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Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Premiere Event summary

The "10th Anniversary Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Premiere Event" has finished. Yesterday, on March 3, 2012 in Japan, the event occured with a focus on Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] and the 10th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series. This article will summarize everything that we got out of the event.

A video of the event's opening, including what is possibly the opening of Kingdom Hearts 3D!


153 photos of the event!
Photos → 10th Anniversary Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Premiere Event


A collection of video recordings of the event!

We hope you enjoyed KH13's coverage of the 10th Anniversary Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Premiere Event! Let's look forward to the upcoming release of the game, which at the time of writing, is only 25 days from now.
DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Premiere Event coverage

Our coverage of the "Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Premiere Event" has begun. This event, occurring on March 3, 2012 in Japan, will focus on both Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] and the 10th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series. This article will remain pinned at the top and contains links to all news from the event. Please discuss any news on our forum.

Post event coverage
5:37AM EST: V Jump have published a set of 18 photos of the event. Thanks to ArikaMiz for the tip.
12:41PM EST: A low quality video showing the opening of the event (and containing the opening of Kingdom Hearts 3D!) has surfaced online. You can watch it below, thanks to KH Destiny for the find. Click here to see a list of videos from the event.

10:46 AM EST: The official Kingdom Hearts Twitter page has tweeted a new photo from the event.

10:24AM EST: ReBirth Wings have posted various photos from the event.
8:55AM EST: Kingdom Hearts Destiny have provided an impressions of the event, as well as various photos
"I had a great day at Kingdom Hearts Premiere Event. This day devoted to the new Kingdom Hearts on Nintendo 3DS, but also the 10th anniversary of the series was held in Odaiba. When I heard that, I was already very satisfied. Odaiba, the artificial island in Tokyo Bay, is one of my favorite places in the Japanese capital. It is an island featuring tunes resorts hosting one of the most futuristic architecture and landmarks such as the Tokyo Big Sight or Sega Joypolis. Nothing but the train line that is leading, most scenic and run on rails in height slaloming between the buildings, is an attraction by itself. But back in to Kingdom Hearts. The event was held at the Venus Fort shopping center designed as an Italian city. The place itself is gorgeous, with a beautiful fountain and magnificent architecture. Held there in prime time in the Winter Illuminations, plunging the center in a magical atmosphere, but the pictures make it more difficult.
The event was not easy to find. Not really said, I had to move randomly in the huge mall before seeing, not without great excitement, the famous statue of Sora, Mickey, Donald and Goofy, who had already been used at Disneyland Tokyo. It's been a while since I was looking for information on the current location of this statue so you can see it, so I literally ran up to her to see it.
So I blithely strafed like all Japanese at 100m around, before I look at my surroundings. Before me stood all the posters advertising the various games Kingdom Hearts, and a TV broadcast images of each game, as well as videos on Dream Drop Distance. Everything was grouped in a fairly narrow scope of the center hallway leading to the stage where the main event would take place.
I then struggled to understand how it worked for a place. The Japanese still speaking little English, and I always as bad Japanese, I had to cope virtually alone. Luckily, I managed to find the line that led to divine ticket granting you a place for the main stage. It was a miracle, we can say, as the queue was incredibly located near the scene of the event, and especially it was not mentioned at all. I was ass enough to hear lined with a Japanese noodle ask the staff of the center where he was to date info on severe obtain a ticket, which allowed me to follow. Without that, I'd probably miss the event. Thank you, anonymous Japanese lost. It was roughly 14h when I got back in the queue, which was not very big: a little less than fifty people in front of me. The first session began half an hour, so I thought to queue for the second. Patient, I pulled out my 3DS to play a little to 358/2 Days, just to stay in the theme of the day. Barely time to do a mission that the tail was already advancing. So I could get my ticket, announcing the number 47. I was amazed by against I had to get a place for the session is the last ... 5:30 p.m.! Good god it's not gone away! I admit I was naive enough at the time. So here I am with 3 hours to wait! No problem seeing how the Venus Fort is great. And I also noticed the train coming they had installed a gundam GEANT to a neighboring building.
