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Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] planned to launch on July 18

Square Enix have announced that Kingdom Hearts χ[chi], the online social browser game in the Kingdom Hearts series, is planned to launch on July 18 after its website undergoes some scheduled maintenance. Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] has been in a open beta test period since July 8, and this was originally planned to last until August 1-- however, Square Enix have decided to launch the game early.
Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] official website
Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] discussion forum
This announcement has also included some details about the final version of the game. Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] will be free-to-play, but will include a paid service called "Charge Munny", where people can buy points to spend on in-game items. Items that you can buy include a rare card called 'Raise Draw', Megapotions, and Megalixers. You can also find Kupo Nuts in treasure chests on the field, and trade these in for rare assist cards.
Other updates will be announced at launch. Until the launch, you can still keep playing the open beta test, and your data will be carried over when the game launches-- so keep playing, and have fun! Square Enix thanks everyone for the help so far. When the game launches, there will be new maps and new worlds, with new characters, quests and raid bosses. Stay tuned for more details about Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]. Thanks go to staff translator goldpanner for translating these details for us.
DChiuch

Nomura talks Kingdom Hearts III with RPG Site

RPG Site have published an interview with the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Tetsuya Nomura. Here, Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts III, revealing new details such as the reasoning behind creating so many spin-off titles. Thanks to RPG Site, we have quoted the Kingdom Hearts-related questions from the interview below. For the full interview, check it out on RPG Site.
RPG Site: It must be an interesting time for you right now - in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 you're revisiting a major milestone in your career, while building two new ones in Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III. When you look back at your older titles, such as KH1 or FF7 and 8, what do you see? Do you see changes you would like to make, or do you release your creations once complete? Tetsuya Nomura: Well, as a creator I always create something new - I keep challenging myself to create something new. Looking back on my old games and everything I was involved in, I often think to myself 'I could have done this' or 'I could have added that,' and stuff like that. It's part of the process.
Right now, though, for Kingdom Hearts specifically - the original game was released more than ten years ago now, but looking back, the original Kingdom Hearts Final Mix... I don't feel like I should add this or that, or any more. Back then, it was perfect as it is.
Even though I've played this HD version of the game knowing its age, I don't feel that it's very old when I play it. I can still feel the passion I had back then in this original game - so, yeah. If we remake a game, maybe we then go and think about adding new elements and sequences and stuff like that, or making large changes - but I think a HD remaster, with the visual upgrade, is the right thing for this particular game.
RPG Site: After the E3 announcement and showing, a lot of people online are defining FF15 as having Kingdom Hearts style combat. When 15 was Versus, I always figured it as an experiment - that your team would then go on to KH3 after completing that - but now Osaka is on KH3, which also looks to have that signature gameplay style. Does that concern you - that the two games could end up too similar in gameplay?
Nomura: Okay, so... [pauses] Two games. Both directed by myself. [laughs] However, both games are developed by two completely different teams. The two of them - they don't fight, but they compete - in a friendly way - and they try to create better things together. Both sides are, of course, developed for next-gen consoles as well.
KH3 and FF15 share some base action RPG gameplay mechanics, it's clear, but Nomura seems unphased. There's a difference between the two, of course; Final Fantasy XV is a numbered title - the big history behind Final Fantasy, the task they have on their shoulders is huge, because it's the latest Final Fantasy game and has to live up to that history.
For the Kingdom Hearts team there is less history, but there are thousands of people around the world who are so passionate about the Kingdom Hearts series and have been for years - and this of course is the first announced numbered Kingdom Hearts title in many years, as well. People's hopes and expectations are very, very high there, as well - so that is on their shoulders as well.
So, the two teams have different kinds of tasks, different kinds of missions they have to complete and accomplish. That's the most important thing for both teams.
From the user's point of view, I don't think they worry about these things, or think 'which is better?' or anything like that - both teams look in a different direction. The most important thing for me is that they focus on the tasks - the missions - that each team has.
RPG Site: It's appears it's all about sequels and spin-offs now. There were many Kingdom Hearts titles between II and III, while on the FF side we have sequels - X-2, XIII-2, Lighting Returns - and you've already announced FF15 will have sequels. How does planning for multiple titles at a time instead of just one effect you as a creator?
Nomura: To start, the reason why we have had so many Kingdom Hearts spin-off games... well, look - it's above your imagination, seriously, believe it or not - creating a HD game is unbelievably difficult. [laughs]
People think it's easy - even a HD remake like 1.5, they think 'Ah, easy job' - but it actually isn't like that at all. Everything is difficult in the process, even with a HD remaster of a game. For 1.5 for instance, when we decided to make it, we had to decide where we were going to concentrate because it was so difficult, there was so much work involved.
We'll likely spend the better part of the console generation with FF15's core cast via sequels. The main reason why we had so many spin-offs for Kingdom Hearts is because we couldn't start preparing for Kingdom Hearts III for a while - for a long time - because... well, because of some reasons, basically. However, if we didn't release any Kingdom Hearts games after the second at all, people might forget about the game, might forget about the series.
Obviously, I didn't want to do that - that's why we decided to make a spin-off game until the preparation for Kingdom Hearts III was ready to do.
So, in a way, because of this, if there were no spin-off games, there was no Kingdom Hearts III. It was kind of needed to have all those spin-offs - a lot of spin-offs - because the time was quite long before the Kingdom Hearts III preparation started.
With Final Fantasy, each game has a different reason why we decided to do sequels and stuff - for Final Fantasy X, for XIII... Of course, with Final Fantasy XV, we announced at E3 that there will - probably - be a sequel to this game, as well.
There's a lot of different reasons, and they all depend on the game and the situation as well. Of course with FFXV I wanted to release the previous version of the game constantly - but it was very, very difficult to do so.
Now we have re-revealed the game, I'm excited to bring more information in the future.
DChiuch

