sora says “It should have been easy to say thanks to Naminé, but I couldn’t say it”. At this point in time, does Sora remember the things that happened with Naminé?

Nomura: If he remembers, it’s because Naminé’s existence was made possible by Sora, and when Naminé and Roxas return to Kairi and Sora, many things were connected. Since Sora never got to say thanks to Naminé, please think of that as a hint.

Question: In the additional event “Farewell to a Friend”, there’s a scene where Axel tells Roxas “You really do have a heart, don’t you”. What is the actual case here?

Nomura: In this scene, it ends bringing up more mysteries about Roxas, so for the answer, maybe take care to follow your hunches well. It’s also related to Xehanort’s memories, but I can’t give any specifics now.

Question: We’d like to inquire about the new secret movie “Birth By Sleep”. In the new event “The Truth about the Chamber of Sleep”, Xigbar mentions a “group that wields Keyblades”. Is he talking about the 3 armored people in the movie?

Nomura: Yes, Xigbar witnessed them when he was a disciple to Ansem the Wise.

Question: The Lingering Sentiment (Enigmatic Soldier) is the same as the armored youth in the movie, but when he fights Sora he mentions “Aqua” and “Ven”. Are those the names of the other 2?

Nomura: Yes, the blue haired girl is Aqua.

Question: What is the armored youth’s name?

Nomura: His name appeared once in code in the 2006 Tokyo Game Show Promotional Video. Also, Ven is actually a nickname, but his real name is a little bit longer. Sora, Riku, and Kairi’s names can be seen as “Sky, Land, and Sea” respectively. The 3 armored people’s names take the shape of different properties of the world, “Water, Wind, and Earth”.

Statement: Ven looks an awful lot like Roxas…

Nomura: I can’t give any specifics about that. He may just resemble him, and if there is a connection, Sora may be related too. What I can say right now is that these mysteries are all connected to the story.

Question: In the beginning, the armored youth’s eyes are blue, but at the end they change to gold. Is this revealing a change in him?

Nomura: I can’t give specifics about this either… I think everyone’s imaginations are pretty capable so please try and anticipate a lot of things.

Translated by TheWertle. I edited and corrected spelling and grammar.

• In the photo below, it shows a screenshot of the code that flowed across the screen for a moment during the Promotional Video at the Tokyo Game Show 2006. It has been decoded as:

“Master Xehanort’s Avenger, his name is Terra.”

“Not yet awakened, he is connected to those two.”

Terra
Click to enlarge

TheWertle is currently translating an interview found in the Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Ultimania:

The full translation will come soon, but it has been confirmed that the names of the three Knights in the secret ending are related to elements just like Sora, Kairi, and Riku are, and that two of the knights are indeed Aqua and Ven. Update: We now know the name of the Enigmatic Soldier is Terra thanks to another interview with Nomura! Click the images to enlarge them:

Sora means Sky – Ven means Wind

Nomura has also hinted that Ven and Roxas may be related in some way!

Kairi (similar to Umi) means Sea – Aqua means Water

Riku means Land – Terra means Earth

This is the Enigmatic Soldier for those who don’t know already.

TheWertle has done more photos of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Ultimania, and translated 33 out of 70 of the changes from Kingdom Hearts II to Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ so far. Click the images to enlarge them:

• You gain Theater Mode
• A new entry is added to Jiminy’s Memo
• You can fight the Enigmatic Soldier

2. You can fight the “Absent Silhouettes” (Easy versions of Chain of Memories Organization Member Data Battles)

3. New dungeon “Cavern of Remembrance” appears

4. A crown can appear on Sora’s head for defeating any of the following:

• Enigmatic Soldier (Gold)
• All Data Battles (Silver)
• All Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless (Bronze)

5. New Secret Movie

6. New Event Scenes have been added:

• A.. Organization XIII Expectations: Disposal of Traitors – At the end of Roxas’ 4th day
• B. 3 People on Sunset Hill – Twilight Town Episode 0 after Sora rides the train
• C. Organization XIII Expectations: Hero of Light – After clearing Hollow Bastion Episode 1
• D. Organization XIII Expectations: Saïx Report – After clearing Twilight Town Episode 1
• E. To the Hidden Stage – Hollow Bastion Episode 2 after events in front of the castle gates
• F. Truth about the Chamber of Sleep – Shortly after scene E
• G. Organization XIII Expectations: Move Everything Out – Hollow Bastion Episode 1 after getting Secret Ansem Report 1
• H. Organization XIII Expectations: Gap – Twilight Town Episode 2 after defeating Nobodies with Axel
• I. The Meaning of Roxas – The World That Never Was Episode 1 after defeating Roxas
• J. Farewell to a Pal – Shortly after scene I
• K. Everything Begins – The World That Never Was Episode 1 after defeating Saïx
• L. To End Everything – The World That Never Was Episode 1 shortly before fighting Xemnas for the second time