3 hours later, after a little shopping and sightseeing, I headed for the place indicated by the ticket. Wholesale tourist, I showed up right on time required, while others elected were all brought back before long. I have been allowed to queue up like a big VIP to my place, the 47. You should know that this file was in a stairwell, about 200 meters from the main stage. Therefore, once the received signal, the whole line began to be advanced in the center next to the stage. It was very strange, one would really say a procession heading to the Messiah, probably represented by the famous giant statue of Sora. Despite being the 47th person to return, I could get a good seat in the house thanks to the large width of the stage, and especially with my size, always useful in a variety of Japanese. I actually had some rot session behind me and I am so sorry.
There the devils we do with the new wait Dearly Beloved. The atmosphere is laid. Suddenly, a "Mamonaku! Evento sutaruto desu! "(Warning, the event begins!) Sounds in the room, and the impressive scene of a church glows with the colors of the classic symbols of the series: heart, crowns, keyblades, heads of Mickey ...
Presenter coated clothing Kingdom Hearts sold Square Enix Shop in Tokyo then appears on the scene. Unfortunately, because of its micro and very high flow of words, I have not been able to understand much about the speech she gave in 5 minutes. I still grasped it explained the synopsis of DDD and had the game
Following this, she called to him Shinji Hashimoto, vice president and producer at Square Enix. One, very comfortable on stage, do not hesitate to call the crowd, ask questions and make jokes.
He quickly announced that the video, the main attraction of the event, will now be released, and he and presenter withdraws from the scene.
The video is broadcast in two parts. One half is on the ceiling, and one on the facade of the church. For the most part, these are the same images as the trailer for the Jump Festa. Also note that the video is short, I would say 2 minutes. The beginning of the video is a frieze with vertical scrolling cover art for each game and their release dates. Then begins a rapid sequence of pictures in the series, again with some new pictures.
But few new images will bring the cheering crowd and make me vibrate. Already, we see a HD remake of one of the many famous scenes from 358/2 Days, with Roxas, Axel and Xion eating an ice on the roof of the Twilight Town train station, snatching a few cries impressed the crowd. The same will happen to the scene while kinematics representing the final fight of KH2, between Riku and Sora Xenmas. The following is a presentation of DDD, with images of new worlds in particular, but it's very very short. And already we arrive at the central point of the video, and the main interest of this event . Begins a scene where Sora and Riku finds himself in what appears to be the Necropolis Keyblade. Xehanort is facing them. Sora's Keyblade then activates and unlocks a lock. Mickey appears, carrying a large spellbook. Gradually, as he leafed through, standing out of the pages to finally reveal ... Roxas, Aqua, Terra and Ven! Good and as Donald and Goofy. The front nine are so Xehanort all together, and the picture ended up on what appears to be a big combined attack. This last point remains to be confirmed, it was quick. Note that Sora and Riku are their clothes DDD in this scene, leaving much to assume that this scene takes place in the game This is too much for the crowd, which is delirious from the beginning of this scene. In the end, it was a real sound and light show projected onto the facade of the church, for a truly impressive record. But already the video ends. Hashimoto's announcement, it seems to me, it will be the opening movie of DDD. The rest of the event will be reserved for Square Enix Members with special tickets. These tickets granted them the right to sit up front on chairs. But also to wield a keyblade size!
Indeed, Hashimoto soon to exhibit the precious artefact and shake under the nose of the crowd.
The result will be a bit long sequence where each SE Members try the Keyblade, acting as a giant wiimote on the facade of the church, prompting streaks of light in its path when the privileged agitated. Background to the effigy of a series of games appeared randomly for each person, and a photo was taken with the projection of the person alongside figures in the background. A very very nice souvenir for elected officials.
These lucky will also be entitled to another privilege in the wake, suddenly appear as dozens of Dream Eater on the facade of the church. This time it's a giant EyeToy device that will allow members to touch and move the Dream Eater on the facade of the church. The experience must have been impressive.
On this last animation that the event ends. Each person then spring the main stage, recovering in passing its collector card bearing the image of DDD.
In conclusion: a very short event, and not as grand as could be expected with the video preparation. Finally, there was that video games and posters at the entrance of the hall ... The giant statue is a bit level and gives visibility to the event. Despite the fact that in the end it there was not much to be put on the tooth, I think I speak on behalf of all the fans in attendance by saying that the scene where Roxas, Terra, Aqua and Ven appear alongside Sora and Riku will be enough to make the day magic. So many emotions! The best is that in 26 days, the game will be available, as well as its console collector and his special box. Definitely one month under the sign of Kingdom Hearts."
7:55AM EST: 4Gamer.net have posted various photos from the event.
3:45AM EST: Twitter user @Noir_plus has uploaded a new photo from the event.
2:25AM EST: Famitsu.com have uploaded 16 photos from the event. They also announced that on March 29, 2012, a special edition of Famitsu Weekly magazine would be released for the 10th Anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series.
2:11AM EST: Gamer have uploaded 18 photos from the event!