Giving away a free pre-order for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX!

Hey everyone. KH13.com will be running a competition to give away a free pre-order for the English version of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX! Entering the competition is simple. In order to enter the competition, you must make posts on our forum. The more you post, the better the chance you have of winning! Here's the exact procedure:

1. At the end of each day, everyone in the top 10 of the the list of the day's top posters will receive 1 entry in the competition.
2. You can receive many entries in the competition! If you're on the top posters list on multiple days, then you will receive multiple entries in the competition. We'll keep a detailed list of entries here. Remember, the more days you appear on the list, the higher your chance of winning! Also, please be aware that the Roleplaying, Forum Games and Random forums are not included, and that we will disqualify anyone who makes "spammy" posts.
3. Around two weeks from now, on Wednesday the 31st of July, 2013 (at 12PM EST time), we'll pick a random winner from the list of entries and contact them. Good luck!
DChiuch

2nd pre-order bonus for HD 1.5 ReMIX announced-- custom PS3 theme

Square Enix NA have uploaded an image to their press website announcing a second pre-order bonus for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. In addition to the 24-page artbook, people who pre-order HD 1.5 ReMIX will receive a limited-edition dynamic theme for their PlayStation 3. This features various Disney worlds and characters "brought to life". The image describing the bonus can be seen below.

DChiuch

New English HD 1.5 ReMIX trailer released

A new trailer for the English version Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX has been released. It is titled "Introduction to Kingdom Hearts". It shows various cutscenes and gameplay from all three games. You can view it below.

You can also watch it in our trailer archive for the HD Collection along with other trailers and promotional videos.
Sora96

