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Tetsuya Nomura is “confident” about 2018 release, and is not changing his original plans for Kingdom Hearts III

Azario Lopez (@azariosays) from DualShockers had the chance to interview Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura only a few days after he revealed the new Kingdom Hearts III Toy Story trailer at the D23 Expo 2017.
 
Below are some of the highlights of the interview.
Nomura stated that he is confident about releasing Kingdom Hearts III within the given release window. He talked of the planning of the development process, and reiterates why the development of the game had been taking longer than planned.

In fact, as stated previously in a GameSpot interview, there was a decision made by the company to change to an external engine, the Unreal Engine 4. In his interview with DualShockers, he stated that this decision was made after a whole year of development of Kingdom Hearts III. He reiterates that this delay was not due to any problems with the development team, and that he was not part of making the decision to switch engines.

In regards to directing Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake at the same time, Nomura agreed that while it is the biggest challenge, he is not finding it as difficult due to the games being so different from each other.

Nomura admitted to feeling a “little bit of pressure” in managing expectation for Kingdom Hearts III. However, he will not be deviating from his original vision and plans for the game, (“which was ambitious to begin with”) and that there are fewer chances now to make last minute changes and do trial-and-errors.
He cannot comment on the number of worlds in Kingdom Hearts III, but repeats that they will all be most likely revealed leading up to the release.
As with his interview with GameSpot, he also repeats that while nothing is confirmed in regards to DLC in Kingdom Hearts III, he has told the development team to prepare for downloadable content in the future.
He briefly commented on how Keyblade transformation was one of the main transformation assets they focussed on. You can read more about it in this interview he had with Game Informer.
He recapitulated how the development team is allocating more “fun and gameplay” into individual worlds than in previous titles, rather than making many small different worlds.

 
You can read the full interview here.
Aquaberry

Tetsuya Nomura explains why Kingdom Hearts III has taken so long; also says they'll likely reveal all worlds before release

In an interview with GameSpot, Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura explains why Kingdom Hearts III is taking as long as it has to develop and create. Check out the full quote below:
 
 
They also talked with Nomura about the various Disney-themed worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. Check out what he had to say on the subject in the full quote below:
 
 
He was then asked if they were already planning downloadable content for the game. View his response below:
 
 
And further speaking about the worlds, Nomura stated:
 
 
What do you think about this interview with Nomura? We'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to share them in the comments below!
Elfdemon_

Tetsuya Nomura discusses a new mechanic "Athletic Flow", Summons, and Keyblade transformations in Kingdom Hearts III

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura discussed more gameplay details for Kingdom Hearts III. While talking with Game Informer, Nomura discusses the new mechanic introduced in Kingdom Hearts III called Athletic Flow" (Japanese name), where it allows Sora to propel himself using the environment to reach new areas normally inaccessible. This mechanic also allows Sora to run up the cliff during the Rock Titan boss battle in past trailers. In English, this mechanic is known as "Flowchain".
 
You can check out the quote from Tetsuya Nomura below:
 
 
Furthermore, Nomura also discussed summons and how it's more pretty compared to previous games, and how they're expressing summons in Kingdom Hearts III. You can check out the quote below.
 
 
Nomura also confirms that Keyblade transformations are based on what Keyblade you use, and there are 2 different forms that each one can take. However, Keyblade transformations are not finalized yet and they are subject to change.
 
You can check out the quote below:
 
Jake

Tetsuya Nomura discusses a "higher tier of magic" in Kingdom Hearts III

In an interview with IGN, Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura discussed new tiers of magic present in Kingdom Hearts III. When asked about "Blizzaza", an ability first revealed in the Kingdom Hearts III Orchestra trailer, he stated that it is indeed a more powerful version of Blizzaga. This was featured in the latest Kingdom Hearts III D23 2017 - Toy Story trailer, along with other similar higher tier magic abilities such as Firaza and Thundaza.
 
He is quoted below:
 
 
Nomura also talked about the return of Gummi Ships in Kingdom Hearts III. He reiterated what he stated in a previous interview with Game Informer:
 
Aquaberry

Kingdom Hearts clear file set and Chain of Memories keychains available for pre-order; releasing August 12th and September 23rd, 2017

Along with the Kingdom Hearts BOND, AIR, and COMING mugs and bags coming to the Japanese Square Enix E-Store, two Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories keychains featuring Sora and Riku will also be releasing on September 23, 2017. The keychains are priced at 1,944 yen ($17.28 USD) each, and feature the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary logo on the back. You can pre-order and know more about the Sora keychain here, and the Riku keychain here.
 
