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[UPDATE]Kingdom Hearts Dearly Beloved Music Box available for pre-order from Square Enix Japan e-Store, Aitai Kuji, and AmiAmi English; releasing April 2024

The Square Enix Japan e-Store has revealed a new Kingdom Hearts music box featuring the theme Dearly Beloved. The music box is set to release April 27th, 2024 for ¥2,750 (approximately $20.00 USD).
You can take a look at the music box in our gallery below
Previously music boxes based on Kairi and Traverse Town have been revealed.  
Will you be picking up this new music box? Let us know in the comments below!
Update 12/21/2023: The Kingdom Hearts Dearly Beloved music box is now available for pre-order at Aitai Kuji and AmiAmi English for ¥2,200 (approximately $16.00 USD).
WakelessDream

Kingdom Hearts Shadow Face Mug available for pre-order from Square Enix North America and Europe stores; releasing October and December 2024

The Square Enix North America and Square Enix Europe stores have revealed a new Kingdom Hearts Shadow Face Mug. The mug is slated for an October 2024 release date in North America for $34.99 USD, and a December 2024 release in Europe for €46.99. 
You can take a closer look at the Kingdom Hearts Shadow Face Mug in our gallery below alongside pre-order links for each store front
Square Enix North America Store - Kingdom Hearts Shadow Face Mug
Square Enix Europe Store - Kingdom Hearts Shadow Face Mug
Will you be adding this item to your collection of Kingdom Hearts merchandise? Let us know in the comments below!
WakelessDream

[UPDATE]Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Sora Amiibo release date announced for February 16th, 2024

Nintendo has revealed the release date for the Sora Amiibo to be February 16th, 2024, alongside a short video clip which you can view below. 
The Sora Amiibo was originally announced during a Nintendo Direct back in September. 
The Amiibo is currently listed for preorder on the Nintendo Store Japan website for ¥2,200 ($14.92 USD) and Amazon Japan though it is worth noting it is currently listed as unavailable on the Amazon page. 
You can take a closer look at the Sora Amiibo in our gallery below
Will you be picking up the Sora Amiibo when it releases? Let us know in the comments below!
Update 12/7/2023: The Sora Amiibo is now available for pre-order at Best Buy for $15.99 and Australian retailers JB Hi-Fi and EB Games Australia for $21.00 and $21.95 respectively. It should be noted that while some have been able to get pre-orders in at Best Buy, at the time of this update the item is currently shown as "Coming Soon." 
Update 12/8/2023: The Sora Amiibo is now available for pre-order at Target and GameStop, for $15.99.
WakelessDream

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link: Closed Beta Test Impressions

The closed beta testing for Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link is currently underway for select players with iOS devices in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, having begun on November 29th and running through to December 8th. 
KH13 staff member Kimpchuu had the opportunity to participate in the closed beta testing and has compiled an in depth summary and screenshots of his first impressions of the game spanning across Story, Presentation, Gameplay, and the Gacha/Monetization system. You can read his full break down below!
Story 

The beta offers a limited glimpse into the storyline. Players are introduced to the initial 20 minutes of the prologue, unveiling intriguing concepts. The protagonist is a 'drifter,' mysteriously arriving at Scala ad Caelum. The dive station and the Astral Plane are swiftly introduced, explaining the GPS game mode. The primary objective is to safeguard Scala by thwarting Heartless incursions. As of now, this constitutes the extent of the storyline, to be further explored upon the game's official release.


Presentation

Leveraging the Unreal 4 engine, the game benefits from rendering its environments beautifully. Despite the relatively smaller scale, locations exude the ambiance of mini-arenas akin to those encountered in Kingdom Hearts III. The Scala hub area boasts considerable exploration opportunities, featuring NPCs and scattered Moogles. Despite mobile constraints, the lighting and models hold up well. Character animations during combos and enemy attacks are impressive, although certain textures on characters seem lacking compared to the detailed environments. Particle effects are reminiscent of KH3 and add to the visual flair.

