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The latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, releasing on November 22, 2012, has contained a one-page article about Tai Yasue, the co-director of the Kingdom Hearts series. The article lists his works, and has a small interview with him. There is also a short feature about Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX, where it is revealed that the development is at 80-90%, and a post-game element is being considered. Read on for our scans, and the full translation thanks to our translator, goldpanner.

---Moving on from that, with you working on the Kingdom Hearts series under Mr. Nomura, which title left the deepest impression on you? Yasue: Birth by Sleep. It was like being in a dream. We packed in everything under the sun, so the busy period was hell (laughs). That said, having produced the remake title Re:Chain of Memories before that meant my team understood the series and things went along with the groundwork having been laid, and 3D was an important title that 'connected to the future of the series', so I have strong memories of all the titles.
---Mr. Yasue, please tell us the ideals you uphold and the points you take care with when producing games.
Yasue: I do everything I can to create something fun. I want to make games that are packed with a particular characteristic style. I think that the 'energy' I felt playing FFVII is important. With our recent titles it has been difficult to leave wiggle room because it always comes at a cost, but everyone on my team is highly motivated to incorporate new gameplay, so that's an area we attack without pulling any punches. When we get obsessed with an interesting idea, we get so wrapped up in it that we even lose our appetite for food and sleep. I want to always relish that feeling with my fellow staff.
New Titles from Mr. Yasue
Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-
[PS3/Square Enix/TBA 2013/price TBA]
A HD remastering of three titles from the series. Among them, one title has been remade as a video volume. When we asked Mr. Yasue about development progress, he said 'Development is at about 80~90%. For this title we have been updating character and scenery textures as well as the controls. Right now we are considering some small element to add as a perk for clearing the game.'
The latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, releasing on November 22, 2012, has contained a small article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- with the co-director of the series, Tai Yasue. Thanks to hokanko-alt, remoon and sqexgal, we know some small details about the article, which can be read below. We'll update you when more details appear.
- Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- development is 80-90% complete.
- They are looking into including an additional special feature when you clear the game, but it won't be a secret movie.
We sure are getting a lot of merchandise announcements today! This one, in my opinion, is the most exciting. (And cutest!) Amazon.co.jp have created a pre-order page for a new piece of official Kingdom Hearts merchandise-- a Shadow Heartless plush toy. In May, we reported that Square Enix had sketched designs for various plush toys, including a Shadow, a Dusk and a Flood. Looks like they're finally working on this! The Shadow plush toy will be available on February 15, 2013 for a price of ¥2,858 (approximately US$35.61). The dimensions are W120mm×D120mm×H240mm, and it weighs 190 grams. All images of the plush toy can be seen below.
Update 1: Square Enix have announced some release date changes for their merchandise. The official Shadow Heartless plush toy has been brought forward to December 22, 2012.
Update 2: Square Enix have created a pre-order page for the Shadow Heartless plush toy on the official Square Enix e-STORE. Thanks to bKvEBVAvUq for the find.
Square Enix Gangan, the creators of the Kingdom Hearts manga series, have uploaded a wallpaper celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series. The wallpaper serves as a calendar for part of November 2012 and December 2012. You can see the wallpaper, in various sizes, below.

Square Enix have updated the official Japanese portal for the Kingdom Hearts series as well as their official blog, Message from the KINGDOM, with updated links for Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] and Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. While there is no new information, there are some fancy new official graphics-- these can be seen below. Thanks to bKvEBVAvUq for the find.



Square Enix have released sales information for the 6 month period ending on September 30, 2012. This report confirms that Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] (which released in Europe on July 20, 2012, and North America on July 31, 2012) has sold over 650,000 copies in both Europe and North America, from its release, up until September 30. Thanks to Gematsu for the find.
If we include Japanese sales, which were confirmed to be over 310,000 copies as of May 13, 2012, then we can say for sure that Kingdom Hearts 3D has shipped at least 960,000 copies worldwide-- however, factoring in the Japanese sales since May 13, and the International sales since September 30, we could estimate that Kingdom Hearts 3D has sold above 1 million copies worldwide.
Amazon.co.jp have created a pre-order page for a new piece of official Kingdom Hearts merchandise-- a 2000-piece Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] puzzle! This is in addition to the two puzzles that were announced in June. This new puzzle will be available on November 23, 2012 for ¥3,834 (approximately US$47.78). You can see the image that it's based on below.

The Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga series is finally seeing a localized release in French. This is notable as it is the first time that the Chain of Memories manga (which started release in Japan on October 22, 2005) has received a release in French. Even if this isn't your language, it is still nice to see some official localisations being done on the manga.
PIKA Edition have announced that both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the Chain of Memories manga will be released on October 31, 2012; with Volume 1 of the Kingdom Hearts II manga coming on January 2, 2013. Let's hope that one day we can see an English publication continue the localization of the manga series. (The last English edition of the manga was Kingdom Hearts II Volume 2 on May 9, 2008.) Thanks to KHDestiny for the tip.
Richard Epcar is a recurring English voice actor in the Kingdom Hearts series, responsible for the voice of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Xehanort in all games released since Kingdom Hearts II. Roxasman1231 from KH13 contacted Epcar on Facebook, and asked him whether or not he will be recording lines in Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX--- to which the answer was "haven't heard anything yet". You can see this below.

This *could* mean one of the following things, however, keep in mind that nothing is confirmed! Feel free to make up your own mind about what this news means. We've tried to present the facts, along with some ideas, so that you're not mislead into believing something false.
- Many people are speculating as to whether or not Ansem, Seeker of Darkness in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix will keep his original voice actor, Billy Zane, or if they will call in the voice actor that has done his lines since Kingdom Hearts II, Richard Epcar. It is possible that this points towards the former being true.
- Alternatively, perhaps Square Enix NA has not started localising the game yet.
Also, we think it's worthwhile to address another matter-- some websites (such as Gematsu and Siliconera) have reported that the recent HD 1.5 ReMIX announcement was "only for Japan". This has lead to widespread confusion about a possible English release of the game, with many people believing that this means there will not be one-- don't be alarmed, however, since it is normal for the initial announcement of Kingdom Hearts games to be "only for Japan". Every single game has been announced in Japan first, with the English announcement later. Nothing to worry about!
Update: Roxasman1231 from KH13 has contacted Quinton Flynn, the voice actor for Axel in the Kingdom Hearts series, asking him whether or not he has any confirmation regarding HD 1.5 ReMIX. Quinton Flynn replied saying that he has not received any info, indicating that English vocalisation for the game has not yet begun. Axel is confirmed to have new lines in the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Theatre Mode of HD 1.5 ReMIX.
Last week, the October 11, 2012 issue of Dengeki PlayStation contained an article on Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, with mention of Kingdom Hearts for PC Browsers. The article contained an interview with the series director, Tetsuya Nomura. Dengeki Online have updated with a full transcript of the interview, and we have translated this for you below.
This page also contains each of the screenshots from the article, which, while the same as the Famitsu Weekly screenshots, may be of interest as they are a much larger resolution (remember to open them in full screen for the largest resolution), and have a less imposing watermark. Enjoy!
Our translator goldpanner has translated the Dengeki Online article into English, and you can read this translation below.
Interview with Director of the Kingdom Hearts Series Mr Tetsuya Nomura! Finally heading for the climax of Xehanort’s reign as threat in the ‘Seeker of Darkness Chronicle’
Here we present an interview on Square Enix PS3 title Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, urgently announced at Tokyo Game Show 2012 and gathering attention from many gaming fans.
Commemorating the 10th anniversary since the first Kingdom Hearts, this title is a compilation of HD remakes of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, with the added plot of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days put to HD video, all in one. You can enjoy everything from the beginning of the adventures of Sora and friends up until the developments that lead to Kingdom Hearts II in one hit.
We listened to the man employed as the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Mr. Tetsuya Nomura. He spoke on many subjects that fans cannot miss, such as how things have gone so far developing this title, the particular appeal of the three included titles. He also talked with us about the Kingdom Hearts title for PC browsers that was announced at the same time.