New Kingdom Hearts X[chi] screenshots released

Famitsu.com have posted an article about the Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] open beta test, and this article contains new screenshots and information about the browser game. You can view the screenshots below, in our gallery, and below this, the information translated by goldpanner.
Kingdom Hearts χ (KEY) OPEN BETA TEST
Campaign to Commemorate the Start of the Open Beta Test Under-way Presenting the series’ first online PC browser game, Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] (Key), to be provided through Yahoo! Games. Playing as yourself, adventure through various Disney worlds as on your web browser. Advance through strategic battles using cards available in-game and occasionally work together with friends to face off against enemies, experience a new gameplay sensation never before seen in the Kingdom Hearts series. With loads of collectible items to obtain during your adventures, this title is sure to be enjoyed for a long time.
Here are some excerpts from the release.
[STORY]
Far, far away, in a fairy-tale realm…
The realm was filled with light.
That light gave birth to many worlds, enveloping them.
The source of the light, Kingdom Hearts, and the key that protected it, the χblade…
As long as they existed, it was believed that the realm would be in eternal light.
However, just as strong light will form a shadow, darkness was born.
The darkness called up fear, unease and craving.
Darkness, hidden deep in hearts, began to spread throughout the realm as chaos.
In order to drive back the spreading darkness, those who wished for light created Keyblades in imitation of the χblade, and embarked on adventures that spanned the realm.
[CHARACTERS]
◆ The Foreteller
A mysterious figure who bears a Keyblade. They explain the missions of the Keyblade Wielders to everyone, and guide the way to the battles between light and darkness. They seem concerned about the rising power of darkness, but their true motives and goals are unknown. It is known that there are five ‘mysterious figures’, each the head of a separate Union.
◆ Chirishii
A person who works for the ‘mysterious figure’. The ‘mysterious figure’ has entrusted them to guide Keyblade Wielders. For someone with such a modest way of speaking, they sure do push a lot of directions at you. If you don’t understand something, maybe you can count on them…
◆ Moogle
The shopkeeper at the Moogle Shop. While he looks cute, he’s cunning when it comes to trading the cards you’ve picked up. It seems he’s simply in the card business and has no connection to the ‘mysterious figure’ or to Chirishii.
About the Open Beta Test
➙Start Time: 8 July 2013 (Mon) 15:00~
※A Yahoo! JAPAN ID is necessary to participate.
➙Join up here! (link)
※Those who participated in the Closed Beta Test and answered the questionnaire will receive the following special bonus items:
- Ether x 5 (allows recovery of power necessary when fighting bosses)
- Potion x 5 (allows recovery of action power)
- Munny: 10,000 Munny (can be used to synthesise cards etc in-game)
- Card Draw Points: 2,000 Points (points that allow cards to be switched in-game)
➙Changes and improvements on the Closed Beta Test:
[ABOUT THE STORY]
As we have introduced an opening movie and a tutorial, you will be able to enjoy the setting of the world even more this time. We have also included Story Quests. Please talk to the Disney Characters and enjoy.
[ABOUT RAID BOSSES]
In the Closed Beta Test, there were instances of strong characters monopolising and defeating Raid Bosses, so now the strength of Raid Bosses adjusts depending on the strength of the team overall.
[ABOUT TEAM MATCHING]
We have adjusted the matching so that members of teams will be as close as possible in strength.
[ABOUT THE CHAT FUNCTION]
In response to the many requests we have implemented a chat function. You may use it to share tasks among your team and party.
[ABOUT AVATARS]
The number of wearable avatars available at the starting point are fixed, but from now on we plan to release quests and limited-time events where avatar items can be added.
Even THAT popular character?! Please look forward to the upcoming event.
[OTHER IMPROVEMENTS]
We have remade each menu and rearranged the buttons in order to make things easier to use.
Campaigns Celebrating Commencing!
◆Guaranteed Limited Edition R+ Card!
[CAMPAIGN TIME]
8th July 2013 (Mon) ~ 1st August 2013 (Thurs), until beginning of maintenance
[CAMPAIGN CONTENTS]
For the duration of the campaign, members who’s avatars reach level 20 will be gifted a ‘Sora Brave F Ver.’, a limited time only R+ Card.
[HOW TO RECEIVE THE GIFT]
Once your avatar reaches level 20, it will be sent to your Present Box.
[IMPORTANT NOTICE]
One gift item will be sent once to one account.
◆Log-in Bonus Campaign!
Log in between the 8th and 18th of July to receive a Golden Ticket every day! Golden Tickets give you the chance to draw rare cards! Make sure to log in every day and get those tickets!
◆To those who have bonus serial codes from Kingdom Hearts -1.5 ReMIX-
[BONUS INCLUDED WITH FIRST-RUN EDITIONS]
Handy Kit for Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
[1] Card: Sora (R+)(For use during battles in-game)
[2] 20,000 Munny (For use synthesising cards in-game)
[3] 4,000 Card Draw Points (Points that enable you to exchange cards in-game)
[e-STORE PURCHASE BONUS]
Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
[1] Card: Riku (R+) (For use during battles in-game)
[2] Potion x10 (Allows recovery of ATP)
[3] Ether x10 (Allows recovery of power necessary during boss battles)
Sora96