Live event coverage (All from aibo_ac7, Noir_plus, and translated by Oishii from KH13)
1:17AM EST: New photo: Poster for event
1:15AM EST: New photo: Close-up of Sora statue
1:08AM EST: New photo: Projection of Cloud and Sephiroth
12:58AM EST: New photo: Projection of Sora and Riku in The Grid
12:19AM EST: New photo: Boxart poster with pop-out characters
12:15AM EST: New photo: Teddy bear with Sora's costume
12:10AM EST: New photo: Commemorative postcard artwork shown
12:05AM EST: New photo: Floating Wonder Meows
12:03AM EST: New photo: Projector display

11:48PM EST: Mr. Hashimoto has a Keyblade and is using it to control the display
11:47PM EST: They are allowing people from the public to play the KH3D demo
11:46PM EST: Terra, Aqua and Ventus are shown in the Keyblade Graveyard
11:44PM EST: Axel, Xion and Roxas are shown eating ice cream
11:42PM EST: Next, the opening of the game is played on the ceiling
11:41PM EST: First, Mickey's Fantasia animation is played on the ceiling
11:40PM EST: There is about to be a movie, but no recording is allowed
11:40PM EST: The Nintendo 3DS bundle and 10th Anniversary Box are shown
11:38PM EST: Tetsuya Nomura was there earlier, but had to leave for work
11:35PM EST: Shinji Hashimoto, a producer from Square Enix, is at the event as a guest

Pre event coverage
10:08PM EST: The KH3D version of Dearly Beloved can be heard playing from inside (Source: ArikaMiz)
9:33PM EST: Another photo of the statue from Square Enix
9:29PM EST: A photo of the ground outside the event (Source: ArikaMiz)
9:20PM EST: A photo of a poster for the event (Source: aibo_ac7)
8:38PM EST: Square Enix have uploaded a second photo of the statue to their Facebook
5:55PM EST: Square Enix uploads a photo of the setup, including a Kingdom Hearts Re:coded statue

1:06AM EST: Square Enix uploads a teaser video for the event

DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D appears in Weekly Shōnen Jump

The March 5, 2012 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine has included an article on Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. This article contains information about three new Dream Eaters, which will be available from AR cards given out in the next issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump. It also contains various screenshots, some of which are new. Thanks to aibo_ac7 for the find, you can a scan of the article below.

DChiuch

Official Kingdom Hearts 3D website updated with characters, worlds, wallpaper

Square Enix have updated their official website for Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. This update includes updates to the "characters", "worlds" and "special" sections. "Characters" has been updated with many new Dream Eaters, "worlds" has been updated with The Grid, the world based on Tron: Legacy, and "special" has been updated with a new wallpaper. A box mentioning the March 3, 2012 Premiere Event for Kingdom Hearts 3D was also added to the main page.
Official Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] website
Characters - Various Dream Eaters
Worlds - The Grid
Wallpaper (click here for other resolutions)

DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D in Famitsu Weekly, Radiant Garden & The Grid

Update 4: Thanks to bKvEBVAvUq, we now realise that the back of the magazine had an extra 1-page section about the game. We have scanned and uploaded our own high quality version of this page, which you can see below.

