After previous rumours that Kingdom Hearts will be featured at the Square-Enix Party 2007, it appears to be becoming less and less likely, although Yoko Shimomura will still be present. Tetsuya Nomura’s “surprise” should still be revealed and may or may not be related to Kingdom Hearts.

The Square-Enix Party 2007 will be this coming weekend (12th & 13th May) and there is now a commercial for it in Japan:

Also, any previous rumours you may have heard about The Last Remnant being possibly related to Kingdom Hearts are FALSE. Confirmed today, The Last Remnant is a completely unrelated game to be released in Spring 2008. If you want to see details:
See the Game*Spark article here

TheWertle translated yet more of the stuff in Dengeki PS Magazine (shown on FF13Vids). I’ll put a summary here of the most important points from this and other interviews:

• Nomura has stated in the past that the “New Project” MAY be a “Non-game project” and that it WILL NOT have “Kingdom Hearts” in the title.
• Nomura has now stated that this project may be an interesting side-story focusing on characters other than Sora, although Sora still has a big role.
• He should be explaining “Birth By Sleep” a bit more, what Mickey did in the World of Darkness, and how Mickey got his Keyblade.
• He’ll want to work on developing Roxas the most. He thinks it’s interesting that his birth and disappearance have both been drawn within a year.
• He wants to make this “New Project” slightly different from the Kingdom Hearts series including slight changes in the system.
• The armoured figures in the “Birth By Sleep” video are connected to Xemnas/Xehanort. There may be elaboration on this.
• Nomura has previously confirmed that after the Final Fantasy XIII games, he will be concentrating on the story of Kingdom Hearts.
• Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ was confirmed to be Nomura’s final PlayStation 2 game, and therefore any future Kingdom Hearts games will only be on PlayStation 3 or possibly other gaming systems.
• The “New Project” should be announced soon, although Nomura wants to keep the title a secret for awhile and tell us at just the right time.
• Multi-developing makes Nomura want to put the “New Project” on another system. If he does, he wants to decide whether to make it for PSP, Nintendo DS or mobile phones.
• Square-Enix are currently working on three projects in total. One of them is confirmed to be Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but it’s unknown what the other two are. They’re unrelated to eachother though.
• Yoko Shimomura will be attending the Square-Enix Party 2007. She’s looking forward to meeting people and asks everyone to wait patiently.

In other news, Deathspank from KH-Vids, with TheWertle’s help, has now translated some of the Reverse/Rebirth cutscenes:

Re: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth Introduction
Re: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth Basement Twelve Cutscenes
Re: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth Basement Eleven Cutscenes
Re: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth Basement Ten Cutscenes
Re: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth Basement Nine Cutscenes
Re: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth Basement Eight Cutscenes

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.

I’m pleased to announce the new “Another Report” section I’ve added to the site!

Kingdom Hearts: Another Report

The section includes scans of the entirety of Another Report thanks to forum member Aerith! We will be attempting to translate it all, but so far, we have GameFAQs’ TheWertle’s translations of the Director’s Secret Report XIII posted (edited by forum member Kh3fan02 and myself):

Pages 26 & 27
Pages 28 & 29
Pages 30 & 31 *Updated*
Pages 32 & 33 *Updated*

Update: We also have an EXCLUSIVE translation of pages 2 & 3!

Pages 2 & 3

The cover of the Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Ultimania Book has been released as you can see above (click it to enlarge). It’s 512 pages long, costs 1,700 Yen (~$14, ~£7), and will be released on May 2nd only in Japan. The book doesn’t include any new artwork but it does include:

• Organization XIII, Enigmatic Soldier, Puzzle Mode and Organization XIII Mushroom Capture Guides and FAQs.
• An explanation of the what’s changed in Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ from Kingdom Hearts II.
• An Re: Chain of Memories Guide with the changes made for PS2.
• Voice actor interviews about what they think the fans should expect.
• Information on all important characters.
• A new Nomura Interview.