Tetsuya Nomura interview with KHDestiny & KHisland

Earlier, at Japan Expo 2013, KHDestiny and KHisland had the opportunity to interview Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series. KHInsider have translated this interview from French to English, and thanks to all three of these communities, you can read the interview below, where Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, and hints at a future HD collection. Enjoy!
• We are very happy to meet you and we want to thank you for this interview. Nomura : The pleasure is mine.
• Last year, you were not able to attend Japan Expo and instead drew up an exclusive promotional image for Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] for the French fans. Tomorrow you'll be on stage to talk about Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. I think many fans will be delighted to see you in France! How do you feel about the conference tomorrow?
Nomura : At the moment we can not reveal tomorrow's presentation in detail, but I think what you'll see will be very exciting. Yesterday I was in the audience at the Final Fantasy conference and it was really busy. So I was a little nervous, imagining that so many people at the Kingdom Hearts conference tomorrow.
• Ten years after his first adventure, Sora is back in HD on PlayStation 3. How do you feel seeing Kingdom Hearts, the first game of the series, appearing in high definition?
Nomura : When we first announced the HD remaster, the audience thought it was simply an update of the game, but it's not so easy to create a game in HD. Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 REMIX- took several years to rebuild the game so it's not an easy task. When I saw the final product, I really thought it was beautiful, much more than what I expected, so I'm very proud of this HD version. Even if the original game was released more than 10 years ago, the end result gives the impression that this is a new game that players will genuinely enjoy. I'm sure they will not believe it is a 10 year old game. This is why we decided to create this remaster, but also to pay tribute to the team that accompanied me during the development of the first Kingdom Hearts, comprised of talented and clever people. I can still feel their passion and I am very proud.
• Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories are finally arriving in Europe. Regarding Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, did you intend from the beginning to offer these two new games to Western audiences?
Nomura : As you said, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was released in Japan, and Re: CoM in the U.S. but not in Europe. But the last 10 years I've been thinking about how to make these new games available in other regions. Of course, the Kingdom Hearts series has many fans outside of Japan, so we took the opportunity to offer players the Western Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Re: CoM. Since the first Kingdom Hearts was released over 10 years ago, this means that some fans have never played the original version. So it was a great opportunity to allow all players to play the same version of the game and take the story in its infancy.
• We know that you would have liked Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days to be completely remade, as was CoM with Re:CoM. In the end, the game is told in the form of videos. Was it your goal to increase the intensity of the story through expressions with more detailed characters?
Nomura : The Kingdom Hearts license has already existed for 10 years, and my goal with this remaster was to allow all players to better understand the history of the series and how the games are linked together, which is the reason we added the plot of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. I really wanted to offer a playable version of this game but we announced the development of Kingdom Hearts III last month at E3, and it became our priority at the moment. Instead, we opted for a narrated version of the story of 358/2 Days.
• Kingdom Hearts HD is a link between the previous Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts III. Do you plan to expand the work to include HD remasters of other titles within the Kingdom Hearts series, such as Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts II and Re:coded, seen in the credits of Kingdom Hearts HD?
Nomura : Of course, we will spend some time working on them before the release of Kingdom Hearts III. Unfortunately, there is nothing more I can say on the subject at this time.
• The Cloud Service system of the PlayStation 4 will allow players to experience titles originally released on PlayStation 1, 2 and 3. Are there any plans to utilize this system to allow owners of the PS4 to play Kingdom Hearts HD?
Nomura : We did not even think about the issue because our priority at the moment is the development of Kingdom Hearts III. Additionally, we are working on the next Kingdom Hearts HD remaster, which is our second priority. We have nothing planned about it for now.
• You created the surprise by announcing Kingdom Hearts III at E3. Concealed in the credits of Kingdom Hearts 3D, there was a message that read - "This leads to Kingdom Hearts" with the figure III formed by Sora and Riku - was this intentional to create a teaser for KH3?
Nomura : Of course, it was our goal! (Laughs)
• You said that the announcement of Kingdom Hearts III was necessary but may be premature. How far along is the game development on this title?
Nomura : This is the first next-gen game developed in our studios in recent years by the team in Osaka who have been working on titles for portable consoles. This is a whole new experience for this team working on next-gen consoles and it takes some time to master. However, with that said, it's not as if we just started development.
But contrary to what you can imagine, we have no playable build of the game at the moment because it will take some time to test all the new features that will be in Kingdom Hearts III. Again, the team so far has worked on titles on portable console with limited capacity, but they already have many interesting ideas for Kingdom Hearts III, and it is difficult to test each of these elements to determine which will ultimately be retained. So for now, we are more in a test phase.
• The press release for Kingdom Hearts III unveiled by Square Enix discusses the search for the "Key to Return Hearts." Is there anything you can tell us about that?
Nomura : There are two possible meanings of the "key." One of which is the “hardware” key, which opens doors - this is what keys are in general (laughs), and the other is the “light” key, that opens something else. In this case, it is currently unknown as to which type of key Sora must find. This is the main storyline of Kingdom Hearts III - Sora must go on an adventure to find the "key" without knowing what or where it is. But as you know, we can’t really say anything else on the subject (laughs).
• In the trailer for Kingdom Hearts III, we saw an EX gauge. What can you tell us about it? Is it a final element of gameplay or just an early concept?
Nomura : The gameplay seen in the E3 trailer has not been finalized. As I said earlier, we are in the testing phase and this version of gameplay was one of the features being tested at that time. What you have seen in the Kingdom Hearts III trailer was a more successful version of a test version. but the final elements of gameplay depended on the "Kingdom Shader" greatly change the game according to the environment in which progresses the characters. You will see the differences in each world, it will be really interesting.
• In Kingdom Hearts 3D, Sora does not become a Keyblade Master. Because Sora is one of your favorite characters, was it difficult for you to put him in this position or choice due to Kingdom Hearts III? And with Kairi, will she and Sora ever achieve the Mark of Mastery?
