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Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory Advent Calendar by Yoko Shimomura

Yoko Shimomura has announced that she will be sharing a memory of hers each day during December up until the 25th as part of an advent calendar! These memories will be related to the songs included in Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory. KH13 will be continually updating this article and social media with her posts. The translations for these posts will be done by our team's Ryuji, while the graphics will be done by our team's Kimpchuu.
~Day 1 - December 1st~ (source)
~Day 2 - December 2nd~ (source)
~Day 3 - December 3rd~ (source)
~Day 4 - December 4th~ (source)
~Day 5 - December 5th~ (source)
~Day 6 - December 6th~ (source)
~Day 7 - December 7th~ (source)
~Day 8 - December 8th~ (source)
~Day 9 - December 9th~ (source)
~Day 10 - December 10th~ (source)
~Day 11 - December 11th~ (source)
~Day 12 - December 12th~ (source)
~Day 13 - December 13th~ (source)
~Day 14 - December 14th~ (source)
~Day 15 - December 15th~ (source)
~Day 16 - December 16th~ (source)
~Day 17 - December 17th~ (source)
~Day 18 - December 18th~ (source)
~Day 19 - December 19th~ (source)
~Day 20 - December 20th~ (source)
~Day 21 - December 21st~ (source)
~Day 22 - December 22nd~ (source)
~Day 23 - December 23rd~ (source)
~Final Entry - Day 24 - December 24th~ (source)
You can view the official translations provided by the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account here.
OrpheusJoshua

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] Japan main story update scheduled for late December

The Japanese Square Enix Bridge website has recently been updated with upcoming content for Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]! Of these numerous upcoming additions to the mobile title, there is one particular note that stands out. The very end of the update list confirms that new main quest content is scheduled to release at the end of December!

While this does not confirm new developments with the Union Leaders following the recent story bombshells, it is certainly highly probable. Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] was stated to be in the throes of its final chapter, so more noteworthy story events is seeming likely. However, this update can also just consist of story content for the Wreck it Ralph world. For now, only time will tell.
Are you excited for the upcoming story update for Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]? Let us know in the comments below!
OrpheusJoshua

Kingdom Hearts III manga Vol. 1 is now available both physically and digitally from Yen Press; contains Chapter 0 thru Chapter 8

The first volume of the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available from Yen Press. The volume contains Chapter 0 (Prologue) thru Chapter 8 and can be bought as a physical copy for $13.00 ($15.00 CAN) or as a digital download for $6.99 ($8.99 CAN).
The volume can be bought on Amazon (physical and digital), Barnes & Noble (physical and digital), BookWalker (digital), Books-a-Million (physical), Comixology (digital), Google Play (digital), Apple iBooks (digital), Indigo (physical), Indiebound (physical), Kobo (digital), and Rightstuf (physical).

Vol.1 has been available in Japan since April. The manga is currently on Chapter 13 with Japan receiving it on November 19th and North America receiving it shortly. 
Will you be adding this to your Kingdom Hearts collection? Let us know in the comments!
Leamax

Yoko Shimomura shares her thoughts on the iconic track, 'Dearly Beloved', and how it has evolved throughout the Kingdom Hearts series

The well known composer for the Kingdom Hearts series, Yoko Shimomura, recently chatted with Square Enix about the iconic track 'Dearly Beloved' and how it has evolved throughout the course of several years and several games. 
Shimomura had several notable comments regarding the initial composing of the track.
Shimomura delves into several aspects of this song such as the technology that was used to compose it across its various iterations as well as the inspirations and ideas she had for purposeful theming. 
There are also some interesting and unexpected comments, such as her thoughts on fans reacting so emotionally to the 'Dearly Beloved' iteration present in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. 
Kingdom Hearts II was when Shimomura began to realize that Kingdom Hearts would become a truly long-lasting series which is why she was quite emotionally invested and put quite a bit of effort into that iteration of 'Dearly Beloved'.
Shimomura has a difficult time choosing her favorite version of the track and believes that wanting to change prior tracks would be denying the efforts she took when she initially composed them.
Also of note, she comments on the version of 'Dearly Beloved' present in the recently released Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory. She states that it was a delight for her since she got to tackle the iconic track from a whole new angle. This was something she wanted to do for years. Additionally, she makes a curious comment about a scrapped version of the song.
Lastly, Shimomura closed off her thoughts by saying:
You can view the entirety of the article at Square Enix's blog, here.
What are your thoughts on these compelling pieces of trivia regarding one of the franchise's most well known tracks? Let us know in the comments below!
OrpheusJoshua