7. New enemy additions and data changes:

• 20 new bosses
• 12 new enemies

8. New additions to Gummi Ships

9. Captions have been added under world logos

10. Fonts shown on the screen have changed (such as countdown fonts specific to each world for example)

11. Puzzle Pieces can be found in each area for Piece Collection Mode

12. Additional treasure chests and content changes

13. Twilight Town Changes:

• Conditions to end the battle in front of the station have changed (Either connect 100 hits, go below 30% health, or battle for 90 seconds)
• Addition of Limit Form Mirror
• Addition of Puzzle Piece event
• Limit Form can be obtained

14. Hollow Bastion Changes:

• After the event with Sephiroth, a scene with Yuna and the others flying out of a hole in the castle wall is shown

15. The Land of the Dragons Changes:

• Value of “surprise attack” spirit gauge has been reduced
• Carts and boxes don’t reappear after leaving the screen and returning (so you can’t get drive balls so easily)

16. Beast’s Castle Changes:

• Conditions to end battle in the Living Room have changed (Either connect 100 hits, go below 30% health, or battle for 90 seconds)
• Cogsworth gets tired more easily

17. Olympus Coliseum Changes:

• “Absent Silhouette” Event added
• Conditions to end the battle with Pete change (Time limit has gone from 2 minutes to 90 seconds)

18. Disney Castle Changes:

• Enemies don’t drop “Prize Box” while protecting Minnie
• Mysterious Entrance Appears (Clear all episodes except for Underworld Tournaments and save clear data)
• Mog will disappear after getting the Mysterious Entrance

19. Timeless River Changes:

• Changes have been made to the 4 time window battles

20. Agrabah Changes:

• Conditions to end battle in the street have changed (Either connect 100 hits, go below 30% health, or battle for 90 seconds)
• A battle at the Sandswept Ruins has changed (Enemies don’t drop prize boxes and the time to open the switch has increased from 30 to 45 seconds)

21. Halloween Town Changes:

• New Costumes and music in Christmas Town

22. 100 Acre Woods Changes:

• Time for Episode 4 has changed from 3 to 5 minutes
• Episode 5 rules have changed

23. The World That Never Was Changes:

• Roxas must be fought against

• Compared to Standard, enemies do twice as much damage, except for the Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless who do 1.25 times as much damage
• You start the game with the abilities Reaction Up, Finish Rise, Draw, 2x Luck Up, MP Hastera, and EXP Zero (They can’t be used until Roxas’ 3rd day)
• Roxas’ starting AP is 50
• When leveling up, AP increases by 3 instead of 2
• Compared to Standard, HP and MP quantities from bonuses are halved
• Compared to Standard, EXP received is 3 quarters of the normal.
• Save file shows up as “Critical Mode”
• Getting the Secret Movie is easier
• In the PS2 Browser screen, there is a symbol attached to the save data file on the memory card

25. The Status Menu has changed:

• When selecting Sora in the Status Menu, the Limit Form Level is shown first rather than Summon Level

26. Filling the Drive Gauge is easier (For instance, originally you got 1/3 of a bar from attacking bosses, but now you get 3/4)

27. Form level caps have changed by +2

28. New item additions:

Weapons

• Fateful Encounter – Defeat Roxas
• Winner’s Proof – Complete All Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless Challenges
• Spells Relic+ – Necromancer Drop (1% chance)
• Centurion – Synthesized
• Centurion+ – Synthesized
• Pleasure Mushroom – Odd-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Pleasure Mushroom+ – Odd-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Precious Mushroom – Odd-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Precious Mushroom+ – Odd-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Premium Mushroom – Odd-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Akashic Record+ – Rune Master drop
• Freeze Pride – Synthesized
• Freeze Pride+ – Synthesized
• Happy Mushroom – Even-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Happy Mushroom+ – Even-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Platinal Mushroom – Even-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Platinal Mushroom+ – Even-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop
• Limited Mushroom – Even-numbered Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless drop

Defense Items

• Shock Chain – Synthesized
• Shock Chain+ – Synthesized
• Highest Ribbon – Complete a Puzzle