However, the Astral Plane mode exhibits a noticeable drop in quality, as anticipated. The auto-generated environments and models fail to match the detailed aesthetics of Scala, somewhat compromising the experience.
The enchanting, beautifully composed music significantly enhances the atmosphere, immersing players in this fresh Kingdom Hearts world while retaining a sense of familiarity. Although not all the music is new, the returning tracks seamlessly blend into the experience.
Combat mechanics involving 'pieces' vary in quality. Some employ the new KH3 models, while others are ported from older games, displaying boxy polygonal edges that somewhat make the quality a bit inconsistent.
Fortunately, the voiced cutscenes in Japanese represent a significant improvement over Union X. However, there's uncertainty regarding whether this quality will extend to the entire story, especially concerning localization in English. A peculiar observation relates to sound: the absence of audible swings when encountering enemies or allies wielding a keyblade feels oddly disconnected.

As a designer, I must remark on the UI. While the team has admirably crafted a new thematic for the game, certain aspects, particularly the menus, feel somewhat outdated and unrefined. Streamlining these while preserving the intended style would significantly enhance the overall experience.

Gameplay

Combat

Drawing from experience playing 90% of Kingdom Hearts games, this game amalgamates elements from Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross], Dark Road, and Kingdom Hearts III. Movement and combat mechanics evoke a KH3-like feeling, but the primary damage mechanism—rotating abilities—strongly resembles UX and Dark Road. Playing a mobile game in a 3D KH universe is a remarkable leap, yet the heavy reliance on spells hampers the experience. Similar to Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, commands and spells constitute the primary means of dealing damage, rendering physical combos largely inefficient. There is also a charge attack feature that allows players access to a much stronger physical attack at the cost of player movement.

The absence of a guard mechanic and the dodge button's lack of invincibility frames pose drawbacks. Maneuverability across the battlefield is swift but susceptible to ranged enemy attacks. Aerial recovery allows tapping the jump button upon being hit.Players can still access their abilities while airborne.
An elemental system akin to games like Pokemon dictates the effectiveness of certain moves based on an enemy's elemental type. Enemies not glowing in a particular color are deemed neutral. Conversely, glowing enemies possess resistance to their element and an adjacent element, as well as a weakness. Players can optimize their characters for maximum damage with the right elemental build, requiring acquisition of characters from gacha banners.

However, a significant issue emerges: abilities not only rely on cooldowns but also deplete MP, reminiscent of UX's SP gauge. Regaining MP in combat is impossible outside of raid boss encounters. Consequently, depleting MP mid-fight forces reliance on physical combos, elongating encounters considerably. Moreover, many challenging encounters are time-gated, penalizing players for their inability to overcome enemies.
This combat aspect renders gameplay lackluster, transforming potentially exciting encounters into disengaging battles. Additionally, the game penalizes players for their lack of strength, further entrenching the gacha model's need for acquiring the newest and most powerful units.
Regarding controls, button placements feel functional, and the HUD works as intended without disrupting gameplay. Notably, Missing-Link introduces a fantastic feature: complete HUD customization. Players can edit the position, scale, and opacity of every element, offering tremendous flexibility, albeit marred by the absence of the ability to input exact numeric values for scale and opacity.

Camera controls feel average, somewhat limiting the immersive experience. However, I anticipate using controller support may mitigate these issues, although I've yet to test these improvements.
The game incorporates an autoplay feature, allowing passive engagement during encounters. While functional for early stages, players might opt to disable this feature for more challenging encounters, prioritizing manual input for effective dodging or combo execution to avoid death. Inputs can still be made during autoplay.

Overworld

Two distinct overworlds, Scala Hub World and the GPS Astral Plane mode. However, the majority of gameplay occurs in the GPS mode, featuring two play styles: touch and hands-free. The hands-free mode necessitates real-world movement, while the touch mode grants full character control. The overworld features various encounter types, including regular Heartless, elemental Heartless (indicative of their respective elemental colors), area enemies, and raid bosses.