[UPDATE] Limited time Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory Cafe opening up in Tokyo and Osaka with a variety of food, drinks and merchandise; Produced by Oh My Cafe

Oh My Cafe have announced the upcoming Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory Cafe taking place in Osaka and Tokyo! This cafe will be opened from December 11, 2020 to January 31, 2021 and will include a variety of dishes, drinks, and merchandise.
Take a look at each menu item and each piece of merchandise via our two galleries below:
Additionally, below is a translation of all of the menu items' descriptions and merchandise descriptions, courtesy of our team's Ryuji!
Do any of these dishes look tasty to you? And what are your thoughts on the various pieces of merchandise? Let us know in the comments below!
UPDATE: 12/10/2020
Dtimes.jp has revealed new photos of products, dishes and the venue the café will be taking place in! 
You can view each of these newly revealed photos via our gallery below:
 
OrpheusJoshua

Kingdom Hearts III manga Chapter 13 now available on Gangan Online

Gangan Online have posted Chapter 13 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga. You can check out the previews for the chapter in our gallery below. You can read the full chapter on their site by clicking here or on their online app.
Chapter 14 will be available on December 17th.
You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below!
Chapter 0 Prologue     Japanese   English Chapter 1 A New Journey     Japanese   English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum[1]      Japanese   English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum[2]      Japanese   English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum[3]      Japanese   English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum[4]      Japanese   English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum[5]      Japanese   English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum[6]      Japanese   English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum[7]      Japanese  English Chapter 9 World of Darkness    Japanese   English Chapter 10 Connected     Japanese   English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese  English Chapter 12 Reunion    Japanese   English In addition, Vol. 1 (which contains Chapter 0 thru Chapter 8 ) is available in Japan and will be available in December in English. 
Leamax

Dengeki Interview with Tetsuya Nomura about Melody of Memory and the future of the series

Dengeki recently conducted an interview with Tetsuya Nomura on Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory and what to expect from the series in the near future. You can read the interview below, courtesy of translations from our team's Ryuji.
What are your thoughts on this interview? Let us know in the comments below!
OrpheusJoshua

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory PlayStation 4 digital pre-orders reportedly not working for many players

It has come to our attention that there are a great many individuals who are unfortunately unable to download their digital pre-orders for Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory on PlayStation 4.
The issue consists of players attempting to download the title, but said download never commences. The PlayStation store page for Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory lists the retail price instead of the option to download it as well, and if an individual experiencing these issues attempts to restore licenses via their PlayStation 4 menu, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory unfortunately remains unaffected. 
PlayStation is reportedly offering refunds for this issue but the actual problem itself remains unresolved, and there is very little attention surrounding this dilemma. Rebuying the title after being refunded has worked for some players who have said to have done that.
Have you or anyone you know experienced this problem, or anything remotely similar? Let us know and we might be able to bring this plight more attention!
OrpheusJoshua

KH13's Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory Review

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory Review- Played on PlayStation 4. Review code provided by Square Enix.
*Note this is a spoiler free review. Please mask any new story heavy plot points you wish to discuss inside a spoiler box, in accordance with our site spoiler policy.

It is still incredibly unbelievable to me that not only did we get another Kingdom Hearts title announced so soon after the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind DLC was released, but that same title has already been released this same year. It truly is a wild time to be a Kingdom Hearts fan. With that being said, however, the expectations for Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory were a rather mixed bag. This was due to the minimal timeframe of hype that we were allotted and the game's genre itself. Ultimately though, I found Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory to excel mostly with flying colors at what it was driven to do, with some of its other elements leaving more to be desired.
The meat of this game is, without a doubt, the rhythmic action gameplay. The demo gave us all a taste test of how this gameplay system would generally work, and at least, personally speaking, it made my hype for the full release go full throttle. Needless to say, I became easily addicted once I got my hands on the full release.