SQEX.INFO have completely translated these impressions, which you can check out below.
Abruptly Climatic! The opening movie flowed well, but it became suddenly climatic! Least that’s how I felt, the opener is a high end movie made up of memorable scenes from the past series. There was a digest of scenes so far, but from here the condensed content begins. Just seeing Roxas, Axel, and Xion from 358/2 Days appear one after another in a high end rendered scene, I didn’t want to cry, but… Moreover, that’s not where it ends. On the bottom screen, the silhouette of King Mickey is moving about. The movements of the King on the bottom screen are linked to the top screen! …If I write anymore about it, I’ll end up spoiling you, so be excited when you see it for yourself. It’s really cool!
Now, about the action. From the start, the character you operate is Sora. One of the new elements introduced in this title is the “Free Flow Action” ability that lets you swirl around poles. This sort of high speed action is really fun! Thanks to the inhuman action, you can get to the rooftops with ease where there are treasure boxes. The Free Flow Action is not only refreshing, but the fun of being able to search the field is very reminiscent of the series from the first Kingdom Hearts to Birth by Sleep. And when you are playing, you can switch your operating character to Riku. Sora’s attacks provide big action, in comparison Riku’s smart moves make defeating enemies a breeze!
Continuing, there is a strange element called Link Portal that appears. It seems with Street Pass communication, the information of the people you pass by will be displayed on your bottom screen. This time when I played, I passed “Jiminy”, “Tidas”, and “Cecil”. Like with The World Ends With You, it seems that you can have fake encounters with computer characters. Incidentally, the names of the characters you encounter appear on the bottom screen. If you touch their names, you can fight together with your friend’s Dream Eaters and initiate a battle where you defeat enemies within a time limit. Other than that, it seems there are various hidden elements within this title.
Sorry for not mentioning the climax of the opening movie! Of course, there is much, much more to look forward to in this chapter of the series!
The Opener Made Me Cry!
In this title, you’ll be able to switch off playing between the main characters Sora and Riku while adventuring to Disney worlds. When the game begins, you are immediately tossed into battle while you can become accustomed to the game play little by little. The tutorial seems more courteous than the prior titles. I was relieved that even though this game operates on the Nintendo 3DS and has a new system, it was easy to get into.
Since a large number of enemies appear during battle Sora and Riku struggle against them more so than in the previous titles, it feels great to take pleasure in defeating the enemies! By the way, I noticed that since Tokyo Game Show last Fall, the difficulties of the “Free Flow Action” ability had been taken out. Still, a little experience is required. Invoking commands during battle comes naturally, like the Reality Shift ability and the other systems unique to this title. The mood of the title is like, “You can have a lot of fun just by invoking all the action.” It’s refreshing like the series usually is, but the result is something that can be relished over and over again.
From there, let’s talk about the friendly creatures that will be participating together with you in battle. To be honest, when I’m in battle I’m too busy worrying about myself, so I didn’t really know what my partners were doing, but during their leveling up part I involuntarily let out a giggle at their cuteness. You can pet them with the touch pad, give them a training toy to play with, give them a snack… Whenever you do that, they either react happily or grumpily, their own individual personalities shine through, tightening my heart like they were my own babies. Like explained on page 47 of this issue, you can make your own Dream Eaters and name them, so they become very dear to you.
Lastly, right after you turn the game on, the opening movie begins to play if you leave it on the title screen. I had mistakenly thought, “Isn’t the series going to end with this title?” and that the result was astonishing. Honestly, just watching it, I cried remembering all the things from the travels up until now! For the fans, above all please watch this opener closely! It’ll really get to you.
Update 3: We now have extremely large, high quality scans of the Kingdom Hearts 3D article from Famitsu Weekly. These were scanned and uploaded by KH13.com. Enjoy. *Keep in mind that once you are on the gallery page, you can click again to make them even bigger. These are VERY large scans.*