Nomura : I thought a lot about whether Sora was to become Keyblade Master or not. But because I always wanted Sora to relate to the players, if he became Master, it would have meant he would have really reached a very high level and it is not yet ready for it, and we do not want that to happen. The decision to not make Sora a Keyblade Master was not really difficult, but I thought it was better that he remains an ordinary boy to be closer to the players.
About Kairi, we really considered the question but we can not say anything about it yet. During the summit announcement at E3, we did not mention Kairi at all. We will share information when we are ready, so please be patient during the wait (laughs). And of course, there is the matter of the other Keyblade Bearer at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3D. Unfortunately we are not allowed to disclose the details of this character presently.
• Currently, Sora and Riku have developed many skills. In every Kingdom Hearts title, you have always managed to explain why the main characters like Sora are starting from scratch in terms of their skills. Do you have an idea for why this would occur in Kingdom Hearts III?
Nomura : As I said, we are currently doing a lot of testing on Kingdom Hearts III. There are many amazing things that you still have not seen, as the actions that the main characters will perform. It will be really exciting and impressive. As you know, we have developed many new features in Kingdom Hearts 3D with very fast movements. It was sort of what we were hoping for Kingdom Hearts III, and with that you could say Dream Drop Distance was a test for this game. The gameplay of Kingdom Hearts III will be an improved version of the Kingdom Hearts 3D. This is truly amazing and never seen in any existing action game.
• What is the creative process in choosing worlds for Kingdom Hearts? Do you start development with some worlds already in mind, or are there guidelines to follow for consistency with the previous games, or possibly requests from Disney?
Nomura : Several factors come into play. First off, Disney will sometimes offer us ideas of worlds to integrate, and then there are the worlds that I really want to include personally in Kingdom Hearts III. I also think of the worlds of the previous games in order to maintain consistency in the story. My team will not hesitate to provide suggestions for their own ideas. After deciding what worlds will be present, we start planning the conduct of the story in these worlds but also to make them interesting and fun for the players.
• In selecting worlds, are you interested only in Disney movies that have already been released or do you also consider future productions, such as "Frozen"?
Nomura : Of course, it is possible to include the worlds from future Disney productions. We currently have some ideas for the worlds of Kingdom Hearts III that we cannot speak about. Until the game’s release, new Disney productions will continue to emerge and we'll see in time with Disney for the possible integration of these films.
• The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One offers interesting features such as voice recognition, motion detection or the use of touch with the PSVita and Xbox SmartGlass. Do you plan to exploit these opportunities for your games? What is your opinion on these technologies?
Nomura : We would like to incorporate these features in Kingdom Hearts III. The one that we find most interesting is the voice recognition. I think it would be great to be able to control Donald and Goofy through voice command to tell them what to do. Wouldn’t that be nice? (Laughs).
• Has the collaboration with Disney evolved over the last ten years? We recently saw John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive, at the Future of Final Fantasy conference held by Square Enix at E3, and Kingdom Hearts III will be present at D23 Expo Japan. Disney seems to be well involved in the development process of the Kingdom Hearts series.
Nomura : Regarding D23 Expo Japan, this is the first time that Disney holds such an event outside the U.S., so it is a great honor for us to be invited. I’m very happy that we have the opportunity to hold a special conference for Kingdom Hearts. I really want to make a surprise announcement for this event but it is currently under discussion, so we’ll see (laughs). Since we announced Kingdom Hearts III at E3, we cannot make another announcement for the same game. Instead we will announce something else, which you will see soon enough.
I'm very shy; I do not like being on stage in front of lots of people and will usually say “no” to this kind of opportunity. But for this event, which promises to be important, I am very honored to be on stage. Concerning the Japan Expo, I do not have a habit to speak to the fans, even in Japan. I've never done before, so this will be the first time in Europe that I will deal with European fans. And it will be my first time addressing the Japanese fans at D23.
• When the first Kingdom Hearts was released, we did not know that the series would continue over the years to reach its tenth birthday. The story chronicles the Seeker of Darkness has it developed progressively games, or did you have in mind an idea of the overall story of this saga from the beginning?
Nomura : When I created the first Kingdom Hearts, I did not have a clear vision of the history of the Seeker of Darkness, but I was already thinking of the Kingdom Hearts II and Chain of Memories. I knew at that time that there were two additional games after the first Kingdom Hearts. Later, when I finished Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, I had other plans: Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days and coded. This is kind of what happened in the history of the series: I did not have a clear idea of the whole story from the beginning, but it is built over time.
About the history of the Seeker of Darkness, I knew long ago that it would end in Kingdom Hearts III, and also, I've always wanted so Kingdom Hearts III on a console. The reason for the announcement of this title took us so long, is that some things that we wanted to add in the game asked us some time to think before making a decision. More details will be announced shortly.
• In Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, we have the pleasure of discovering re-orchestrated versions of original music. What motivated this choice?
Nomura : This is not something I asked for, but rather a request from the musical team and Yoko Shimomura. Since the graphics have been improved in high definition, the musical team wondered, "Why don’t we also make an improved version of the music?"
• Do you have a final message for the fans?
Nomura : First, I really want to apologize to European fans not being able to offer them Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories for so long. I'm really sorry about that. Also for Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, there are new scenes connecting with the rest of the story, so again, I apologize to European and American fans. My apologies also cover additional battles found within Final Mix, including the fight against the unknown black coat you have not benefited. I'm sure you're wondering why you have not had the opportunity to enjoy this version, I'm really sorry again.
But this time, the visual aspect is reworked, the graphics are high definition, and the soundtrack was re-orchestrated. As I said at the beginning of this interview, it's a game out there for over 10 years and yet we do not feel like it’s been that long. I'm sure fans of the series and new players who have never played the first game, Kingdom Hearts, will enjoy this HD 1.5 ReMIX. And most importantly, before the release of Kingdom Hearts III, I wanted all players to be able to enjoy the story of Kingdom Hearts as a whole. This really is the purpose of this remaster and I really hope the fans will enjoy playing.
Sora96