You can play three types of songs: Field Battles, Boss Battles, and Memory Dives. Of these three song types, Field Battles are easily the most frequent, and they're certainly the ones I had the most fun with. They consist of the player's chosen team automatically running down lanes fraught with enemies and other obstacles. Players must time either singular or multiple X, L1, or R1 button presses in time with the markers that appear. These markers obviously follow the song's beat, so if you know the song well, there's a likely chance you'll be able to pick up on the foundation of the rate that you should be pushing buttons at. Clearing songs and missions in the World Tour mode rewards players with items and various kinds of collectibles.
In a way, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is the most fun and satisfied I have had when playing a rhythm game. While this genre is always centered around perfection, Melody of Memory takes a unique approach and does not simply depict button icons during the songs. (at least for Field Battles) You instead have to coincide your button presses with enemies on screen, and while they do have markers, the lack of guided button prompts makes success feel all the more cathartic.
Boss Battles and Memory Dives are more akin to standard rhythm game titles. You have to time appropriate button presses with incoming icons. The Boss Battles are my largest critique in regards to gameplay. Their mechanics offer an enjoyable and unique challenge. However, there are only a handful of boss fights sprinkled throughout the game, and there are some that really felt like they should have been included. It was in no way a deal-breaker, but this was one of the concepts I would have found to be more fulfilling with further refining. With such an astronomically low number of them, the boss battles certainly stood out, but it also disappointed me with how few of them there were. There are also stats the party members have, which increase once they level up. These are oddly implemented since they really only impact your damage intake and health, but it does help players with learning songs on greater difficulties. 
Memory Dives are the stages I'm the most indifferent on. While not as numerous as the Field Battle songs, there are a fair bit more than the boss battle tracks. They felt like the laxest of the three stage types. They were a convenient method to wind down after dealing with some particularly challenging Field Battle tracks.
Synthesis is a massive part of this game's content. You can craft new songs (Memory Dives), new collectibles, other synthesis materials, and items from the synthesis menu. Performing synthesis also increases the catalog of what the shopkeeper Moogle offers, so there is an addicting, continuous cycle of effort and reward. The amount of what you can make is a tad overwhelming, admittedly, but it made the overall gameplay loop increasingly more satisfying.

The museum is another massive part of this title's content. Containing a magnificent amount of art and other collectibles make it an engaging way to spend some time. You can also check on your gameplay records as a nice reflection point. Admiring past entries of the franchise and your own gameplay history are these menus' sole purposes, and they depict it all remarkably well.

Moving on from the gameplay, there are two elephants in the room regarding this release, the first of which is the story. The story has not been a heavily marketed aspect of this game, and not many were expecting much from it in that department. However, this, without a doubt, feels like the briefest inclusion of story for the series on consoles. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the new story content, but the issue I have with it is the implementation. There are a mere 20 or so minutes of new cutscenes, which, even for an entry not centered around the story, feels incredibly needless. The new story content felt as if it would better fit the confines of the Re Mind DLC rather than being backloaded to a new game's ending. It also doesn't help that the gameplay and new story don't synergize well enough. While I found myself invested and engaged in the new story content as a whole, it almost felt like I was consuming a completely different product than what I was playing. 
All that said, though, the new story content may rub some fans the wrong way for certain reasons, but it ultimately does a fairly enticing job of directly setting up what the future of the series has in store, in a much more conclusive way than what the Re Mind DLC did. Some notable aspects of this new story content have to do with Kairi and the voice acting. Kairi's tale not being done justice is a tale as old as time, so I won't bother getting into that now, but this new story content does end up respecting her as a character far more than the past. While still far from ideal, she has some more agency in what ends up happening to her, which is a step in the right direction. She also had a fair bit of personality for some of the story scenes.
Speaking of personality, a small gripe I had with this title was the narration, or recap, of the prior games. Clearing certain songs and worlds will award players with very brief recaps of the franchise's prior games from Kairi's perspective. Unfortunately, I found these recap scenes to skirt being barely serviceable. Due to their brevity, I don't think these scenes would be enough to entice prospective fans or inform them enough on what has happened in the prior entries. Kairi also has no personality in these recaps either. She is merely the narrator, but at the same time, the lack of any uniqueness from Kairi's point of view for these scenes makes them feel very dry, dull, and barebones. This is not a massive detractor by any stretch of the imagination since these scenes do technically accomplish what they set out to do in a sense, and they are rather infrequent and brief, but the way they were handled still did rub me the wrong way. All in all, the best way to describe the narration is that it does its job as acting as a very lite recap. Still, it does not go into enough detail into the past games to act as a serviceable conduit. It also lacks any notable uniqueness from Kairi as a narrator, making me question its overall point.