Update 2: A more extensive translation/impressions have appeared online thanks to SQEX.INFO. You can read this below.
It appears that along with Axel (Lea), Xaldin (Dilan), Lexaeus (Aeleus), Even (Vexen), and Ienzo (Zexion) return to their human form at Radiant Garden. Axel is shown wondering about the others who haven’t reappeared like Xigbar(Braig) and Saix (Isa). Other screenshots show Sora and Riku as Yen Sid informs them about the journey they about to set out on for their Mark of Mastery exam. Restoring “those who are asleep within their sadness” is the key to passing. On the same page, Young Master Xehanort is shown taunting Riku about the darkness in his heart and in one screenshot saying, “You were the one I chose from the beginning.”
Sora and Riku meet Sam Flynn, Quorra, and Kevin Flynn on The Grid, where they connive against Clu who has taken an interest in the Keyblade. Sora searches for the whereabouts of Tron and faces Rinzler in a battle. Riku is also shown fighting a boss resembling a mantis which uses a quick spinning attack as well as an attack that depletes the Drop Gauge. Meanwhile, Young Xehanort and Ansem appear, apparently taunting Sora. Riku also mentions that anyone has the capability of bringing Ansem into being.
Two new Reality Shift commands are introduced. The “Code Breaker” command takes place in The Grid. To invoke this attack, you must touch on the correct red words in the right order on the bottom screen to break the code that releases an attack. The other is called “Fantasmic” that takes place in the Fantasia world of Symphony of Sorcery. This attack is invoked by touching music notes on the bottom screen similar to the mini games in the previous Little Mermaid worlds.
Evil Eye Owl (ガンミ・ワクロウ)
It’s weak point is it’s wings.
Snail Cargot (デンデン・カルゴ)
It’s protective shell is very defensive; when it is utilized it is impenetrable no matter how many times you hit it.
Swift Giraffe (イダテン・キリン)
This Spirit Dream Eater grants Riku lightning fast attacks with it’s Link Action ability Thunder Storm.
Opake Pierrot (オパケ・ピエロ)
This Spirit Dream Eater resembles a clownish figure reminiscent of Quina from Final Fantasy IX. It’s Link Attack is called Ghost Vacuum which helps in prize/drop collection.
Scissor Beetle (ハサミ・クワガタ)
This Spirit Dream Eater resembles a stag beetle. The Link Action attack that it utilizes with Sora is called Drop Shot. With it, you can aim and trap your enemies to deal log range damage.
Bat Bat (コウモリ・バット)
This familiar Spirit Dream Eater’s Link Action attack is called Dark Fierce and when it combines it’s powers with Riku, it has a confusing and HP draining effect.
The article goes on to explain the breeding of Dream Eaters. By collecting ingredients and recipes, you’ll be able to create and name your Spirit Dream Eaters. Also depending on the ingredients you use, the special abilities associated with the Dream Eater can be customized. In the article example, they create a Wondernyan with the Slide Dash command. Other details related in the article explain how to edit your command deck as well as the different abilities associated with the Dream Eaters. For instance, the Dream Eaters gain status abilities like HP Up as they level up which can be equipped to instantly effect the character you play as.
Update 1: Pavlovic Sarah from KH13 has translated parts of the article. You can read this below.
Yen Sid: You have chosen the journey that will lead you on a mission to become Keyblade Masters.
Yen Sid: I will have you go back to Destiny Islands, as it was when it was swallowed by darkness and sleeping. The two are given an explanation about the Mark of Mastery. Someone who is sleeping in sorrow will become the key.
The face that is reflected in the mirror is...
Lea: Ah... I am back to my human form...
Beings who are without a Heart, “Nobodies”, and the Org. XIII. Their members are back as humans... Are their names and figure also as before!?
Unknown: Dilan, Aeleus, Even, Ienzo...
Lea (Axel) is searching for Braig (Xigbar), Isa (Saïx) and the others, who are not to be found yet, but...
Lea: Maybe they are still not back in the castle...
When he says “Happy-go-lucky boy”, he is talking about Sora, isn't he? It seems he was told about Sora by someone.
Unknown: Just as I heard it... you are a happy-go-lucky boy.
A scene where he seems to talk to Riku. He is talking like he is well aware of the darkness in Riku's heart.
Unknown: You are still afraid of the darkness.
Riku: So you're saying that anyone is able to give birth to Ansem...
The Silver-Haired-Boy and Xemnas!?
Silver-Haired-Boy: You do not even know where you are...
In this world, the mysterious boy appeared. Xemnas appears also!? Is this the real one or...
Xemnas: You are the choosen one.
Tron guy: You just have to touch the source a little bit to overwrite the whole character.
Top and bottom are upside down, even the operations/control are disordered.
In the battle with Rinzler, the gravity operation is disordered and top and bottom are upside down as well! At this time, the control becomes upside down as well.
The Reality Shift, Sora to Riku's unique technique, differs from world to world. The Reality Shift of The Grid, “Code Break”, is taking place in the lower screen where specific characters (the code) are shown and when touched, you can hack enemies and fixed forts in the upper screen.
Depending on the code combination, you can let the enemies change sides/put back them to sleep, force them to release prizes, etc. The Symphony of Sorcery: Fantasia is introduced too. Touching and sliding the ♪ as indicated, a firework is launched and the enemies are attacked.
You have to touch the “MOVING” and “SPARK”. In this case the “SWITCH” above is a miss-code.
The [MOVING SPARK] enables you to manipulate enemies to one's benefit, optionally, you can induce a big explosion.
The beautiful co-acting of sound and firework
“Drop Prizes” obtained by killing enemies on this occasion can be chanced for points. Using these points you can temporary manipulate the character as you want after they changed places, rising their ability or obtaining comands, items etc.
A forecast event for the present worlds' future.
After the event of changing places, items are easier to obtain and rare enemies are more likely to appear. Under this circumstances the state of the world and tendency alternate every time. The world displayed in the lower screen is the forecast for the worlds future, check it out.
You gan give them names!
You have to raise them from the very beginning, love and care for them. The Dream Eaters affinity with their friends and their learned ability can be shared with Sora & Riku.
The slots for the equipment increase as you advance through the game.
As expected, this week's issue of Famitsu Weekly magazine contained an article on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The article, which releases on February 23, 2012, mostly focuses on Radiant Garden and The Grid, the characters within those worlds, and also some information about Dream Eaters. ArikaMiz has scanned parts of this article, and you can see these scans below, in our gallery.
[removed due to HQ scans above]
DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D Premiere Event on March 3