Of course, as promised, here are some more Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ videos:

Updated
Cavern of Remembrance Exploration

Utawarezen Beating The Data Battles
Xemnas First Form Data Battle
Xemnas Second Form Data Battle
Xigbar Data Battle
Xaldin Data Battle
Vexen Data Battle
Lexaeus Data Battle
Zexion Data Battle
Saïx Data Battle
Axel Data Battle
Demyx Data Battle
Luxord Data Battle
Marluxia Data Battle
Larxene Data Battle
Roxas Data Battle

Re: Chain of Memories
Final Sora’s Story Translated Videos
Twelfth Floor Cutscenes
Destiny Islands Cutscenes
Thirteenth Floor Cutscenes
Castle Oblivion Floor Cutscenes
Sora’s Story Ending

All Videos So Far

Tomogirl from KH-2.net has translated some information posted in a blog about the Character Report Volume 2. I’m only posting Nomura’s views on different elements of Kingdom Hearts II:

• Tron

Nomura: “The new world in the computer was greatly related to the main plot of Kingdom Hearts II and was very interesting when it was finished.”

• The Re: Chain of Memories Side of the Final Mix+ Artwork

Nomura: “There is no shoulder part of Axel this time because of a single specification. However, this illustration is on the game case used together with the left side being published on the case, and Volume 1 used it alone (Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix). Moreover, Donald and Goofy were made as cards just in case they were matched together because they mustn’t be in one picture, and no two existences of the Disney characters should share a card. It’s exceptional of what the two have become.”

• Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Cover

Nomura: “This illustration has the version of where there are some versions of Sora and Riku existing at certain intervals on the back and the version that doesn’t have them. When using it for the package, two of the Chain of Memories illustration versions were slightly put in for the meaning for Re: Chain of Memories. The commodity of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ was expressed to the end that made this version the formal, in which the two characters are missing in the illustration. It is possible to look for their appearances that they variously stick to.”

• Xemnas

Nomura: “Although he was a handsome character, the voice actor was out of control, and so the character was complete. He likes his expression so he ‘moreover, is starting from scratch’, and I am also using that expression occasionally.”

• Xigbar

Nomura: “His position has changed thanks to the voice actor. I would have added him in fast because he did the expression that hooked me in so much. However, although this was only one dialogue, there was a habit of saying ‘it was all talk’.”

• Vexen

Nomura: “As for him, this heartless feeling is already incontrovertible to him because his character is only of the brain.”

• Zexion

Nomura: “Xemnas is a character whose relations are strong, as well Zexion as the subordinate-superior relationship, master-apprentice, or Sikes Corp. Zexion says that he will destroy the body because he thinks he’s excellent although, he is excellent. He might have been a person who became the center of the organization if he hadn’t betrayed Marluxia and Axel in Castle Oblivion.”

• Axel

Nomura: “It wasn’t originally thought that he’d grow up to reach this stage. At first, I scheduled for Roxas to be knocked down in the opening of Kingdom Hearts II, and then leave it to the entire staff to decide who would be strong and active afterwards. From thereafter, there would be a possibility that he began to move on, shown by his dialogue.”

• Demyx

Nomura: “The character who stood a turn short or more, because of his voice actor though he was made from the beginning as a light hearted character. His dialogue was a hit on site and was instantly put in.”

• Luxord

Nomura: “He is honest, and my most favourite Organization member. I wanted him to stand out more in reality, although he speaks differently in the scene of the Organization Conference that was added because of an original drawing. Luxord exists and is sure to be able to have done more.”

• Marluxia

Nomura: “To balance with Larxene, Marluxia was a woman originally. But can a ‘man’ perform in front of Xemnas, even though it was not possible for him to show up? It is considerable to those who can act.”

• Larxene

Nomura: “She consequentially became her own individuality, and even though she wasn’t too good, she became the only female character of the Organization. As her voice’s style had hardened, the voice actor thought about it the most. Her ‘brutality’ has increased by the voice being attached. In that hairstyle, even I, who drew her, still think it’s a mystery. Why did I apply that forelock?”

Of course, there are more videos as well:

Final Mix: Critical Mode Enigmatic Soldier Defeated! (Spoilers Included)
Final Mix: All 13 Organization Data Battles
Re: Chain of Memories: Eleventh Floor Cutscenes

Translated version of Roxas, Riku and DiZ in The World That Never Was

Also, Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ has now reached 180,000 sales!

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!

