- 18 comments
- 3,508 views
It seems that amongst the screenshots featured, one of the Tangled ones shows a never before published seen.
We will soon provide translations of any new information covered in this feature.
UPDATE [Nov 13, 2018]: While there is no new information on the game besides the new screenshot, Shonen Jump is giving away a copy of Kingdom Hearts III to 500 lucky readers! Translations are available thanks to KH13's Solis!
- 2 comments
- 3,465 views
Koch Media will provide six game booths with Kingdom Hearts III so that attendees at Barcelona Games World can play in part of the worlds of Hercules and Toy Story.
The event will take place from November 29th to December 2nd at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. You can check out more about the event here .
- 3 comments
- 2,647 views
Will you be attending Lisboa Games Week? Let us know in the comments!
- 9 comments
- 1,990 views
The icing on the cake for Italian fans and those around the world, however, was the Share the Magic panel hosted on Saturday, November 3, at the Chiesa di San Francesco, with Kingdom Hearts III’s executive producer and brand manager Shinji Hashimoto as special guest. Hashimoto-san not only delivered information on what to expect from Kingdom Hearts III, which is coming out in less than three months; his visit also brought a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer (which we were more than happy to analyze)!
I was delighted to take part in this fantastic panel as a press member for KH13, and am happy to report the full panel to you, as follows. You can also take a look at our album for the event at the end of this article.
Many thanks to other attendees, such as @omniacrystallis, @MyriamSephiroth, @ventusdream, @MABE_GlaRpF and @fioririccardo4, whose pictures and tweets have been occasionally used and shared in this report where indicated.
(photo by @omniacrystallis)
Presenter (abbreviated hereon to P): Hi everyone! Welcome to the Share the Magic Kingdom Hearts III panel. We're here to talk about one of the most awaited games of the next year, and, before we start, I want to thank you all for your participation and the enjoyment you showed during these Lucca C&G days. I know that many of you had the chance to try the demo, and during today's panel we're going to focus on the mechanics of the gameplay of KH3. The panel will be fully in English, and some image material will also be shown. Pictures are allowed; filming, however, is not. Without further delay, I'd like to join me on stage Sunil Godhania, Community Manager for Square Enix.
(photo by @omniacrystallis)
Sunil: Thank you everyone for the stage introduction! Just like you guys I'm a Kingdom Hearts fan too, I grew up playing the games, and I'm very excited, I'm very humbled to be allowed the chance by the development team to let me be here today. So please, I'd like to ask you another round of applause for the amazing development team working on Kingdom Hearts III, who give me the chance to talk you about the game!
P: You can start talking about the series.
P: Okay, but first, we're here for what everyone has been waiting for, Kingdom Hearts III. Its gameplay is even better than before and even more fun. My question would be to speak about those new introduced features. I'd like to remember that the game releases on 29 January on both Xbox One and PS4.
Sunil: Maybe we should start with the story? Tetsuya Nomura said that one of the key themes of Kingdom Hearts III is "resolution", but also the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga, which runs around Master Xehanort, and I think it's a point that many of you are seeking to [finish] since the start of the franchise.
(photo by @omniacrystallis)
P: For the first time ever, in Kingdom Hearts III, players will be able to visit some favorite Disney and Pixar worlds.
Sunil: Yeah that's correct, that is the very first time in the saga that the people will be able to join Disney Pixar worlds, and actually I'm not sure if anyone has had the chance to try the KH3 demo. Did you enjoy the demo?
Crowd: "Woooo!”
Sunil: Did you also try seasalt icecream?
Crowd: "Woooo!”
P: So, maybe we move forward to the gameplay. Starting from the Keyblade in KH3 are more fun to use and even more powerful.
Sunil: Keyblades are the main weapons in KH. It’s the main [one] Sora uses. Each has its own design. Keyblade from Disney and Pixar worlds are very creative. Dev team paid close attention to details, points of interest from each film, and used references to build Keyblades from the ground up.
P: The amount of detail is just impressive.
Sunil: Yeah that's amazing. For example, the Toy Story Keyblade can transform into Hyperhammer and it’s the first time Keyblades can transform into alternative weapons. My favorite Keyblade transformation is Stormfall.
[Brief new gameplay with Baymax was also shown on screen. Sora was riding Baymax while "racing" through the bright circles on the highway in San Fransokyo.]
P: Let's move to something new in Kingdom Hearts III, the Attractions, never seen before.
Sunil: [Explains briefly what Attractions are, and gives examples like the teacups and pirate ship.]
(photo by @ventusdream)
[According to this source, new visuals of a fight with the Fire Titan was shown.]
P: About the team-up and the chances of using other characters, for example the Link system…
Sunil: Yes, that's right, you may recognize this guy from KH 3D Dream Drop Distance! [Talked about basics of Link systems and how excited they are about Meow Wow’s return.]
P: Let's move to something very important to the old fans of the series, the Gummiship.
(In this photo by @omniacrystallis, you can see a Gummiship constellation!)
(photo by @omniacrystallis)
Sunil: Gummiship allows player to move from different worlds in KH games...Now there's a special battle mode, and all the surrounding are massive.
P: Let's go on the minigames. I understand that in KH3 we'll have a lot of minigames.
Sunil: [Talked briefly about the mini-games in Kingdom Hearts III such as snowboarding with Goofy in Arendelle and Classic Kingdom mini-games.]
P: Right now, we have a very special guest joining us all the way from Tokyo to answer some of your questions about Kingdom Hearts III. So please join me to welcome him on stage, the Executive Producer Shinji Hashimoto. Hi Hashimoto-san!