Accessories

• Executive Ring – Complete a Puzzle
• Shade Archive – Synthesized
• Shade Archive+ – Synthesized
• Full Bloom – Synthesized
• Full Bloom+ – Synthesized
• Recipe – Defeat Absent Silhouette Zexion
• Recipe – Defeat Absent Silhouette Larxene
• Recipe – Defeat Absent Silhouette Lexaeus
• Recipe – Defeat Absent Silhouette Vexen
• Recipe – Defeat Absent Silhouette Marluxia
• Rare Document – Complete a Puzzle
• Proof of Connection – Defeat the Enigmatic Soldier
• Non-existent Proof – Defeat the Data Battles
• Tranquil Proof – Complete All Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless Challenges

Synthesizing Items – Dropped By Enemy (Chance Of Drop)

• Remembrance Shard – Perplex (6%), Iron Hammer (10%), Silent Launcher (6%)
• Remembrance Goo – Air Viking (6%), Magic Phantom (10%), Lance Warrior (10%), Necromancer (10%), Mad Bumper (6%)
• Remembrance Stone – Spring Metal (10%), Rune Master (10%), Mad Bumper (12%)
• Remembrance Crystal – Reckless (12%)
• Tranquil Shard – Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless (???)
• Tranquil Goo – Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless (???)
• Tranquil Stone – Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless (???)
• Tranquil Crystal – Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless (???)

• Apparent Vision – 3 Treasure Chests, A-rank Synthesis Collection Bonus, Complete a Puzzle, Defeat the Enigmatic Soldier
• Lost Vision – 1 Treasure Chest, S-Rank Synthesis Collection Bonus, Absent Silhouette Battles and Absent Silhouette Character Data Battles

(TheWertle: Spring Metal is kind of like a Crimson Jazz or Emerald Blues
Air Viking is like an Air Pirate
Magic Phantom is like a Trick Ghost
Perplex is like a Hook Bat
Rune Master is like a Book Master
Iron Hammer is like a Hammer Body
Mad Bumper is like a Hot Rod
Silent Launcher is like an Aiming Cannon
Reckless is kind of like the Terminator
Lance Warrior is like a Lance Soldier
Necromancer is like a Shaman
Aerial Champ is like an Aerial Knocker)

29. Item Effect Changes

• Drive Recover – Fills 3 Guages instead of only 1
• High Drive Recover – Fills All Guages instead of only 3
• Kingdom Chain – Ability: Crisis Half
• Gullwing – Attack 2, Magic 3 instead of Attack 3, Magic 2
• Sweet Memory – Magic 4 instead of 0, Ability: Drive Converter
• Meteo Staff – Ability: Thunder Up
• Rising Dragon – Ability: Fire Up
• Shaman’s Relic – Now named Spells Relic, Colour changes, Ability: Blizzard Up
• Nobody Lance – Ability: Item Up
• Save the Queen+ – Colour changed, Ability: MP Rage
• Genji Shield – Ability: Hyper Healing
• Nobody Guard – Ability: MP Rage
• Save the King+ – Colour changed, Ability: Crisis Half
• Ribbon – Rather than 20%, all attributes get 15%

30. You can’t cheat item sales (In the original, if you had good timing, you could use increase the number of items without increasing the price, and get more than 1 item for the price of 1. But that’s fixed now.)

31. Ultima Weapon Synthesis has changed:

• The amount of Orichalcum needed changes from 7 to 3 but the experience earned also changes from 119 to 99.

32. Synthesis Collection additions and changes:

• Addition: collect 50 types of materials – Magic Up
• Addition: Collect 55 types of materials – Orichal
• Addition: Collect all Remembrance materials – Full Crystal
• Addition: Collect all Tranquil materials – Full Crystal
• Change: Collect 10 types of materials – AP Up
• Change: Collect 35 types of materials – AP Up
• Change: Collect 40 types of materials – Power Up
• Change: Collect 45 types of materials – AP Up

33. The number of items you can synthesize has increased:

• Full Crystal/Apparent Vision
• Shock Charm/Shock Charm+
• Draw Ring/Lucky Ring
• Shade Archive/Shade Archive+
• Full Bloom/Full Bloom+
• Centurion/Centurion+
• Freeze Pride/Freeze Pride+

Sourced from KHV. I edited spelling and grammar myself.

Hi guys. Today we have new screenshots of Sora’s Crown Sidequest and the Organization XIII Mushroom Keyblade. Also you can see that some of the crowns are different: One of them is Silver, another is Bronze and another is Gold. There is a rumour that each of them have different stats. Well here you have them:

(Riku: Sorry it’s posted so late. Sourced from KHI.)