Final Mix: Hades Battle With Limit Form
Final Mix: Lexaeus Battle Attempt 4 (Won!)
Final Mix: Vexen Battle Attempt 2 (Won!)
Final Mix: Marluxia Battle Attempt 3 (Won!)
Final Mix: Organization XIII Discussion Just After Axel Dies
Final Mix: Cavern of Remembrance Walkthrough
Re: Chain of Memories: Tenth Floor Cutscenes
Re: Chain of Memories: Castle Oblivion Gameplay

Final Mix: 9 Out Of 13 Of The Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless

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.

First, I’ve done the non-branded translated version of the Secret Ending by itself here:

KHIIFMSecretEndingTranslad.wmv

Also, Deathspank has now made most of the Re: Chain of Memories available for download with subtitles! Fourth and Seventh Floors coming soon.

Introduction
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Fourth Floor
Fifth Floor
Sixth Floor

There’re also new interviews from a magazine, found in the “Light In The Chaos Blog”. Found at KH-Vids:

Interview With Tetsuya Nomura

- A part of the latest secret movie is related to the new series.

- You get the “Experience Zero” ability at the beginning of Critical Mode, which is for those who might find Critical Mode too easy. It a problem if you accidentally equip it though.

- At the top of Pride Lands, there use to be exactly 144 heartless there, but in Final Mix they have become one enemy. (No more free experience from there.)

- Making the Enigmatic Soldier an Optional Boss Fight was a staff member’s idea.

- The Organization XIII battles from before have changed a lot.

- At a new scene, when Zexion is walking, he suddenly stops as though he’s thinking of something. The players should be able to work out why Zexion stopped.

- The Organization XIII Mushroom Heartless were an idea from the staff ever since Kingdom Hearts II was developed. Back then it was too big to put into the game, so it was added as a sidequest for Final Mix.

- At first Nomura was going to put the Roxas fight in Kingdom Hearts II, but due to the time consumption, he took the fight out in the end. He also wanted to add an additional bit to that event, and a new form. He was thinking about the abilities that could reside around the first Kingdom Hearts game.

- The music after the battle against Roxas was meant to match the event completely. When Nomura did the battle against Roxas, he wanted to convince people about how emotional the battle was, and so created an event after the battle. The battle music he saw as “Different” for when he had Sora face up against Roxas.

- There are some changes in the game the staff made that even Nomura doesn’t know about!

- Re: Chain of Memories was made more from a less justifying view first. It seemed that Nomura wanted to make the camera like Kingdom Hearts, but it would be hard for the team to fully do this, so he changed it around. (Thank goodness they didn’t.)

- The team also put in a few changes for the Last Boss against Sora. Nomura took charge for this battle. It seemed to be *** of **** of Sora. (The *** were censored in the magazine.) All he can say is that it has to do with Marluxia, and it is a very very painful attack.

- The New Series is NOT Kingdom Hearts III. (Nomura wants to make sure you remember that.) (The fact that he says it’s a series is promising!)

Interview with Yoko Shimomura

- For Re: Chain of Memories, Shimomura and the team worked day in and day out, although this was only for the battle music. She wanted to have different feelings such as “Happy Battle” “Sad Battle” and “Terrible Music”. There is also something about a “Third Form” added to the Last boss.

- Yoko Shimomura put ALL her work and effort in the Roxas battle music. She was pushed to her limit. The battle is meant to be very very emotional. Nomura believed Shimomura already met the standards, but Shimomura wanted to push herself further.

Extra Organization XIII Battles Information

There are two versions of the Organization XIII battles. The first ones are scattered throughout the Worlds, and Nomura stated no one should have any trouble with them at all. However, for the re-fights in the new area, players will have to be at least be level 99 if they want to stand a chance.

Thanks to KHV for this:

Special Extra Scenes
- There are special scenes featuring Zexion.
- One of these additional scenes is Vexen looking for Xemnas.
- Zexion seems to be looking for something - Xemnas is well informed on what Zexion is trying to find.
- These events take place BEFORE the construction of Castle Oblivion.
- You get to learn a little secret about Xemnas after defeating a certain enemy. It’s about a man who was losing his memory. It’s done on purpose that no one is allowed to hear it.
- There is a mysterious man in a Black Coat who seems to be well informed about Xemnas.
- Vexen and Zexion work together to search for Xemnas.
- In one image Vexen is saying “Where is Lord Xemnas?”
- It should be noted in the secret ending that the Heart in the sky thought to be “Kingdom Hearts” is a different colour.