Square Enix have updated the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter to announce that Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance will be featured at a Square Enix event in Tokyo on Saturday March 3, 2012. No other information was given. What do you think will be shown at the event? Let us know at our forum.
Update: Square Enix have posted on the official Kingdom Hearts blog about the event. While they don't reveal too much about what will be happening, they do state that the event will celebrate the series' 10th Anniversary and be called a "Premiere Event". This event will be open to selected members of Square Enix Memebers Japan.
The event will be held at a venue in Odaiba, Tokyo and will run 5 times throughout the day on Saturday March 3, 2012. In local Japan time, these times are 1:30PM to 2:10PM at the earliest, and 5:30PM to 6:30PM at the latest. The venue will be decorated with "Kingdom Hearts" color, containing familiar characters and the history of the series. Post cards with Kingdom Hearts artwork will be distributed.
Square Enix have also set up a website for the event.



DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D unofficial guidebook now up for pre-orders

As was announced earlier, the latest issue of V Jump magazine revealed that V Jump Books will be releasing an unofficial guidebook for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance titled "Dream World Navigation". The book (which is in Japanese) will release on the same day as Kingdom Hearts 3D, March 29, 2012. It will be available for ¥1150 (approximately US$14.36). Thanks to SQEX.INFO, we now know that Amazon.co.jp have put the book up for pre-orders. Unlike with Kingdom Hearts 3D, Amazon.co.jp will allow international shipping this time! If you want a pretty book with some Kingdom Hearts 3D artwork (and a guide if you read Japanese), then we definitely recommend that you consider buying this.
DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D in Nintendo Power

