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The video confirms two new English names of Dream Eaters-- Halbird and Hebby Repp.
Kingdom Hearts 3D brings an array of dazzling new features to the Kingdom Hearts series. Whether soaring to new worlds in Dive Mode, encountering mini-game mayhem with the Reality Shift or training your Dream Eater allies with Flick Rush, Kingdom Hearts 3D has a new experience waiting for you at every turn!
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A short sentence at the end of the interview spoils the game, so we have blacked this out for you. Feel free to read it below without risk of spoilers (and highlight this part if you want to read it).
IGN: You’ve been working on the Kingdom Hearts series for quite a while now. Could you tell our readers a little about your history with the franchise? TY: My first Kingdom Hearts I started with was Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, that was maybe seven years ago. After that, we worked on Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, and then our current title, Kingdom Hearts 3D. So this is my third title working on the series. I also did a lot of the planning for Re:coded as well.
IGN: Broadly speaking, what was the overall vision for Kingdom Hearts 3D? What kind of journey did you want to take players on?
TY: Well, when Nomura came up with the original design document, I think he wanted to have the story revolve around Riku a bit, and the Mark of Mastery. I think he really wanted to connect the story, working on 3D, to the next Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2. So I think there was a lot of secrets revealed in the story of 3D.
For me as a game designer, a real time game designer, I really wanted to do something that would sort of give the players a glimpse of the future, with action-based functionality, kicking walls, sliding down ramps, you could spin around poles and stuff. I really wanted to do something that was more aggressive and more speedy. I think we were able to do that with 3D.
IGN: And what was it like developing a Kingdom Hearts game specifically for the 3DS hardware? Are there any specific features or capabilities you were excited to use?
TY: I was really excited about using the bottom view, the touch screen. And so we implemented the reality shift system. Nomura-san wanted us to make something that really integrated the bottom view with the top view, so it wasn't really just a reference map. He wanted you to actually play with it. And so we came up with the reality shift system, which you could use for each world. There's a unique system for each world. For example, in the Musketeer world, there's a comic book, and you can touch the comic book to actually deal blows to your enemies. For Tron Legacy, you could decode your enemies and control them. So I think that aspect really gave each world of 3D a unique gaming experience, a unique feel.
IGN: How did the idea for the drop system come about? And what do you think the idea of forcing players to switch between characters adds to the experience?
TY: Well, on our previous Kingdom Hearts, Birth by Sleep, it centered around Aqua, Ventus, and Terra. You had to actually finish the story before starting a new one. It sort of felt like they were separate stories, in a way. This time, Nomura I think wanted us to make it into a sort of united story. There are two characters, but it's a united experience. We wanted to add a particular thrill, I think, the thrill of… uIf you drop during a boss battle, for example, you have to switch characters. So there's a little bit of a time limit. I think it was a little bit more thrilling. Another thing we wanted to add was the bonus relay system, we wanted Sora and Riku to cooperate. For example, by playing Sora and gaining points, you could give bonuses to your next character, Riku. There was a strategic depth to it, I think. I thought that made it interesting as well.
IGN: Were there any difficulties that the drop system caused during development, particularly in regards to the game’s flow and pacing?
SE: The pacing was really difficult. I think the drop system's one of the things that was most difficult about making the game. The first time we made it, a lot of our development team really didn't like it, so we actually changed it. We made it so that you could actually drop whenever you wanted via the camp menu system. When you press start you can choose when to drop. That made it a bit more user-friendly. But then after that, the quality assurance people and the development team really liked it. So in a way, yeah, it was changed and we tweaked it a lot to make it the way it is now, to make it work.
IGN: How did you go about selecting which Disney and game worlds to include in the game? And once you decided, how did you make sure they all meshed together?
TY: Actually, I think each world has its own reason for being. We proposed, for example, the Musketeer one because we wanted something for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. They weren't wearing costumes, it was a different sort of aspect of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. We thought that might be interesting. Or the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I think we had a lot of user input, a lot of our users wanted that world to be made. I think it was a really popular Disney movie, so we did that. Also, for Tron Legacy, I think we wanted something that was a bit more futuristic. When you list all the worlds off, each has its own characteristics. Tron added to that, I think. It was more futuristic, it was a bit more real than the other worlds. I thought that might be interesting as well.
IGN: Was it hard to make them feel like they all belonged together?
