Insomniac's newest entry in their highly successful Ratchet & Clank series, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, has a couple of Easter eggs from various titles from not only Insomniac but from other franchises as well. While most of them are from PlayStation exclusive franchises like Jak & Daxter and LittleBigPlanet, there is one that stands out from the rest: an Easter egg from Kingdom Hearts. It could be a subtle nod to the franchise as both series launched their first entry back in 2002 for the PlayStation 2.
If you want to see it, then you can check it out in the spoiler tag below. [DISCLAIMER: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!]
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will release on June 11th exclusively for the PlayStation 5. Are you going to be getting this game and finding the Easter egg? Let us know in the comments below!
Gangan Online have posted Chapter 18 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga. You can check out the previews for the chapter in our gallery below. You can read the full chapter on their site by clicking here or on their online app.
Chapter 19 will be available on July 7th.
You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below!
Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English
Chapter 1 A New Journey Japanese English
Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum[1] Japanese English
Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum[2] Japanese English
Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum[3] Japanese English
Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum[4] Japanese English
Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum[5] Japanese English
Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum[6] Japanese English
Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum[7] Japanese English
Chapter 9 World of Darkness Japanese English
Chapter 10 Connected Japanese English
Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English
Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English
Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English
Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English
Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English
Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English
Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English
In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is will be available on June 11th for Japan. The English version has yet to be announced.
The global version of Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] has been updated with the final quest and concluding story scenes. This story update was dropped without warning, with the only recent tweet from the North American Twitter account announcing jewel distribution after emergency maintenance.
The Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] updated with the finale over a week ago, on May 31st.
You can watch the officially translated cutscenes of the final global update of Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] below, via an uploaded video by Everglow.
What are your thoughts on the finale to this long-running mobile experience? Let us know in the comments below!
Kingdom Hearts manga artist Shiro Amano has tweeted out a preview for the cover of the next volume of the Kingdom Hearts III manga. The full cover has also been posted on Gangan Online. You can view both the preview and the cover in the gallery below.
Kingdom Hearts III manga Vol. 2 is set to release in Japan on June 11th, 2021 and will cover the events in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: A Fragmentary Passage starting at Chapter 9 and ending around Chapter 16. Pre-orders for the volume are available through Square Enix Japan E-Store, 7net, Rakuten Books, and Amazon Japan for ¥660 (around $6.00).
Currently, the manga is at Chapter 17 in Japanese and English with Chapter 18 "Twilight Town" available on the Gangan Online app and will be on the site on June 11th. The English version of "Twilight Town" will be available later this month.
The English localization of Vol. 2 has yet to be announced from Yen Press.
The final story quest of Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] has gone live in Japan, with a total of around 40 minutes of cutscenes.
Unfortunately, there has been no word on when the Global version of the title will be receiving this final story update. The North American Twitter account has remained silent.
Thankfully, Everglow has uploaded a video compiling all of the final update scenes with translations! You can view this video below:
Genzō Wakayama, the Japanese voice actor of Ansem the Wise, DiZ, and Zeus in the Kingdom Hearts series passed away on May 18th, 2021 at the age of 88. The cause of death is listed as a heart failure.
Genzō Wakayama was born on September 27, 1932 in Ōdomari in the Karafuto Prefecture of Empire of Japan, currently known as Korsakov, Russia. When he was young, he moved to Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan and graduated from Sapporo South High School. In addition of being a voice actor, he was a disk jockey and hosted a program on TBS radio in Japan from 1973 to 1995 as well as the narrator for a television show Abarenbo Shogun from 1978 to 2003.
Other roles that Wakayama did include Detective Boom in the 1963 Astro Boy cartoon, Long John Silver in the 1978-79 anime version of Treasure Island, and Demaon in the 1984 movie Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld. He also was the official dub voice for Sean Connery, Gene Barry, and Lee Marvin. Other dubs that Wakayama did was Henry the Green Engine for the 13th season of Thomas and Friends, Zeus for Hercules, and John Silver for the 2003 version of Treasure Planet. Recently, he was also the voice of President Shinra in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Thank you for voicing Ansem the Wise, DiZ, and Zeus for the the Kingdom Hearts series Genzō Wakayama. May your heart guide you to your final resting place and rest in peace.
Twitter user @gsc_kahotan, a member of Good Smile Company's Planning Department, has revealed an image of the upcoming Kingdom Hearts III Aqua Nendoroid!
Aqua is the last of the revealed Kingdom Hearts characters to receive a Nendoroid figure.
The following Kingdom Hearts Nendoroid figures currently available for purchase from that reveal are as follows:
Kingdom Hearts III Kairi
Kingdom Hearts III Axel
Kingdom Hearts III Roxas
Kingdom Hearts II Riku
Kingdom Hearts II Sora
Kingdom Hearts III Sora and Riku
You can take a look at the revealed Aqua Nendoroid via our gallery below:
The official Japanese PR account for Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] has announced that the final story update for the main scenario of the title will be going live on the Japanese version of the application on Monday, May 31st at 15:00/ (JST) 11:00 PM PDT/ 2:00 AM EDT.