Update 4: silver3drago from KH13 has done us the massive favour of typing up the whole interview, for everyone to read. Enjoy! Edit: The interview has now been listed in our interviews archive.
-- Kingdom Hearts 3D was first announced at the same time as the Nintendo 3DS hardware. What made you so eager to bring the series to a new platform? Nomura: We were impressed with the passion Nintendo put into the design of the N3DS hardware. And personally, I was excited by the idea of a Kingdom Hearts game that could be played in 3D in the palm of one’s hands. That was certainly a big part of it.
-- Can you explain what the title-Dream Drop Distance-Means?
The story for this installment takes place in a world submerged in sleep, and from that “Sleep” we derived “Dream”. “Drop”, from the phrase “Drop off to sleep”, is our name for the system in which players alternate between control of Sora and Riku during gameplay. And since Sora and Riku are progressing through the story on different storylines, we chose “Distance” to express the gulf between them. And of course, since all three words start with the letter D, it can be shortened to 3D to add to the meaning of 3D functionality.
-- What can you tell us about the overarching story of the game and how it ties into the future of Kingdom Hearts?
The story for this installment picks up where Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded on the Nintendo DS left off, making it the most recent chapter in the timeline. It’s the story that takes place right before the final chapter of the “Xehanort arc”, which began with the very frist Kingdom Hearts.
To give a brief summary of the game’s premise, Yen Sid assigns Sora and Riku with visiting the Sleeping Worlds and open the seven Sleeping Doors as their Mark of Mastery exam, which they must complete in order to become Keyblade Masters. However, a mysterious boy in a black cloak appears everywhere they go, and nothing ends up going exactly as planned. That’s the gist of it.
In terms of future Kingdom Hearts, I know fans are eager for the arc’s final battle, and I hope to begin writing it soon.
-- In a previous interview, you mentioned that the Mark of Mastery exam won’t span the entirety of the game. Could you elaborate on that a little bit?
As I just mentioned, the mysterious boy in the black cloak causes the story to take an unexpected turn. Whenever he appears, Xehanort and other characters that have been linked to him, like Ansem, seem to follow, even though they’ve already been defeated in the past. Their story isn’t about the Mark of Mastery exam, so that plotline proceeds in a different direction.
-- How did you decide which new Disney worlds to include in the game?
Tai Yasue, the game’s codirector, suggested that since the film Fantasia contained many worlds, we could use that in the game to separate the worlds that Sora and Riku traveled through. I’ve always wanted to visit Fantasia in a Kingdom Hearts game, so I jumped at the chance. It’s a similar story with the other worlds. We considered how their worldview and settings could be used in interesting effect with the particular mechanics and scenario we had written for this installment, and selected them on that basis.
-- Why did you choose to make both Sora and Riku playable characters this time around?
Sora and Riku represent the theme of the Kingdom Hearts series, which is “the light and dark sides of the heart.” This story takes place right before the final battle, and so we wanted to go back to the origin of the series and depict the polarity of light and darkness through their respective stories.
-- As big fans of The World Ends with You, we’re excited to see its characters appear in Dream Drop Distance. What role do they play in this game?
In previous games in the Kingdom Hearts series, Final Fantasy characters made appearances and gave Sora guidance to help with his adventure. This time, it’s characters from The World Ends with You who perform that role. The basic story is that the characters wandered into this world while playing the Reapers’ Game, and became separated from their partners. Their stories begin with the teammates searching for each other.
-- Aside from yourself, did anyone on the Kingdom Hearts team work on the World Ends with You?
The illustrator who worked on TWEWY, Gen Kobayashi, is now serving as the art director for Dream Drop Distance. That games composer, Takeharu Ishimoto, has also created some music for DDD. Finally, the director of TWEWY, Tatsuya Kando, is working as this game’s animation supervisor.
-- What are the origins of the Dream Eaters? And can you explain the difference between the two types: Spirits and Nightmares?
Actually, as you may have seen in the debut trailer, I was originally planning to go with Heartless and Nobodies. But when I started thinking about setting the game in a dream world with enemies who could grow and fight alongside the player, I felt that it wouldn’t really make sense to be raising Heartless and Nobodies. So I came up with the Dream Eaters as a new kind of enemy that appears in Sleeping Worlds and that feeds on dreams instead of being focused on hearts the way Heartless and Nobodies are.
Nightmares are the Dream Eaters who eat dreams born in these worlds and sow nightmares instead; they appear as the main enemy for this installment. Spirits are good monsters who eat nightmares, and they fight alongside Sora and Riku as allies.
-- Will Sora and Riku fight alongside Disney characters at any point? Or do they strictly fight alongside their Spirit allies?
In this installment, they will be fighting almost exclusively alongside their Spirit allies. To be clear, this game isn’t a spinoff, since it’s a continuation of the series’s main story. But when I’m working on a game in the series that isn’t a numbered title, I like taking the opportunity to incorporate ambitious new systems like this.
-- The action in Dream Drop Distance is a lot faster and more frenetic than in the previous Kingdom Hearts games. What was the motivation behind that?
I have a clear direction for how I want the Kingdom Hearts series evolve, and this change is part of moving in that direction. The games in the series are known as RPGs with a high level of action, in which anyone can perform flashy moves. In order to make the gameplay even more dynamic, we’ve implemented a new system called Flowmotion. With that, I think we’ve taken another step towards our ultimate goal for the series.
-- In a recent trailer, we spotted various Nobodies like Xemnas, Xion, and Axel. How is it that they’re around for the events of this game?
I can’t discuss details just yet, but the mysterious boy in the black cloak has something to do with this. They will confuse Sora and Riku wherever they go.
Who would you say is the main villain in Dream Drop Distance?
I can’t make a definitive statement because that would be giving away a secret, but I will tell you once again, the mysterious boy in the black cloak is the key to the answer.
-- Will this game take advantage of StreetPass or SpotPass?
The game does take advantage of StreetPass capabilities, and uses them in the Spirit-breeding system.
-- Who’s composing the soundtrack for the game? Will it include a new theme song?
With this installment, Yoko Simomura will continue her role as the series’s main composer. Takeharu Ishimoto and Tsuyoshi Sekito-who have worked on previus installments like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep-will also be contributing music to this game. Ishimoto will not only be handling songs from The World Ends with You, but from other games as well. As with our previous titles, the theme music is going to be a song by Utada Hikaru.
-- Will all of the US voice actors from previous Kingdom Hearts be reprising their roles in Dream Drop Distance?
That’s certainly a plan. In fact, the voice recording for the North American version is already underway.
-- This year marks the 10th anniversary of the series. Do you have anything special in store for 2012 to celebrate this occasion?
In Japan, we’re planning to release a 10-year commemorative box set. We don’t have any other solid plans, but the series has a lot of support from fans in North America, so I hope we can do something special for them as well.
-- Finally, if we ask nicely, would you share something about Dream Drop distance that you haven’t mentioned anywhere else?
This is the first time we’re doing this, but there’s a surprise during the end credits. So even when the credits start to roll, don’t put down your N3DS, and don’t let your guard down!
Update 3: Oishii from KH13 has scanned and uploaded all pages of the Nintendo Power article, all in amazing quality. You can see these below, in our gallery.