Quoted from Famitsu referring to the Secret Ending: “Is this the Holy War from those who have the Keyblade!?!?!?”

Puzzle Mode
- Nomura enjoyed putting his illustrations into Puzzle Mode.
- The Puzzle Mode can be accessed from Jiminy’s Journal.
- There are pieces of the puzzles scattered all over the many Worlds.
- The pieces resemble crowns. (This is the Crown Quest - Collecting crowns gives you more puzzle pieces.)
- The number of pieces are different each time, depending on the illustration.
- The names of the illustrations are as following: “Awakening”, “Heart”, “Inside and Outside”, “EDGE”, “Twilight”, and “Evening”. Scroll to the bottom of this news post for the images.

The controls for Puzzle Mode are as follows:

- Circle is used to pick up a piece.
- X is used to put the piece back down.
- Right analog stick is used to rotate the Piece left or right.
- Select Button is used for a hint menu.

Sora’s Crown Accessory
There are several different methods to earn this, but it also means that the Crown above Sora’s head will have a different color, depending on the method.

Nomura’s Interview Points
-Theater mode is accessed by completing Re: Chain of Memories.
-There is an extra thing you can earn by beating Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix+ first, and then Re: Chain of Memories. This means you gain extra things from both ways round.
- Various abilities are needed for Crown Collection.
- Don’t expect the same thing when refighting the Organization XIII, their attack patterns change every time!
- A New hint is shown in the secret ending.

Theater Mode
These are official names of the cutscenes:

- Roxas Day 1: Town of Dusk.
- Roxas Day 2: Reality that moves.
- Roxas Day 3: Passing Each Other.
- Roxas Day 4: Road to a Decisive battle.
- Roxas Day 5: A Distorting Life.
- Roxas Day 6: The End of Summer.
- Sora in Twilight Town: Awake Sora.
- Hollow Bastion 1: Gathering Shadows.
- Beast Castle 1: Beast’s Accident.
- The Land of Dragons 1: Strong Mind.
- Olympus Coliseum: Hero’s Crisis.

You can press L2 or R2 to switch between the English and Japanese voicing on compatible scenes.

The Enigmatic Soldier Fight
- He has 16 bars of health.
- He has very powerful magical and physical spells.
- He is able to perform unbelievable combination attacks.
- You should not make a single mistake.
- His attacks are strong and he is very very fast!

Re: Chain of Memories
DUEL
Duel is only available in Riku’s Story. When you put out a card, and your opponent puts out a card of the exact same number, you press triangle, and both you and the opponent pull out another card at the same time. The one with the highest number wins.

Hit
If you continue putting out higher cards then the opponent, you get a special attack known as “Hit”.

- A new skill for Riku known as Maelstrom is shown.
- A new move with Mickey is known as “Holy Burst”.
- Pluto is now a card available in Sora’s story.
- “Lucky Bounty” allows you to find treasure, with a card.

Puzzle Mode Illustrations
Images similar to the Puzzle Mode Illustrations are shown here:

Awakening
Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Cover Art

Heart
Kingdom Hearts II Cover Art

Inside and Outside
Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania Cover Art

EDGE
Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Cover Art

Twilight
Re: Chain of Memories side of the promotional poster

Evening
Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix side of the promotional poster

The most important information from the Japanese Magazine Gemaga is as follows:

The secret movie is connected to what is coming in the future! Nomura says it would be a shame if you miss out on it. This disproves any theories about Kingdom Hearts III itself taking place in the past, although there may be flashbacks.

A scheduled announcement of the next Kingdom Hearts Project will definitely take place after the summer! (He’s now saying this in every interview he has. He must be excited!)

Nomura states that it is too much work to work on both at the same time. So they are concentrating on completing Final Fantasy Versus XIII first to acquire the necessary elements that they can incorporate into Kingdom Hearts III. This could include characters, locations, gameplay features, or something else.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be the last Final Fantasy Nomura will direct, as he wants to concentrate on Kingdom Hearts series instead. So there may be a very big future for Kingdom Hearts and it sounds like it won’t stop at Kingdom Hearts III!