A clear file set featuring the box cover images of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue are also coming to the E-Store on August 12, 2017, priced at 1,296 yen ($11.52 USD). Each file features the Kingdom Hearts 15th Anniversary logo on the back. You can pre-order and know more about the file set here.
 
You can see pictures of the merchandise below.
 



Aquaberry

Analysis of the Kingdom Hearts III – D23 2017 Toy Story Trailer

July 15th, 2017 was probably one of the biggest days for Kingdom Hearts fans and the Kingdom Hearts community, if not the biggest day, due to the Kingdom Hearts III – D23 2017 Toy Story Trailer revealed in D23 Expo 2017's Level Up! The Walt Disney Company's Video Game Showcase panel held at 1:00 PM PDT.
 
The trailer begins with various clips of gameplay from Olympus Coliseum and Twilight Town with text of the quote "Don't assume your dreams are just fantasy. If you can imagine a world, believe in it...and dive in," which was seen in the Kingdom Hearts III Orchestra Trailer, sliding across the screen. The Kingdom Hearts Orchestra - World Tour - version of Destati is playing. The first clip shows Sora using Flowmotion to slide on a rail in the clouds of Olympus Coliseum. The HUD changes to only three options while he's on the rail: Blaster, Superslide, and Jump. He also has an aiming target while he's on the rail that he uses to target Heartless that appear in the sky. He shoots various blue blasts at the Heartless, which would presumably be the Blaster attack. The Heartless are the Yellow Opera-looking Heartless we've seen in the Jump Festa 2016 trailer. Hercules is in the party, as well as Donald and Goofy.
 



 
The next clip shows Sora using Shotlock to target and lock onto various broken segmented building pieces in the sky. The HUD for the Shotlock displays the options Unleash and Flowchain, which was also shown in the Orchestra trailer. After he locks on to several of them, he quickly dashes and jumps off of each one, which is presumably the Flowchain move. Doing this, he makes his way up to the gates that lead to Olympus where we can see a save point.
 



 
The clip after this shows off Sora fighting Neoshadow Heartless and Dusk Nobodies in the grassy area in front of the Old Mansion in Twilight Town. Sora activates a Situation Command titled "Double Arrowguns" where his clothes change blue (presumably a new Drive Form) and his Keyblade transforms into the gun-type Keyblade transformation we've been seeing in previous Kingdom Hearts III trailers. This Drive Form appears to be tied to the Double Arrowguns Keyblade transformation, just like how the other Drive Forms and Keyblade transformations have been appearing to be. He continues to shoot blasts from the Double Arrowguns at various Neoshadows and Dusks.
 



 
Sora then further transforms his Keyblade using a Situation Command titled "Magic Launcher" where he transforms his Double Arrowguns into the big cannon-type Keyblade transformation we saw in the E3 2015 trailer. He hits the Neoshadows and Dusks with the cannon as well as shoots a massive blast from it that rains down.
 



 
The following clip shows Sora fighting the big Heartless, that was previously revealed in a screenshot, in the city of Thebes in Olympus Coliseum. The city appears to be burning down. Sora hits the giant Heartless with various attacks and magic, even knocking it down, but strangely, it doesn't take any damage. The Situation Commands Counter Shield and Firaza appear. This clip ends with the Heartless using its weapon to smash down, knocking Sora away.
 



 
The quote "Don't assume your dreams are just fantasy. If you can imagine a world, believe in it...and dive in" then comes together the middle of the screen and transitions smoothly by disappearing towards the screen. That concludes the beginning segment of the trailer. This segment was also uploaded to YouTube by the official Kingdom Hearts channel without the quote played over the clips, so you can see the gameplay in all it's glory.
 



