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Kingdom Hearts 3D, nominee & winner of various awards at E3 2012

Square Enix have published a summary of the awards that their games were nominated for, and won, at E3 2012. Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] appears on this list, and is said to have been nominated for 13 awards, winning 4 of them, including Nintendo Power’s "Most Valuable Game Award". The full quote can be seen below.
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.
DChiuch

Two new official Kingdom Hearts wallpapers released

Square Enix Members Japan have released two new official wallpapers for the Kingdom Hearts series, serving as calendars for July 2012. One wallpaper is based on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, while the other is based on Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. Thanks to aibo_ac7 for the tip, you can view both of these below, in our gallery (in various sizes).

DChiuch

Second Kingdom Hearts 3D novel announced, titled Side Riku

The first official Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] novel, Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Side Sora, released yesterday on June 28, 2012. UnBirth Wings purchased the novel, and thanks to them, we know that it contains a small message about the second Kingdom Hearts 3D novel. This is titled Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Side Riku, and will be released sometime in August 2012. Let's look forward to it!

DChiuch

New "Dream Eaters" Kingdom Hearts 3D trailer from Square Enix

Square Enix have released a new promotional video for the English version of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], focusing on the Dream Eaters aspect of the game. This video contains a lot of new English gameplay footage, is 2 minutes long, and available in 720p. Thanks to Gematsu for the find, you can watch it below, or download it from our video archive.

DChiuch

Yoko Shimomura talks music of Kingdom Hearts 3D

1UP.com have conducted an interview with Yoko Shimomura, the composer of the Kingdom Hearts series, regarding the music of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. The interview is titled "The Evolving Sounds of Kingdom Hearts 3D", and can be read below.
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.
DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D English eShop demo coverage

Last night, a demo for Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] was added to the Nintendo 3DS eShop in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The North American version allows for 30 free plays, while the other versions allow for 15. We definitely recommend that you download and play the free demo, however, if you can't do so for some reason, we have prepared the following summary of the demo for you.

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
DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts to appear at Japan Expo celebrating 10th Anniversary

Japan Expo is an event taking place in Paris, France, this year between July 5 and July 8, 2012. Square Enix have confirmed that Kingdom Hearts will appear at the event with a 10th anniversary celebration. The full paragraph of text (translated into English) regarding this can be read below.
Square Enix and Nintendo Conference: “10th Anniversary of Kingdom Hearts” - Shinji Hashimoto, executive producer, and Yoko Shimomura, composer of the series, will celebrate ten years of the Kingdom Hearts series on Saturday, July 7 at 14:00 on the Video Games stage. Both will then be at a signing session in the Nintendo booth at 16:30. Update: Square Enix France have released a graphic to advertise the upcoming event. You can see this below.

DChiuch

European version of Kingdom Hearts 3D to contain AR cards

The European version of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] has been confirmed to contain the same pre-order bonus as the North American version-- exclusive AR cards. While we already knew about the North American version, we have only just learnt about the bonus for the European version from this boxart, via KHDestiny. It is unknown if both sets of exclusive AR cards are the same, but we can probably assume that they are.
Update: As of yesterday, Amazon.de have updated with a pre-order page for Kingdom Hearts 3D in Germany. This also confirms the inclusion of the exclusive AR cards. Thanks to JayC from KH13 for the find.
DChiuch

New "Flowmotion" Kingdom Hearts 3D trailer from Square Enix

Square Enix Europe have released a new promotional video for the English version of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], focusing on the Flowmotion feature of the game. This video contains a lot of new English gameplay footage, is 2 minutes long, and available in 720p. You can watch it below, or download it from our video archive.

DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D demo now available on Nintendo eShop

A Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] demo is now available to download from the Nintendo 3DS eShop on North American consoles. The demo is, of course, free and will allow you to play it 30 times in total. It is the same demo that appeared on the Japanese eShop, in English-- so, the demo contains the tutorial, boss fight against Ursula, and the start of Traverse Town, playing as Sora. We'll have videos for you soon.
Update 1: The demo is also now available on the Nintendo eShop in both Europe and Australia. This version of the demo only allows for 15 uses, rather than the 30 uses which are possible in the North American version. Apart from this small difference, everything is the same.
Update 2: We have uploaded the demo announcement video from Nintendo Direct, in HD 720p. You can watch this below, or view and download it from our video archive.

DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D nominated for Best RPG at E3 2012

Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] has been nominated for Best RPG at E3 2012 by the Game Critics Awards. The full list of nominees is here, and as you can see, Kingdom Hearts 3D is mentioned first under "Best Role Playing Game". 35 different publications vote on games in order for them to be nominated, so this is quite an impressive award to be nominated for. Let's hope it wins! Winners will be announced on Tuesday, June 26.
Update: Unfortunately Kingdom Hearts 3D did not win the award. The list of award winners are here.
DChiuch

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