There has been no word from the North American PR account on whether global fans will be receiving this update during the same time frame as Japanese players. We will be sure to update this piece if that does happen to be the case.
The final story update was decided to be split into 2 parts, and this latter half of the split will be making itself known early next week. Are you dejected or jovial at this long-running mobile entry finally reaching its conclusion?
Let us know in the comments below!
U-Treasure has revealed a new Kingdom Hearts-themed product available for pre-order from their digital store. The merchandise this time around is a Sea-Salt Ice Cream Watch.
This wristwatch is adorned with the iconic series crown present on Sora's necklace, miniature symbols of the heart, the Keyblade, and King Mickey's head. A design of Twilight Town is also present on the watch's backside.
You can view this watch via our gallery below:
This watch is currently available for pre-order from U-Treasure for ¥27,500 ($250.32) and has an expected shipping date of late October 2021 that is subject to change. Additionally, the pre-order period starts today, May 28th (JST), and ends June 29th. (JST)
Do you find this wristwatch's imagery of Kingdom Hearts pleasing to the eye? Let us know in the comments below!
Good Smile Company has revealed the Kingdom Hearts III Kairi Nendoroid, which is currently available for pre-order on their regional stores!
This Nendoroid features Kairi with her Destiny's Embrace Keyblade, Paopu Fruit, and Sea-Salt Ice-Cream accessories.
The Japanese store has the Nendoroid available for pre-order for ¥6,200 and a December 2021 release date, while the US store has the Nendoroid available for pre-order for $61.99 and a January 2022 release date.
You can view the Kairi Nendoroid via our gallery below.
Kingdom Hearts III Riku, Sora, Roxas and Axel have also been available for pre-order and will arrive later this year. Good Smile have also revealed a prototype for Aqua back in February and should be available for pre-order in the next upcoming weeks.
Do you intend on purchasing this Nendoroid for your Kingdom Hearts collection? Which other characters from the franchise do you want to see Nendoroids of? Let us know in the comments below!
Microsoft published a news article today detailing what games will be arriving to Xbox Game Pass in the coming days, alongside what select titles will be leaving the service.
Unfortunately, both Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue are stated to be leaving Xbox Game Pass on May 31st.
Kingdom Hearts III will be remaining on the service for the time being, however.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix contains the following titles:
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days HD Remastered Cinematics
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded HD Remastered Cinematics
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue contains the following titles:
Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover
Prospective fans on the Xbox family of consoles will now have to fork over the money for both collections. Thankfully, Kingdom Hearts III is still available on Xbox Game Pass, and for those who are currently subscribed to the service they can choose to purchase the 2 collections for up to a 20% discount.
Have you relied on or knew individuals who relied on Xbox Game Pass for getting into the Kingdom Hearts series? Let us know in the comments below!
The shutdown for the global version of Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] Dark Road has been postponed due to the split up of the finale The shutdown, originally set to take place on May 30th, will now take place on June 29th at 6:00 PM PDT.
This comes a month after KHUX JP announced the shutdown for the Japan version would be postponed from April 30th to June 17th. Part 1 of the finale was launched on April 30th for Japan and Global with Quest 978. The date for Part 2 has yet to be announced.
Kingdom Hearts Dark Road will be playable until version 4.4.0 is available for download. An offline version is still slated for September 2021 with version 5.0.0.
The North American PR Twitter account for Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] has tweeted that the first update of the two-part finale will be going live for the global version tonight at midnight PT. (3:00 AM EDT)
This is exceedingly odd, seeing that the Japanese PR Twitter account for Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] has stated that their update will be available on April 30th. There is always a chance that either or both accounts could have accidentally posted erroneous information. Still, we will be finding out if this statement from the global account is true later tonight.
UPDATE: (04/29/2021) The announcement tweet from the English PR account seems to have been posted a day early. The story update should be tomorrow (April 30th) at 15:00 JT for Japan and at midnight PT for Global!.
UPDATE (04/30/2021): Quest 978 "What Comes After" has been updated on both JP and Global! The quest only contains story cutscenes and doesn't have a mission attracted to it. The quest is also available on Proud Mode.
The finale for Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] has almost arrived. The KHUX JP Twitter account have tweeted that part one of the two part finale will be available for Japan players on Friday April 30th at 15:00 JP time (2:00 AM EDT/11:00 PM PDT).
Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] was originally going to shut down for Japan on April 30th, but has been delayed until June 14th as well as having the finale split into two parts. There hasn't been any announcements with the Global version as of yet past the planned May 30th date.
What do you prediction for the two part finale of Union χ[Cross]? Let us know in the comments below?
Previously, the Version 2 of Riku and Sora's Bring Arts figures had release dates planned in Japan for April and May, with Sora being scheduled for May 15th of this year, and Riku scheduled to release in April 17th. Pre-orders were also avaliable.
However, it was confirmed recently that both Sora AND Riku had their release dates delayed. An e-mail from AmiAmi was sent out to one of our staff members confirming the delay.
Sora was delayed from May 15th to July 10th. Riku was delayed from April 17th to May 22nd.
We will keep you updated in the event that this also affects the North American release dates of the figures, as their pre-orders are also up.
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