During the CBT, the primary objective revolves around defeating enemies to acquire materials and rewards, enhancing gear and potentially contributing to future story content. All overworld activities, including teleporting, chest acquisition, HP/MP restoration, and enemy encounters, utilize a stamina system akin to KHUX's AP. Fortunately, most activities spawn near players, ensuring easy accessibility. In the beta, stamina is abundant, but its representation in the main game remains uncertain. Teleportation costs increase based on distance, typically restricting players to their own country.
Defeated enemies do not drop HP or MP orbs, necessitating dependence on potions or top-up points.
Players can form parties and travel together, although my experience with this feature remains limited.
An interesting discovery involves zooming in with fingers, allowing exploration on a smaller scale, akin to a 1-1 exploration. Zooming out can often lead to accidental interactions due to clustered interactables on-screen but can traverse areas faster.
Camera limitations pose challenges, particularly in identifying area enemies spawning in the distance. Horizontal play restricts the camera from observing the horizon, whereas vertical play allows such flexibility, potentially requiring players to switch orientation mid-gameplay for convenience.


Customization

Combat customization options presently feature several choices. Players select between a melee and ranged keyblade, each with unique stats. Additionally, they can choose from 3-4 pieces to serve as abilities and an accessory, providing minor stat boosts.

Familiar to Dark Road players, this setup feels reminiscent, minus the deck-building. An assortment of abilities caters to both physical and magical stats, with the option to align abilities with elements, diversifying combat strategies. Defensive abilities like heal and defense up also prove beneficial. While current character builds lack apparent synergy, strategies might evolve as the game progresses.
To enhance damage output, players must individually level up each ability or keyblade using materials earned from playing the GPS mode. However, leveling up becomes increasingly grindy due to exponentially increasing requirements.
Character appearance customization offers extensive variety, enticing players with options to edit face shapes, makeup, and outfit colors. Additional outfits, unlockable using Jewels, provide aesthetic appeal without incurring perks.


Menus

The game follows the tradition of gacha games and JRPGs, housing a multitude of menus and minor mechanics. Navigating through various "growth logs" and different coin exchanges proved overwhelming initially, compounded by challenges locating specific features. Although these menus and mechanics marginally impact gameplay, they offer nuances for dedicated min-maxing enthusiasts. However, the sheer volume of content might deter casual players.
Additionally, a battle pass-like activity monitor system exists, featuring a basic pass for free players, offering coins for battles or steps, redeemable for draws or items.

Performance

Playing on an iPhone 13 mini, I encountered minimal performance issues, with the game running smoothly around 95% of the time. Occasional hiccups occurred in the GPS sections with numerous on-screen elements. Even during raids with copious particles and players on-screen, the game still ran relatively well.
Switching between vertical and horizontal gameplay proved impressively seamless, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay.The developers' commendable effort in designing assets to function flawlessly in both orientations deserves appreciation.
However, the game exhibits phone heating issues, causing the device to heat up and rapidly drain the battery. Though I haven't monitored the battery drain rate extensively, reports suggest noticeable drainage from prolonged gameplay.

Multiplayer

I have yet to experience party formation in the overworld. However, I've engaged in raid boss encounters during the CBT. Due to its nature, many raid bosses spawn across the map, providing access to level 15 or level 40 Behemoth encounters. Given limited progress, level 15 fights remained the viable option. Collaborating with three or more team members significantly improves the chances of defeating the boss.

The experience of witnessing diverse keyblade-wielding characters battling collectively adds a unique dimension to combat. Raid bosses include multiple parts like horns or arms—that need elimination before targeting the main health bar. Defeating these parts yields MP orbs, facilitating continuous spell rotation throughout the battle.
These multiplayer raid battles constitute the most engaging combat scenarios, amplified by their collaborative nature. However, rewards feel underwhelming unless players employ raid tickets, a set number of which are gifted to beta players daily. Notably, players can earn a 3-star Dark Riku, a feature likely to transition behind a paywall in the main game.