Tetsuya Nomura interview with Finaland & FFDream

Earlier, at Japan Expo 2013, Finaland and Final Fantasy Dream were invited by Square Enix to an exclusive interview with Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series. Here, Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. Thanks to them, you can read their interview below.
Finaland & FFDream : Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX includes Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, which was released exclusively in Japan. How then will the new cutscenes be localized for the Western version? Will it be dubbed in French? Tetsuya Nomura : Unfortunately we didn't have any opportunity to put the french voice over in this 1.5 version so it’s going to be french subtitles only.
Finaland & FFDream : How did you come to split the development team into two teams? How far are you involved in the development of Kingdom Hearts III?
Tetsuya Nomura : For this HD version of Kingdom Hearts 1.5, the main programmers never actually worked in the Kingdom Hearts series before and they did all the remastering, all the processing, all the actual work by themselves and for Kingdom Hearts III the other staff is doing all the testing, deciding which kind of elements we want to put in the game and everything.
So there’s one team doing HD 1.5 and another one doing KH3, that’s how we’ve been working for the last couple years.
Regarding my personal involvement in Kingdom Hearts III, I always have been heavily involved in this project compared to the other games i’m actually producing or directing.
The team creating Kingdom Hearts III is in the studios in Osaka, and as you guys know Osaka and Tokyo are a little bit far away from each other but we meet enough with meetings quite often and we’re doing telephone conferences too. So we communicate all the time as I am quite heavily involved on this project.
Finaland & FFDream : With the acquisition of Marvel and Lucas Arts by Disney, could you imagine adding some kind of stuff from these licenses in the game ?
Tetsuya Nomura : (laughs) Of course it would be great if we could add those licenses as well. But there are lots of rules and restrictions by disney so we can’t actually put everything people want, so it’s a quite difficult decision but we’re gonna prepare some surprises for you so, just wait for the informations.
Finaland & FFDream : Because you know that Kitase-san (Yoshinori Kitase) is a big fan of Star Wars ! So you have to do that !
Tetsuya Nomura : (laughs) We’re not going to decide it whether Kitase-san likes Star Wars or not but we’ve been talking about Star Wars itself since it became Disney’s content recently. When I eared the news I was like “Wow ! Wow !”. Yeah obviously it’s gonna be great if we could add it, but like I said there are a lot of restrictions and rules by Disney so we don’t know what’s gonna happen but yeah, we’ll see.
Finaland & FFDream : Can we expect a multiplayer cooperative mode with many playables characters in KHIII ?
Tetsuya Nomura : The Kingdom Hearts series always had Sora as the main character, so we want to make the most of Sora, playable Sora of course. But again, Kingdom Hearts III is going to be the last chapter of the Kingdom Hearts main numbering title series, so lots of fans actually want to play as their favorite characters in Kingdom Hearts III so we will consider that, we will listen to what fans wants but hopefully we could give you some surprises in the future announcements.
Finaland & FFDream : You watch a lot of movies, how does that inspire you ? Do you pick some ideas in the movies you watch ?
Tetsuya Nomura : I watch movies a lot, I mean A LOT (laughs), normally like two, three films a day, it’s my pace. I watch quite a lot so I don’t always remember the names or titles even. So I watch and then I get a bit of inspirations from films and stuff, I can’t name the actual titles of the movies that actually inspired me to create games but when I’m watching movies sometimes I feel like “ Oh ! That’s nice !” or “That’s good!”, something like that.
Finaland & FFDream : Nomura-san, your character outfits are more and more detailed. When we saw Cloud for the first time in 1997 and now Noctis in 2013, there’s a lot of greatness in them. Have you received some fashion lessons or do you just follow fashion ?
Tetsuya Nomura : Obviously I always think about the current kind of trend and fashion and everything when I create the characters but this time for XV and Noctis and all the main characters that have been revealed, this time we actually asked for a professional brand to create the characters outfits, we also have the actual clothes in the office so our CG team and all the teams can actually see the clothes with their own eyes to create exactly the same image in the game. And that’s really easier because previously when I created the characters, all the CG team and all of our entire development team always asked me “Is this leather? Is this coton? Is this nylon? How many percentage ? Dadadada” That’s a lot of detailed questions so it’s always difficult to precise what kind of texture are the clothes made off and stuff like that, so that’s why this time we had the actual clothes made and then we take it from there and put it in the game.
Finaland & FFDream : Nomura-san, you work on a lot of project like Final Fantasy XV, the Kingdom Hearts Saga, The World Ends With You. How do you manage all the projects you have at the same time?