 
It then transitions to the first person perspective of Sora walking out from under the bed in Andy's room in the Toy Story world and looking up at everything. Sora wonders where they are and realizes Donald, Goofy, and him are way smaller than normal and their appearances have changed. They now have the appearance of plastic blocky action figures with several joints. Donald explains it's to protect the world order. If you recall, in previous Kingdom Hearts games, Donald would use his magic to change the appearance of Sora, Goofy, and himself in some worlds to make them fit in better and to not disturb the world order. Donald and Goofy appear to have new outfits as well as being toy figures. It's unknown whether these are new outfits in general or are just new outfits specifically for their toy forms. The music changes to the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX version of Working Together.
 



 
They then spot some Heartless, summon their weapons, and run after them. The Heartless are new and appear to have goggles, jetpacks, and blasters. Also, the Keyblade Sora summons has a new Keychain equipped. It's changed the Keyblade's appearance to look like a cactus with a cowboy hat and bandanna on it, as well as a lasso wrapped around it and a sheriff badge for the teeth of the blade, obviously to represent Woody. The hilt has a Buzz Lightyear theme to it with little wings. The actual Keychain itself is a tiny one of the green aliens, connected to the Keyblade with a claw in reference to the claw machine the green aliens come from in Pizza Planet. It then changes to gameplay of Sora, Donald, and Goofy battling these Heartless. He uses Flowmotion to grind on the trail left behind by his Blizzard spell and performs a slamming attack which appears to be a new version of Shock Dive. The Situation Commands "Hyper Hammer" and "Blizzaza" appear.
 



 
It then transitions back to a cutscene where Sora, Donald, and Goofy hear a voice and turn around. Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, and Rex walk out and ask if they're Andy's new toys. They discuss the Heartless and that they had materialized after their friends had vanished. The toy soldiers and the green aliens from Toy Story can be seen in the cutscene now as well. Buzz explained that after Andy and the others went missing, the intruders didn't come alone. They arrived with a guy wearing a hood, and dressed in black, just like Sora is. Sora, Donald, and Goofy conclude that he must be talking about Organization XIII. Sora says he has a hunch on what's causing this, and asks them if it'd be alright if they handled it. Woody refuses and says he and the other toys need to help to because since it's their friends that are missing, it's their problem as well. He says they gotta work together and him and Sora proceed to shake hands. Sora asks where they can find them, then Woody asks Sarge about it. Sarge says that the latest recon reports place him in Galaxy Toys. He then points up at a poster on Andy's bulletin board for Galaxy Toys. It appears to be a toy store in town.
 



 



 
Woody tells Sora and the gang to follow him out the window and onto the roof. It transitions to gameplay once more. Sora's running on the roof of Andy's house. Donald, Goofy, Woody, and Buzz are all in the party at once. The Yellow Opera-looking Heartless are shown again as well as the similar-looking pink Heartless that was also shown off in the Jump Festa 2016 trailer. Sora jumps off the roof and spreads out his arms and legs and glides down and slams to the ground. This is the same thing we saw him do in Olympus Coliseum in the Orchestra trailer. Large Bodies and the aforementioned new Heartless seen in Andy's room are on the driveway and front lawn of Andy's house. Sora then activates the Situation Command "Hyper Hammer" where his clothes change red (presumably the Power Form Drive Form we saw in a screenshot that was released a while back, but in his Toy Story form) and the Toy Story Keyblade then transforms into a big hammer that Sora uses to smash the ground and enemies with. This hammer was also seen in that previously seen screenshot, but it was blurred out in order to not spoil the Toy Story world announcement. He also casts a Fire spell that acts differently while he's using the Hyper Hammer. It acts as more of an AOE instead of the regular Fire spell that aims for one target. The Situation Commands "Firaza" and "Drill Punch" appear. Then, Sora uses the hammer to smash the ground with much more impact than the previous smashes. You can also get a glimpse of a pink trampoline next to the house that could maybe allow you to easily bounce back up to the roof of the house.
 



 



 
Next, Sora activates the Situation Command "Drill Punch". The Hyper Hammer transforms into a big drill that Sora uses to hit enemies with and dig into the ground with. He slams the drill into the ground and various other drills pop up out of the ground after. Then, he casts a Wind spell, and after, does a spinning dash through the air with the drill. The Drill Punch transforms into a claw attacked to a long glowing rope that Sora uses to grab a large body and swing and slam around.
 



 



 
The trailer changes to gameplay of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Woody, and Buzz inside of Galaxy Toys running towards various mechs called Gigas and the aforementioned new Heartless. The song changes to the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra - World Tour - version of Wave of Darkness. They begin battling the Gigas and Heartless and the Situation Command "Thundaza" appears.
 