Gacha/Monetization

Familiarity with KHUX's Gacha system facilitates understanding here. Each banner features a few highlighted characters, requiring a minimum of 10 multis to reach the guaranteed pity rate. Upon obtaining a featured character, the pity counter resets to zero.
Single pulls cost 300 jewels, whereas a 10-pull costs 3000 jewels. Jewels facilitate outfit purchases and accelerate farming by acquiring stamina or drop enhancements.
For those curious, without the pity rate, the featured 3-star characters boast a 3% drop chance, distributed among three featured characters.

Unfortunately, the game locks considerable power behind paywalls. Assembling a build of weaker characters proves challenging, with little incentive for the game to provide opportunities for success with less powerful units. Regrettably, Square Enix is unlikely to revise this model.
The CBT generously rewards players with two draw tickets, granting a 3-star in one attempt, and 3000 jewels daily. However, this is unlikely to be mirrored in the main game.
While players can earn jewels by completing certain battles and quests, their availability diminishes as the game progresses.

Final Thoughts

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link embarks on the right path for conveying a Kingdom Hearts narrative. It brings to life a vibrant world through stunning 3D environments, captivating music, and exceptional voice acting. However, concerns persist regarding the gacha model, potentially marrying the experience with unfair power disparities and paywalls. My initial experience remains a blend of positives and negatives, as expected in a Beta phase meant for testing, feedback, and potential game improvements. I eagerly anticipate delving deeper into the story and unraveling the secrets of Scala Ad Caelum and the Astral Plane.

You can view the full collection of screenshots gathered by Kimpchuu from the Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link closed beta test in our gallery below:
What are your impressions of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link so far with closed beta testing underway? Let us know in the comments below!
WakelessDream

[UPDATE] Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link development details discussed in Q&A and Focus Group Event with Tetsuya Nomura and development staff

A special Focus Group Event was recently held for Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link at Square Enix ARTNIA cafe in Japan. Key members of the development team including Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura, series producer Ichiro Hazama, character designer Miki Yamashita, and lead planner Shirakami participated in a Q&A to speak to attendees on the development of the upcoming title. 
Thanks to KH13 staff member Ryuji we have translated major points from the Q&A provided by attendees @rikunami13 and @aibo_ac7.
Note that recording of the Q&A was prohibited. The Q&A below is based on testimonials from the event attendees and an official transcript is currently unavailable.
According to event attendees after the Q&A concluded footage was shown highlighting various worlds, Olympus, a world with a tunnel speculated to be based on Snow White, and a world with a body of water speculated to be based on Pinnochio, alongside several other mysterious worlds. 
Other interesting tidbits to note: 
Remus, the red haired character was modeled after a reliable older brother. His character design was made by Yamashita not Nomura There are three character designers working on Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link but they always consult with Nomura Nomura mentions that the protagonist hat took many retries to get just right due to the long dragoon like parts on both sides of the hat On the character Freya Nomura said: "There is a great secret hidden in Freya, but may I tell you the secret?" and then followed with "Some speculate she has a connection with Ephemer, but she doesn't." Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was written by Ruiko Fukuzawa (Final Fantasy XIV) but Nomura took over the process midway Attendees were also gifted a Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link themed tote bag and sticker as souvenirs from the event. You can view them in our gallery below.
What do you think of the newly shared information from this event? Let us know in the comments below!
Update 12/3/2023: We have updated with additional information and Q&A responses including potential future features to the game such as friend requests, player housing, and cooking as well as additional responses regarding the game's gacha, raid bosses, and performance. 
WakelessDream

Kingdom Hearts II Christmas Town Sora plushie coming to Sega Plaza; pre-orders now available on Aitai Kuji

Sega Plaza have announce a new Kingdom Hearts coming to Sega Plaza crane game. This plush is Sora in his Kingdom Hearts II Christmas Town outfit. Christmas Town Sora will be available starting Nov 24th. Pre-orders are being accepted on Aitai Kuji for ¥2,500 (about $17.00) and will start shipping later this month.
 