Tetsuya Nomura : Actually I am not very good at managing myself, especially at managing lots of different projects, but because of my staff and all the staffs are very very intelligent, very good and very capable I’m able to run all the different projects at the same time. And also the most important are the Co-Directors in each project, again they are very capable and skilled people, they are the people actually managing the actual everyday job on the ground. That’s why I’m here, they are supporting me all the time.
Finaland & FFDream : You’ve created a lot of characters for the Final Fantasy series. What’s your favorite character between all those you’ve created ?
Tetsuya Nomura : Hmm if I had to choose a favorite character, I would say Sora, and Noctis. Why them? Of course Sora, I’ve been together with him for more than ten years now, this is the first time i’ve been with a character for such a long time, so he’s very very special for me and he’s been adopted by Disney also, so he’s a very very good boy. More like a good son actually.
Also there is Noctis, he hasn’t been in front of you, I mean moving etc yet in a real gameplay but he will soon, in the future.
Do you know the name Sora mean the “sky”, in japanese and Noctis, his family name is Caelum which mean sky as well so basically, Noctis mean “night sky”, so they are kind of complete opposites to each other. There is a reason why I named these characters as opposites. Noctis is kind of like my latest boy, or latest son and I expect him to be more clever than Cloud.
Finaland & FFDream : Okay, one question Tetsuya Nomura, very important for us, and for Hideo Kojima because Hideo Kojima said he’d love a remake of Final Fantasy VII, but what about you ? Would you like to play a Metal Gear Solid 1 Remake ?
Tetsuya Nomura : To play ?
Finaland & FFDream : Yes, to play.
Tetsuya Nomura : Of course I’d like, if he were going to do a MGS remake.
Finaland & FFDream : And what do you think about the differences of the Fox Engine and your own Luminous Engine ?
Tetsuya Nomura : I think the Fox Engine and Luminous Engine are totally different engines because they each got different kind of abilities and skills and stuff that we could use in a game. One engine can do certain things the other engine can’t for example. It depends on what you want to do, but I think they totally are two different kind of engines.
Finaland & FFDream : A Final Fantasy XV question, what should we expect in terms of vehicles ? Can we pilot airships and explore the world of Final Fantasy XV and discover its secrets ?
Tetsuya Nomura : We don’t have any big plans for having different type of vehicles and stuff like that. There’s one you saw in the recent trailer of course.
Well two things you probably could use, first, the car, the car is gonna be the vehicle you’ll use probably the most in the game. The other one, the magitek armor, you can actually control and ride the magitek armor as well, in a future reveal you’ll probably find more.
Finaland & FFDream : A motorbike ?
Tetsuya Nomura : (laughs) In Final Fantasy XV you play as a party, you’re always with your friends so five guys riding a motorbike together, I’m not sure if this would works.
Finaland & FFDream : In a gang ! Like Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo.
Tetsuya Nomura : (laugh), yeah maybe it doesn’t look very good in a game.
Finaland & FFDream : Why did you change Stella’s design and made her look so much younger. Is it because of story development or because you made a survey with the audience ?
Tetsuya Nomura : There is no specific reason behind hit, but we didn’t want to make her look younger, we just wanted to make her a little bit prettier. That’s all.
Finaland & FFDream : But in 2007 she was very nice ! She’s very nice and still pretty but she’s still a little younger.
Tetsuya Nomura : When I created Stella, back in 2007, I actually created something that is not my type of character, but obviously time has past since then, about six years now, and then she actually became something that I quite like now.
Finaland & FFDream : In the trailer we could briefly see Noctis with red eyes. Will the red eyes give him some sort of special power during the battles ?
Tetsuya Nomura : In the last promotion trailer, Noctis got red eyes because he got the ability of teleportation, so that’s why when he did that, his eyes got red. Actually Visual Works created the trailer back then in 2007.
When you actually play the game, you can’t really see and zoom in the face of the character anyway. And he moves very fast as well so... if the character’s face is actually seen in a zoomed-in on the screen, we probably could still make his eyes red but we haven’t decided whether we’re gonna need the red eyes or not.
Finaland & FFDream : The game looks very serious and fatalist. Have you planned to add some sort of fun moments or funny mini-games ?
Tetsuya Nomura : We are actually thinking to have some sort of fun elements in the game, but for the moment the priority is to create the main game itself. I will add or not add stuff like that depending on how the development of the main game goes , but yeah we are thinking about that.
Finaland & FFDream : About the artistic direction of the game. The appearance of the Kingdom of Lucis is much like the Shinjuku district in Tokyo and Accordo has the same feeling of Venice, in Italy. Can we hope to see some places inspired by the french regions perhaps ? Paris perhaps ?
Tetsuya Nomura : Well do you have any games actually based in Paris ?
Finaland & FFDream : Deling City from Final Fantasy VIII with the Arc de Triomphe.
Tetsuya Nomura : If we’ve used it before we might not want to use it in a new game (laughs). So i’m not sure about using Paris. In my opinion, in lot of RPG games there are many European motives, European things, cities and stuff where your characters live and play but you guys still think like you need more European things or French things?