Update 2: Nintendo Power have updated their official website with a preview of the issue. This preview gives us a high quality version of the front page, as well as the first page of the Kingdom Hearts 3D article. You can see this below, thanks to J. Severe from KH13 for the tip.

Update 1: We now have scans of the issue, uploaded by burai97. Thanks to KH Ultimania for the tip. You can see these below.
[removed due to higher quality scans above]
The March 2012 issue of Nintendo Power magazine has included an article on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The article (which is completely in English) confirms a lot of the information we have been getting over the last few months from Japanese sources, and also contains an interview with Tetsuya Nomura. We will be getting scans of this issue soon, but in the meantime, please check out a summary of it from silver3drago from KH13 (who has a copy of the issue).
[removed due to complete interview above]
DChiuch

Richard Epcar confirmed to voice Xehanort/Ansem in Kingdom Hearts 3D

Richard Epcar has confirmed via his Facebook page that he will be returning for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance to voice "Ansem / Xehanort" in the game. While we already knew that he would be voice acting, it is interesting to see that Epcar is suddenly allowed to make an official announcement, because "it's been announced". Perhaps some more information about the English release is coming soon? Let us know what you think at our forum. Thanks to RobertOrri from KH13 for the tip.

DChiuch

Kingdom Hearts 3D at Nintendo Direct

Update 2: Square Enix have added Kingdom Hearts 3D footage to the Japanese eShop, as announced, however this unexpectedly contained some never before seen footage from the game! Thanks to blaze627 for the footage, and KH Ultimania for the tip and upload, you can see this footage below. Check back as we will later upload a HQ version of it.

Update 1: As expected, Kingdom Hearts 3D appeared at the event. There was a short trailer, and this trailer contained some new footage! In case you missed it, we've uploaded this trailer to YouTube for you. Check it out below, or view and/or download it from our video archive! Secondly, Nintendo announced that the footage would be downloadable from the eShop (if you have a Japanese Nintendo 3DS). They also showed us the KH3D Special Trailer.

Nintendo have announced that they will be running a third "Nintendo Direct" event today, at 8PM on February 22, in Japan. Like the first two, this will be livestreamed on the Nintendo website. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance appeared at the first two events, with the first containing new content, and the second a rehash of the short Jump Festa 2012 trailer. This makes it likely that Kingdom Hearts 3D will be shown again, but it is unknown if we will see new footage or not.
DChiuch

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