Now, with the story of this ten-year old series finally heading towards a conclusion, including the significance of reflection you could say this title is not to be missed. Now, this interview is a reproduction of the one published in Degenki PlayStation Vol.528, sale date 11th October 2012. (※Full names not used in the interview)
Remaking a ten-year-old title in HD was a stormy ride!?
---First of all, please give us the full story behind work on the title announced at Tokyo Game Show 2012, Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-.
Nomura: We’d had plans to do a HD remake for quite a while. Since even before we decided to do the Final Fantasy X HD remake, actually. We were consulting the Osaka development team over whether we could do something using the HD specs of the PS3.
---So what kick-started development from there?
Nomura: One thing was that the Kingdom Hearts series had been released over several different consoles. I wanted to unite the scattered titles at once at the right time. Another thing was that, approaching the ten year anniversary, the series had become difficult for new players to enter. There are players who look at all the titles and worry over which ones to play, so I wanted to set them out in chronological order.
The three titles in this compilation have been lined up in an order that will make the plot easy to understand, so I think even people without prior experience of the series can be at ease. Also, the story that is currently developing is finally drawing to a close, so I also feel it will be a useful refresher for fans.
---On remaking what was originally PS2 title in HD, what points gave you hardship work-wise?
Nomura: I can’t say in detail, but for example, there were situations like ‘finding each and every book in view in a huge library’. We entrusted the HD remaking to two programmers in Osaka, and thanks to their steadfast efforts, the remake was fully realised in close to a year.
---Listening to you, preparation for the HD remake work actually started quite a long time ago, didn’t it.
Nomura: In an interview some time ago I said ‘I am investigating this and that,’ and what I meant was a HD remake of Kingdom Hearts. The trailer we were able to release at the Game Show this year was also thanks to the considerable efforts of the Osaka team.
Kingdom Hearts exists in its current form because of the Osaka Team
---The Osaka team is the production team who have been working on the Kingdom Hearts series recently, right?
Nomura: Yes, that’s right. Since Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, they are the team who has worked on titles such as Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D[Dream Drop Distance]. That said, the programmers who were in charge of the HD remake were merged in from a team that hadn’t been involved in the Kingdom Hearts series before.
---Thinking about the active role they’ve played in recent years, it feels like the Osaka team is now the series main staff, doesn’t it?
Nomura: That’s because that’s practically true. The Tokyo Kingdom Hearts team that we had in the early days has undergone some drastic changes. Even so, there are of course still Kingdom Hearts staff on the Tokyo side that collaborate with the Osaka side, but besides that the Osaka side form the basically unchanging lineup as a team, so in essence you could say they are the existing Kingdom Hearts staff. They move things along extremely energetically, and the Kingdom Hearts series is able to continue to this day only because they are there.
---What is the current state of progress on HD?
Nomura: Actually, it’s basically in the final stage. At first I thought about fully remaking Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (hereafter Days) in a form you could actually play. However, work on Days alone would have needed one year at the very least. I worried quite a bit over it, and I thought, weighing up a new title or a remake, players would want the new title. Even so, I had to include Days, so I decided if this is how it has to be then I will re-do it as a video volume.
---Are the HD videos of Days you may enjoy the same as the cutscenes compiled in ‘Theatre Mode’ in the original title?
Nomura: They are included too, but we’ve put around 70% of the main story overall (※excluding cutscenes from Disney worlds) to video, and the Disney worlds and such are supplemented through screens of text. According to the person in charge, there are over 100 cutscenes, and they are about 2-3 hours in total. It’s still not finished so I can’t give you the exact time, but the content will take more than an hour to finish viewing, at least.
---With that much volume, we can expect a whole new way to enjoy it, can’t we!
Nomura: Yes, because even though it’s video-only, the content is almost enough for one new title’s share. There is a considerable volume of newly recorded voicing, too. We were unable to record many voiced cutscenes for the original Days due to capacity issues, but I think this time fans will definitely be satisfied.
---Will we be able to enjoy Days as soon as we begin the game?