 
Sora enters the cockpit of one of the Gigas and begins controlling it. The red one specifically. The HUD changes and now has the options: Tackle, Blaster, Punch, Booster, Danger Dash, and Eject. There's also transparent dials and radars around the screen to give the illusion of being in a mech suit. Sora uses the mech to shoot blasts at, punch, and ram into other Gigas and Heartless. He then jumps out and dashes towards another mech. The Situation Command "Ride" appears and Sora jumps into one of the other Gigas' cockpit. Instead of Tackle, this mech, the blue one, appears to have the command Exploder. It jumps up and uses that command and several blasts shoot out and fall to the ground. Sora jumps out of that mech glides down and slams into the ground and into a mech. He, again, gets into the cockpit of another mech. The purple on. And instead of Tackle or Exploder, this mech has the command called Cannon. It then uses Cannon and shoots two big blasts out of cannons on its shoulders. During this battle, you can see one of the toy display stands get destroyed and tumble down when Sora shoots some blasts at it, confirming destructible environments in the game.
 



 
Lastly, it transitions back into a cutscene. Young Xehanort is shown speaking to Sora. He explains how one heart's shadows fills the emptiness of another, and that like Heartless and Nobodies, they fit together. It's unknown what or who Young Xehanort is referring to. Sora dismisses what Young Xehanort said and asked why he's doing this. Young Xehanort then explains that there's a darkness they're missing and they must reclaim it, and that the way hearts connect in that world could provide a clue.
 



 
The Kingdom Hearts III logo appears on screen, and fades away, and "Coming 2018" appears, confirming the game to be releasing in 2018.
 



 
Speaking completely subjectively, I felt like this was definitely the best Kingdom Hearts III trailer yet. I felt like it was the first time we saw a trailer and everything looks complete and finished with pretty much zero issues with graphics or animation or anything. Also, the Toy Story world and character models look pretty much on-par with the CGI of the Toy Story films. The only difference is slightly less detailed lighting, but it's at the point where you don't notice any differences from the game and the movie without directly comparing them. The gameplay also looks very flashy and fun. I'm still not sure how I feel about Drive Forms being tied to the Keyblade Transformations, but there's no knowing how it'll truly and truly play like be until the game releases. Overall, a very solid trailer, and a very solid release year as well. I personally believe just revealing a year like they did, instead of a complete release date, was the best decision, so they don't feel rushed to complete the game in a specific amount of time and possibly end up delaying the game.
 
What was your favorite part of the trailer? Did you notice anything we missed in our analysis? Let us know in the comments below!
Elfdemon_

Tetsuya Nomura discusses the Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura recently spoke with the Game Informer staff following the D23 Expo 2017. While discussing the Gummi Ship in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura also discussed various different aspects about the new Toy Story world that had been revealed for the game. He explained more details on the world and what he hopes to achieve with it.
 
Nomura called the movie Toy Story "iconic" as it has made a strong mark on the world of CG. He says that he's longed for Toy Story to be in the Kingdom Hearts series ever since Kingdom Hearts II, and that he feels Sora coming face to face with Buzz and Woody in his toy form is something he's excited for and have always imagined in his head. You can check out a quote by Nomura below:
 
 
He also stated that Toy Story's inclusion process was different than other Kingdom Hearts worlds. Most of the time, the world follows the plot of the movie it's based off of, and Sora and company are pitted right into that adventure. But, Pixar requested that they wanted the Toy Story world for Kingdom Hearts III to have an entirely new story that's not based off of any existing film. View a quote by Nomura below:
 
 
Nomura also noted that his team and him considered all the movies in the Toy Story series and decided that the plot of the Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts III will take place some time after Toy Story 2. He also mentioned that he worked very close with Pixar to get their approval on the new story and that there were many rounds of review. Check out a quote by Nomura below:
 
 
What you can expect from the new Galaxy Toys location was explained by Nomura as well. He says Galaxy Toys will be the primary stage of the Toy Story world where a lot of the action will take place. Nomura also mentions that there'll be multiple floors and each section will have its own personality. He says the narrative in this world is searching for Andy, who's gone missing, and finding out what Organization XIII is doing in the world. A quote by Nomura can be viewed below:
 