Finaland & FFDream : We’d just love to see that in Final Fantasy, we are sure it would be very nice.
Tetsuya Nomura : Well we’ll thing about that, that’s all I can say.
Finaland & FFDream : Thank you very much !
We’ve seen a lot of male characters with Noctis and his friends. Is there going to be girls as playable characters as well ?
Tetsuya Nomura : I can’t say anything specific now but it would be... quite difficult, to have a girl playable.
Finaland & FFDream : Question about this place, we are in Japan Expo, there are more than two hundred thousand people there, loving japanese culture so much. We actually watch anime in original version and we watched Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete only in japanese.
Can we hope to get the original japanese voices for Final Fantasy XV in Europe.
Tetsuya Nomura : That all depends of the capacity of the disc. The two main reason are the disc space and also the lip sync, because if we’re making the game, with the characters speaking in english but with the voices in japanese, the lip sync would not match. Even though you’d prefer having the japanese voices?
Finaland & FFDream : Yes, actually, please, we have a solution for you, can you think of a limited edition with only japanese voices and french text, would it be possible to do that?
Tetsuya Nomura : You really want this that much?
Finaland & FFDream : YES YES YES we really want japanese voices.
Tetsuya Nomura : (laughs) You’ll have to say this YES YES YES to Square enix though for not to me. If you guys really want THAT kind of request very much from all the fans and all the community side and everything, it would probably be best to tell Square Enix France or Square Enix Europe to make that happen. Square Enix France of Europe could speak to Square Enix Japan and it probably could make it happen, but we’ll see.
Finaland & FFDream : Thank you !
Next question, is it Game Over if Noctis dies ?
Tetsuya Nomura : At some time I said that the game was gonna be over when Noctis died, when we were talking about Versus XIII, but now as Versus XIII became Final Fantasy XV we haven’t decided it actually so we can’t really say if it’s going to change or not, we’ll see.
Finaland & FFDream : Will we be able to customize weapons and equipments of our characters ?
Tetsuya Nomura : I’m sorry but we can’t say anything about that, yet.
Finaland & FFDream : What can you tell us about the future of Dissidia, on PSVita or PS4 maybe ? With the addition of Noctis ?
Tetsuya Nomura : I’m not that heavily involved in Dissidia project, but if director Takahashi want to include Noctis in the next Dissidia game, I would probably think about it then, but I can’t really say anything so far.
Finaland & FFDream : You made the two video presentations for E3 from Artnia the place for all your fans in Japan
The announcement was so exciting for us, how do you react to that and are you glad to be back?
Tetsuya Nomura : I was very very busy, I didn’t prepare enough to do that video message recording at all...
Finaland & FFDream : It was GOOD !
Tetsuya Nomura : (laughs) Actually that recording was, yes, happening in Artnia, recorded by the promo and publicity staffs. There was not even a microphone there, so it probably was quite difficult for you guys to listen to what I actually said. I was myself really surprised as well because Sony said they needed a video message so that’s why we did it, only a couple of days before flying for E3.
Finaland & FFDream : What will the addition of Hajime Tabata, the great producer of Final Fantasy Type-0 bring to the FFXV team ?
Tetsuya Nomura : The reason why we bringed Tabata-san into the team is because he always said to me that it wanted to join the Final Fantasy XV project. I asked him in the team, his vitality and mentality are always very motivated and very high. In the future campaign and until the game is out, Tabata-san himself will be going to speak in front of you guys more often so please ask him in details when he’s available.
Finaland & FFDream : Nomura-san can we imagine that you’ll work on Final Fantasy XV-2 just after finishing the first one?
Tetsuya Nomura : Obviously we haven’t decided yet. We don’t have any concrete plan for a future sequel of FFXV, it would be good if we could do that but we can’t announce it or say anything into detail for the moment so wait for future informations.
Finaland & FFDream : Last question, Nomura-san it’s the first time we saw you with the fan communities in France, we are very happy to see you. Do you think that you will come again next time ?
Tetsuya Nomura : Of course i’d love to come again, but other people working on my project obviously want to come to meet the fans and meet you guys as well, so we’re gonna decide depending on what kind of event or opportunity we’ll have in a future. You guys definitely want to see the same face every year so (laughs) we’ll see about that.
Finaland & FFDream : We always see Kitase-san and Toriyama-san. Hashimoto-san too. We saw them every year for XIII, XIII-2, Lightning Returns. I saw Shinji Hashimoto in 2010 and we talked about Versus XIII and we were talking about teleportation in the game and he said “Oh I don’t know if Nomura-san will do that” and now we actually see that in the game and it’s just amazing.
Thank you very much for your work and we all hope that you will succeed with this project.
Tetsuya Nomura : This time I came here to promote Kingdom Hearts 1.5 (laughs) so it’s a bit early for me to talk to you about the details of Final Fantasy XV, but when we’ll have to decide when to release, or for the campaign kick-off i'll probably come back again, we’ll see, and thank you.
Sora96

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