TY: Well, not really. One of the great things about Kingdom Hearts is that each world has its own unique characteristics. There is one story that unites it all, but in the same way, I think the different characteristics really shine through. So there's a lot of variety.
IGN: How did it come about that characters from The World Ends With You were included in Kingdom Hearts 3D?
TY: Well, that was because of Nomura, to be honest. But by adding it, I think Traverse Town was really... we altered it a bit, made it really interesting. A lot of graffiti, and some of the buildings sort of resemble Shibuya now. I think it made Traverse a little bit different from previous games. That added to the newness and freshness of the game.
IGN: Now that the game is complete, what aspect of the finished product are you most proud of?
TY: Well, there's a lot. I really like the flow motion. By kicking walls, sliding down ramps, you could really make dynamic actions. And all of the actions are really connected to your attacks and everything else. I think that gives the game a new feel. And we adjusted our enemies and our maps accordingly for that. For Kingdom Hearts 3D I think you'll see a lot more maps that are wider, higher, there's a lot more hidden treasures along the way. I think that was really popular with the Japanese audience.
IGN: Speaking of the free-flowing combat, how did that come about?
TY: Nomura wanted us to make something where you felt very free, that was free of restrictions. I planned it out over maybe two or three days, and we actually built it on the Birth By Sleep system first. It only took about two or three weeks. I think we did that maybe in November of 2010, it was really quick. By developing that, I think our team really understood what we wanted to make. Our direction. I think that really sped things up.
IGN: What's your recommendation for gamers who've never played a Kingdom Hearts game before? Are there other games in the series you think are important to play before Dream Drop Distance? Or can they jump right in and figure it out?
TY: I guess if you played Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep and one and two, it might add a lot. But for Kingdom Hearts 3D, we added the memento system. When you earn a memento after an event or a cutscene, you can open it up in the camp menu and it actually tells you the story of Kingdom Hearts one and two and Birth By Sleep, for example. So you could just jump in if you want. But if you really want to understand everything, all the detail, I think you should play Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep and the first two games.
IGN: What's next for Sora and Riku?
TY: We get that a lot. [laughs] We're still thinking about it. I think 3D is really a hint to the future in a way. We developed it as if it were a console game. We made it for the handheld, but for us it was meant to feel like a console game in a way. I think it really took the Kingdom Hearts series to the next level, it feels like Kingdom Hearts II and Birth By Sleep on steroids. It's really insane what you can do. So I'm not really in a position to say what we could next, but... 3D, for us, was the future.
IGN: I have one final question. I know you can't say too much about it, but what can you tell us about Kingdom Hearts 3D tying in to Kingdom Hearts 3?
TY: In a way, the action and the story are directly linked to Kingdom Hearts 3. I guess that's about all I can say, really.
IGN: So definitely play this if you're interested in Kingdom Hearts 3?
TY: If you play it all, it's really connected to Kingdom Hearts 3. The Mark of Mastery exam and how Riku becomes a Keyblade Master, it connects to the next story.
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--Did you always settle on the Kingdom Hearts Mobile art style or did you test other designs for the Final Fantasy characters before choosing the cutesy art style? From the beginning, we were discussing how to present characters from the entire Final Fantasy franchise. When we saw the designs of the Final Fantasy guest characters in Kingdom Hearts Mobile we thought this is going to work.
--Do you view Theatrhythm as a series now? What series would you want to work with… Manarhythm? Theatrhythm… Hitman?
[Laughs.] Personally, I hope this will be come a series, but Theatrhythm Hitman will probably be really far off. There are many series that I would want to work on for Theatrhythm. Dragon Quest has a lot of music and Kingdom Hearts would be wonderful to do if it’s possible. I’m not to familiar with the Eidos collection, but Tomb Raider has a long history so it must have a great collection of songs. That might be fun.
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1. You must have an account on KH13.com to enter. If you haven't already, please click here to register.
2. Go to https://www.kh13.com/forum/#refer, and on the right-hand side of the page, get your referral link. Give this to your friends, and if they use it to sign up for KH13.com, you'll get 1 referral point! (You can also get the referral link here, and see a list of your referred members here.)
3. You only need to refer one member to enter the competition, but each additional member you refer will increase your chances! 1 referral point = 1 entry in the competition. On Monday, July 9, 2012, we'll pick a random entry and announce them as the winner. Good luck!