The second elephant in the room has to do with the game's price tag and overall length. First and foremost, it is rather obvious that this game is aimed towards either rhythm game fans or Kingdom Hearts fans who are in love with the soundtrack. This is not a title for those who expected a decent chunk of the story, and if that is what a potential buyer desires, they are better off skipping this title entirely or purchasing it on sale. However, if you are a fan of rhythm games or are easily enthused by the wondrous Kingdom Hearts soundtracks, this game is definitely worth the full price tag. Compared to most rhythm games, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory offers a jaw-dropping amount of content. Including over 140 songs and tons of collectibles to the degree that it has is well beyond what most games of the genre do. The inclusions of synthesis, online versus mode on top of that, as well as co-op, make Melody of Memory an incredibly stellar experience for those hooked to its gameplay. I am personally hoping for more songs to be added as DLC at some point down the road. There is still a decent chunk of songs not included, such as the data battle tracks in Kingdom Hearts 3 Re Mind's Limit Cut Episode. Regardless of whether or not that happens, though, I am delighted with the impressive slew of songs we got in one package.
Overall, most of the critiques I have with Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory are minor and are not major aspects of the game. At its core, this title is an absolute delight, and I see myself sinking dozens upon dozens of more hours into it as we await the next entry in the franchise and beyond. The cathartic nature of perfecting songs, the inclusion of 3 gameplay modes, and 3 difficulties make the replay value sky-high. For rhythm game connoisseurs and those merely interested, there is more than enough to keep you hooked.
KH13 gives Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory an 8.5/10.

OrpheusJoshua

Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III available for pre-order from Amazon for $44.99, 256 pages; releasing June 15, 2021

A new Kingdom Hearts book, called Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III, is available for pre-order from Amazon.
The description is as follows:
Are you intending on purchasing this unexpected English Ultimania? Let us know in the comments below!
OrpheusJoshua

[UPDATED]Kingdom Hearts Tissue Box Covers available for pre-order on Square Enix E-Store

Square Enix has revealed new Kingdom Hearts themed tissue box covers available for pre-order on their Japanese E-Store. You can pre-order the Monogram patterned tissue box cover here, and the Royal patterned tissue box cover here. Each tissue box cover is set to release February 6, 2021 for a price of ¥3,960(approximately $40 USD).
You can take a closer at the tissue box covers in the gallery below 
 
Will you be purchasing these tissue box covers for the next time Kingdom Hearts gets the tears flowing? Let us know in the comments below! 
[UPDATED] November 23, 2020: The tissue box covers are now available for pre-order on the Square Enix North America store currently for a discounted $35.99 each. Both tissue box covers are scheduled to release in March 2021. Their respective store links can be found below.
Square Enix North America Store - Kingdom Hearts III Tissue Box Cover - Monogram
Square Enix North America Store - Kingdom Hearts III Tissue Box Cover - Royal
WakelessDream

Several Kingdom Hearts Ultimanias and the Character Files receive digital versions in Japan

Square Enix have announced that the Ultimanias for Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix +, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep are now available digitally!
The Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files book is also now available digitally as well!

Are you intending on purchasing any of these new digital versions? Let us know in the comments below!
OrpheusJoshua

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