 
Leamax

Kingdom Key spotted in the latest episode of The Ghost and Molly McGee

Kingdom Hearts continues to make connections in different Disney properties with another Easter Egg in a Disney animated show. In the most recent episode of the Disney show The Ghost and Molly McGee "Game On", the Kingdom Key appears on the weapon select for a video game. You can view it below.

The Kingdom Key isn't the only weapon from a Square Enix series. The Buster Sword is also shown as a choice of weapon, a reference to the Final Fantasy series.
Where will the next Kingdom Hearts reference be found? Let us know in the comments below!
Leamax

Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush King Mickey available for pre-order from the Square Enix North America Store; releasing August 2024

The Square Enix North America store has revealed a new Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush based on King Mickey. The plush is set to release August 2024 for $41.99 USD. You can pre-order this new plush at the Square Enix North America Store here. 
Take a closer look at the Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush King Mickey in our gallery below
Will you be picking up this new plush to add to your collection? Let us know in the comments below!
WakelessDream

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link Promotional Advertisements Spotted on Social Media

Various images promoting the Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link closed beta testing have started to appear as advertisements on social media. The images provide a closer look at the player characters, Disney characters, environments, and interface of the game. 
You can take a closer look at the promotional images in our gallery below
Closed beta testing registration for Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link began on October 30th and is currently running through November 19th for the United Kingdom and Australia. 
Did you spot anything interesting in these new images? Let us know in the comments below! 
WakelessDream

Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Teaser Trailer revealed, coming 2024; Closed Beta test registration begins Oct 30th for UK and Australia

Square Enix have revealed the teaser trailer for Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link on Twitter (X). The game, which will be available on iOS and Android, is set to release in 2024. You can watch the teaser trailer along with new screenshots below.
Closed Beta testing registration for the United Kingdom and Australia will begin at 07:00AM UTC on October 30th and run until November 19th. Currently there's no word on a NA test.
 
Leamax

Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Twitter post new picture with hashtag KHML

Square Enix has updated the Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Japanese Twitter (X) account with a profile picture of symbol of Scala, the header has been updated with a new picture of the castle with the Missing Link logo on it, and a new post with new concept art and the hashtag #KHML. You can check them out in the gallery below.
It looks like more information will be coming soon for Kingdom Hearts Missing Link, so stay tuned to KH13.com for the latest information about Kingdom Hearts!
Leamax

Kingdom Hearts Terra, Ventus, & Aqua Room Fragrance Mists available for pre-order from Square Enix Japan e-Store, February 2024 shipments

The Square Enix Japan e-Store has listed three new Kingdom Hearts themed Room Fragrance Mists for pre-order based on Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. Each item is set to release February 3rd, 2024 for ¥5,940. (approx. $37.94 USD)  
Each fragrance consists of three unique notes which you can view in more detail along with the gallery and product links below: 
Kingdom Hearts Room Fragrance Mist Terra
 
Top Note: Bergamot, Clove, Cinnamon Middle Note: Rose, Geranium, Lilac Last Note: Sandalwood, Patchouli, Amber, Musk  
Kingdom Hearts Room Fragrance Mist Ventus
 
Top Note: Bergamot, Yuzu Citrus Fruit, Mandarin Middle Note: Water Lily, Rose, Tea Last Note: Musk, Amber, Sandalwood   
Kingdom Hearts Room Fragrance Mist Aqua
 
Top Note: Bergamot, Pear, Spearmint Middle Note: Aqua Note, Freesia, Jasmine Last Note: Amber, Patchouli, Cedarwood Fragrance mists based on Sora, Riku & Kairi, and Axel, Roxas, & Xion have previously been revealed as part of the line up.
Note: These items cannot be shipped internationally due to being marked as flammable 
Thanks to KH13 Staff Member Ryuji for the translations. 
WakelessDream

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