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Kingdom Hearts® 3D [Dream Drop Distance] (SQUARE ENIX): Celebrating the franchise’s 10th anniversary, Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] features a spectacular story that promises to be a fun backdrop to the colorful cast of Disney characters making their 3D debut on a handheld title. Pulling in 13 nominations including a Game Critics Award (Best Role Playing Game) and winning four awards including Nintendo Power’s Most Valuable Game Award.
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1UP: Nearly every element of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance deals with the concept of dreams in some way. How did this theme influence the composition of music in the game? YOKO SHIMOMURA: I kept in mind the concepts of "dream" and "night." Many times, I came up with musical phrases that were sort of fun, out of the ordinary, and fluffy.
1UP: The music in the Disney sections of KH3D evoke the spirit of their sources so well, particularly Tron: Legacy and Hunchback of Notre Dame, without using music from the films. How do you go about capturing the essence of those worlds through the use of original compositions?
YS: Thank you. This is actually a tradition that I've kept since the first Kingdom Hearts. First, I get information on words that describe the stage (for example, it was "night" or "amusement park" this time). I also look at the artwork of the stage, and repeatedly watch footage (just small clips) of Sora moving around in that area. Then, I get my imagination going as I picture the original film in my mind. The important thing is not to watch the original films during the creative process. If it was a title that I've previously seen, I depend on my memory; if it was something I've never watched, I will watch it and wait for a while before starting the creative process. If I worked at the same time as watching the film, or immediately after watching it, then there's a possibility that the score will just be an imitation.
1UP: Dearly Beloved is a theme that became iconic after KH1, and yet it still sounds fresh in each subsequent installment. Please explain the process of going back to a theme and reimagining it for each new chapter in the series.
YS: There are times when I can say "Yes, I'll go with this feel" right after coming on board a project, and times when I just have to continuously wait until I come up with how I would like to proceed. Actually, I always try not to think too hard when coming up with a theme.
1UP: Are you forced to think a bit differently when composing music for a handheld title as opposed to a console game? How is the creative process in an entirely new project (such as Parasite Eve) different from one that is built upon an already existing foundation (like KH or Super Mario RPG)?
YS: Since KH3D used prerecorded music, it's actually a better sound source than the first and second Kingdom Hearts games on the console. (The first and second installments did not use prerecorded music, but used internal sound sources controlled by MML [Music Macro Language: a programming language that lets the console generate sound using its internal sound sources].) In the actual process, there are additional measures you can take to accommodate for speakers on a handheld device, such as making the bass come out stronger, or beefing up the low tones, but the synthesizer operator is very good, and so I don't have to worry about all of that and create my music freely.
In terms of entirely new vs. building upon an already existing foundation, the creative process is definitely different. If there is an existing foundation to a song, first and foremost I make sure to not disturb its world, and I try to lean towards that world as I get my imagination going. If it's entirely new, I try to come up with something a little crazy and explore the range and possibilities. It's as if I go out the furthest first, then come back in and refine my work by cutting into it from many different angles. But in either case, the process of "getting closer to the essence of the work itself" is the same.
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The demo is split into two sections, the "Tutorial" and the main section. On the menu screen, you have the choice of which you would like to play. "Tutorial" lets you play through the very part of the game on Destiny Islands (as Sora), where you are on a raft, shown the controls of the game, and have a short boss battle with Ursula, ending with some more tutorials in Traverse Town. You can see a recording of the tutorial below, thanks to Limen123 from KH13.
The main part of the demo takes part in Traverse Town, again, playing as Sora. When you arrive in Traverse Town, you are treated to a cutscene between Sora and Neku. After that, you can explore Traverse Town and fight Dream Eaters, with the demo ending after you beat the Dream Eater boss in the world. You can see a recording of the main part of the demo below, thanks to ELTheGeek.
Here is the cutscene from the demo, thanks to Blike from KH13:
After you complete the demo, you are treated to one of many random "thank you for playing" screens, featuring Meow Wow. Awesome! Make sure you play through the demo multiple times in order to see each one.
Lastly, since we've received so many pieces of news today, we wanted to make sure that you check out each of the articles below (all of which were posted in the last day).
- Kingdom Hearts to appear at Japan Expo celebrating 10th Anniversary
- European version of Kingdom Hearts 3D to contain AR cards
- New "Flowmotion" Kingdom Hearts 3D trailer from Square Enix
- Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary soundtrack announced
- Kingdom Hearts 3D demo now available on Nintendo eShop
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