Nomura: Yes. You can select it right from start-up. The videos are divided into chapters, and you can also watch the whole thing in one flow, so please experience it whenever you like. If you have played Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories so far but haven’t played Days, I think you should by all means get your hands on this.
HD Remake “2.5” to definitely come to be?
----The HD remake of the first title, Kingdom Hearts, is based on Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (hereafter KHFM), isn’t it?
Nomura: Yes, it was. Aside from the entire thing being reborn in HD quality, and I’m sure some players will have noticed this, but the models for Sora and some of the other main characters have been replaced with the latest versions. If you compare them I think it’s very obvious.
---Is there also trophy support?
Nomura: It’s a PS3 title, so yes, there is support. However, I personally have never been that fixated on trophy features, so I am still researching now what sort of content we should include. There are trophies for clearing each world and such, but I don’t think you’d need one for first obtaining a Keyblade, would you... those are the sorts of discussions that are underway. Please anticipate some as factors for speedruns.
---Are there any other parts you adjusted or added?
Nomura: We’ve adjusted the controls to make them a little easier to use than back in the day. In the first Kingdom Hearts game, special controls (opening chests etc) were shown right at the bottom of the commands, but we’ve now gone with displaying them at the top with a triangle button. Also, the camera controls and such have been changed to match Kingdom Hearts II. So, I think the gameplay in Kingdom Hearts will all feel like something based on Kingdom Hearts II.
As for any big additional elements, I have already said this, but there aren’t really any. Please think of the addition of HD image and trophy support as all there is to KHFM and KH Re:CoM. The theatre of Days is the number one showpiece for Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- this time.
---Can the fans of the series look forward to the usual secret movie...?
Nomura: I really don’t want to lead anyone on or cause false hope, so please let me be clear on this: unfortunately, this time, there is no new secret movie.
---Recently there have been many Kingdom Hearts titles on handheld consoles, so it’s quite nostalgic to have one for a main console.
Nomura: The last title to come out on a main console was Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ (※released on PS2 in 2007), wasn’t it? At the time of Kingdom Hearts 3D[Dream Drop Distance], I said that the next Kingdom Hearts game would be coming out on a main console, and we have made that happen. To the fans who haven’t played Kingdom Hearts on a main console in a long time, I would be so happy if you would welcome this title.
---Are there by any chance plans for a bundle with a custom PS3?
Nomura: Should I do that (laughs)? There are no plans as of now. I hadn’t even thought of it (laughs).
---In any case, does putting “1.5” in the title mean there will be a “2.5”?
Nomura: If there wasn’t a “2.5” after this, it would be pretty unnatural (laughs).
---As things stand now, will this HD version we’re all so eager for be releasing in 2013?
Nomura: I touched on this before, but work is already in the final stages. Seeing as development is going well, I want to get it to you as fast as I can. I also want to keep it as close as possible to the Kingdom Hearts 10th anniversary.
A browser game packed with a charm different from anything else so far
---Next we would like to ask about the PC game you announced, Kingdom Hearts for PC Browser (working title). What sort of game content will there be?
Nomura: Fundamentally it’s a typical browser game. Unlike the main series it is not strong on action content, but instead has action battles with simple controls using cards. The style of play, in which you customise your own avatar and adventure through Disney worlds, is a different vector than anything so far. Among other things you can co-operate with multiple people to battle bosses, and online-only components.
---Is paying together with several people the pivotal element of this work?
Nomura: No, it’s fundamentally single-player. I think that most fans of the Kingdom Hearts series would rather play in the single-player format that they have always had.
---Are the Osaka team in charge of this title too, by any chance?
Nomura: No, it’s being developed in a different place. The plans and designs were made in-house, but because it’s in a special format on a browser unlike anything we’ve done before, we’re entrusting it to people on the outside who have the know-how. Currently construction in the area of gameplay is going favourably, but we plan to brush up the visuals a bit more. It’s still mid-production, but we plan to add things after the service begins, so we’d love for many people to join in.
---What sort of content is there story-wise?
Nomura: It is a spin-off title, completely separate from the main plot thread. Because of the nature of browser games from the start, we weren’t going to put in any grand set-up. You can say that this means both existing fans and people new to the series will be able to play standing at the same starting point. Of course we aren’t discarding the established universe of the series, and if you are a fan, we have included some developments that you can consider deeply. We also plan to draw up some new characters for Browser.
---New characters will appear, will they! Will there be developments that embroil these characters in the main plot thread...?
Nomura: I can’t tell you that, but since we are working diligently on Browser so that you may play for us soon, please wait just a little more.
New movement for The World Ends With You!?
---We’d like to ask about a slightly different title now. First, The World Ends With You (hereafter TWEWY) -Solo Remix- is available now. Why did you make it an iOS app?
Nomura: It was a decision made after many complicated reasons stacked up. I have heard generally favourable things from people who have played it, that is the most important thing.
---We think there must be many voices calling for a sequel to TWEWY.
Nomura: I personally love TWEWY too, it’s a title I do want to branch out. For the sake of future prospects, I hope that many people play and enjoy TWEWY -Solo Remix-.
---A few days ago at the FF Exhibition, Lightning Returns FFXIII was announced. In what way is your work involved in this project, Mr. Nomura?

Nomura: I worked on Lightning and Snow’s new outfits, but that is all, and I am finished.
---On the subject of Lightning, we’re also interested in any movement regarding Verses?
Nomura: Work is progressing properly, and all us staff are working hard and doing our best, so please wait a little for news.
---And now, finally, a message for fans of Kingdom Hearts, please.

Nomura: The story we have been telling consistently so far, which is called the Xehanort Saga, bears the formal name of ‘Seeker of Darkness Chronicle’. Before we look to the conclusion of this ‘Seeker of Darkness Chronicle’, I would love for you to prepare with the HD remake.
The Kingdom Hearts series has now been going on for ten years, and the two titles we have announced, Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- and Kingdom Hearts for PC Browser (working title), both take completely different approaches, but please look forward to them as we turn our thoughts to the last of the current series.
Square Enix attended the 2012 New York Comic Con, which ran between October 11 and October 14, and at the event, featured various Kingdom Hearts merchandise. While all of this merchandise has been seen before, we thought you would like to see photos of it at the event. It includes various upcoming Play Arts, as well as the Meow Wow plush toy. All photos, thanks to Square Enix and The Toyark, can be seen below, in our gallery.

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