 
Nomura was hesitant on saying how many hours it would take to complete this world, because your time can vary depending on how you navigate it. It was also mentioned by Nomura that instead of there being many smaller worlds, they are allocating a lot of their resources into making rich gameplay in individual worlds so the player doesn't just breeze through it. He also used the example of the Gigas mechs shown in the trailer to show how the team is putting fun extra things into the worlds. Check out the quote below:
 
 
After seeing Nomura perk up while discussing the mechs, the Game Informer interviewer asked what inspired them. He replied saying that he wanted to show that nothing's impossible now with the new hardware specs. They couldn't have Sora riding different things before, but now they can. He ended it off by saying that they will be releasing more info as it becomes available. View the full Nomura quote below:
 
Elfdemon_

Tetsuya Nomura discusses the Gummi Ship in Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura talked with the Game Informer staff about Kingdom Hearts III. Specifically, they had asked him about the inclusion of the Gummi Ship in the game. He says it'll be in the game but he cannot yet reveal how it is or what's become of it.
 
You can check out the full quote below:
 
 
Nomura also expressed that the Kingdom Hearts team tries to pay attention to what's received well by fans and that they always want to try something new and always try to tweak old mechanics for Kingdom Hearts III. You can check out the full quote for this below:
 
 
UPDATE: During an interview with IGN, Tetsuya Nomura reiterated what he stated in this Game Informer interview about the Gummi Ship in Kingdom Hearts III. View the full quote below:
 
Elfdemon_

Tetsuya Nomura hints that another playable character besides Sora will be available in Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura recently spoke with the IGN staff about Kingdom Hearts III at D23 Expo 2017. While discussing the possibility of Kingdom Hearts III on Nintendo Switch and the rest of the series to go on Xbox, Nomura also discussed if there will be more playable characters in the future. Nomura says that it would be tough to introduce many playable characters, but he intends to have another playable character aside from Sora.
 
You can check out the full quote below.
 
 
Furthermore, Nomura discusses the reasoning behind multiple party members at once, confirming that this will be the replacement of D-Link from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. You can check out the quote below.
 
Jake

Tetsuya Nomura says a Nintendo Switch version of Kingdom Hearts III is possible after the PS4 and Xbox One versions

Following the announcements made at D23 2017, including a new Toy Story world and a new, lengthy trailer for Kingdom Hearts III, series director Tetsuya Nomura talked with the staff of IGN. In speaking with IGN, Tetsuya Nomura claims that their main focus is releasing the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Kingdom Hearts III, but that they will consider releasing Kingdom Hearts III for the Nintendo Switch. You can read Nomura's full quote below:
 
 
Nomura also talked about possibly releasing Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX on the Xbox One, saying that it is in consideration but that there might not be enough interest besides with the Western audience.
 
 
Would you like to see Kingdom Hearts III on the switch, or Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX on Xbox One? Let us know in the comments!
Toominator

Kingdom Hearts BOND, AIR, and COMING mugs and bags are available for pre-order; releasing September 23, 2017

Kingdom Hearts mugs and bags are now available to pre-order through the Japanese Square Enix E-Store. They will be releasing on September 23, 2017.
 
The artwork on them, titled "BOND", "AIR", and "COMING" was first used for special acrylic stands that were originally pre-order bonuses for whoever in Japan pre-ordered a physical copy of Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and were later made available for the public to purchase on the Square Enix E-Store.
 
Now, this artwork is being featured on three different mugs and three different bags. You can pre-order the BOND mug here, the AIR mug here, and the COMING mug here. You can also pre-order the BOND bag here, the AIR bag here, and the COMING bag here.
 
You can view photos of the mugs and bags in the gallery below:
 



Elfdemon_

New Kingdom Hearts III BRING ARTS action figures of Toy Story Sora, Donald, and Goofy announced

Square Enix Merchandise have announced three brand new Kingdom Hearts III BRING ARTS action figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The figures are of the trio as as their toy versions from the newly announced world of Toy Story. You can view the renders below. Pictures of the actual figures have not been published yet.
 



 
A release date is yet to be announced.
 
Toy Story was just announced as a brand new world in Kingdom Hearts III, which is set to release in 2018. You can watch the Kingdom Hearts III - D23 2017 Toy Story trailer here.
Aquaberry

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