Hashimoto: Buonasera, buonasera!
Crowd: *Cheers loudly*
P: Have you enjoyed your time in Italy so far?
Hashimoto: Yeah, I absolutely love Italy, thank you guys so much for having me here.
P: Thank you very much for joining us here. First of all, what can you tell us about your role in the series?
Hashimoto: It has been about 20 years now I've been working on the series, and for the first and second game I was just a producer, but this time around, I'm the executive producer and brand manager.
P: Can you talk to us about the origins of your involvement in the Kingdom Hearts series.
Hashimoto: So, I think you guys are probably referring to the elevator story. Some people think I met the CEO of Disney or something like that, but this was all before Square and Enix companies combined. The episodes goes back to when we were set in Meguro, Tokyo, and in the same building, also Disney Interactive's section dedicated to video game production was there. I ended up in the same elevator with the woman who was in charge of the games division. This woman was named Miss Yamamoto, she was a producer of Disney videogames. And she was also the one who approached me asking, "Oh, are you from Square?" Then she said "Oh I'd really love to talk to you about videogames, but, uh, of course we can't have a meeting like that in an elevator, so we should meet up in the meeting room and discuss about this." And back then, Disney was very interested into our company, and she said they really wanted to do something with us, and that's how the Kingdom Hearts series was born. I wonder why you guys are always up to [asking about] this elevator thing. *smiles*
Crowd: *laughs*
P: Okay now it's time for the Q&A session. We asked the community for some questions to ask to Hashimoto-san on KH3, and we selected some of them. The first one is about the story.
Question: “The story of this saga has lasted more than 10 years and has been spread over several consoles. Remake and remasters aside, will there be an official summary, to get as clear as possible all the events told so far?”
Hashimoto: So, we've actually already released these in Japan, but we made a series of 5 videos episodes to kind of summarize the story of Kingdom Hearts, and we're planning to release those around the world, so I hope you guys will keep following the story as it will get even more exciting in Kingdom Hearts III.
Question: Will post launch support happen in the short term, or do you have in mind to support the game over several years as you previously did for Final Fantasy XV?
Hashimoto: To be completely honest, I can't say too much to you guys about supporting the game post-release. However, we are considering DLCs, so wait a while, and we might reveal our plans in the future.
Question: Among the revealed worlds, what is your favourite? Which of the revealed worlds was the most difficult to achieve and why?
Hashimoto: Well I can say about a world that wasn’t included in previous games - for me personally, it’s Big Hero 6. It has such a huge map and there are airships with which you can fly to the skies, battle on the ground, there are so many ways you can play and enjoy your experience. In terms of what was difficult about the development, of course with new worlds that means there have to be a lot of new assets, backgrounds, new character designs; put all of that together and you get that it was very difficult.
Question: Thanks to a casual meeting in the elevator the project that gave birth to Kingdom Hearts was born: did you expect this great success?
Hashimoto: It has been fifteen years since now the first game came out, and honestly, in the very beginning, I didn't know what [kind of] game it was supposed to be. And of course a lot of incredible people wanted to be involved, like Mr. Tetsuya Nomura back then, and Disney has so many characters, and when I took all of them into consideration I couldn’t help but feeling something new was going to be born out of this. However, if you’re asking me if I thought it would have become such a success around the world, at the time I don’t think I would have really thought of it.
Question: Will this last chapter include dramatic moments that will bring some tears to the biggest fans of the series?
Hashimoto: So, this is something is really difficult to answer, as each person will feel very different… but I promise you there is lots of drama and lot of things you guys will surely be looking forward to.
Question: What is Hashimoto-san’s favourite memory from his many years working on the Kingdom Hearts series?
Hashimoto: So, like I keep saying, it has been 20 years since the beginning, and as the producer my job is to go around and make contracts, and to make the director and the rest of the group work on the game. Making a game is not simple, it’s actually a lot of work, and so moving on the game was done, it was produced and sold in Japan and then sold around the world. You know, when it’s your first game, the first game of a series, you’re not really sure if it’s gonna sell, but back then it didn’t even sell, it sold out, so it was mostly about re-producing and reproducing [more and more copies], and there was no digital selling option at the time. It’s kind of strange but I was very happy the game sold out, and so as a producer it was really great.
P: We’re almost over with the questions.
Crowd: [laughs]
Question: What’s your favourite Italian dish?
Hashimoto: [He said he really appreciated having dinner with ravioli alla bolognese or alla marinara (accompanied by red wine or fizzy water) and he found them so delicious he thought those were some kind of speciality or something. He might have been talking about tordelli lucchesi?]
P: Any last messages?
Hashimoto: I just want to say thank you to all of you for being here tonight, it’s not very long now until the game comes out, so for all of you who haven’t reserved it yet make sure you do!
Hashimoto: [Asks crowd to pose for a selfie]
[After this, it was said that Nomura wanted to come to Lucca as well, but he couldn’t. However, they had a trailer to show to the fans.]
(photo by @omniacrystallis)
You can take a look at my adventure and Kingdom Hearts III promotion through Lucca and Villa Bottini in the album below, and follow our live coverage of Lucca Comics & Games 2018 here!
Nominees for The Game Awards 2018 will be announced on Tuesday, November 13, at noon EST/9 AM PST with a video announcement at TheGameAwards.com, after which fans can start voting for their favorites. News on world premieres, presenters, honorees, and musical performances will be announced in the coming weeks leading into the live show on December 6.
Geoff Keighley, creator and main host of the show, has stated that this year's Awards will have the "biggest lineup yet in terms of new game announcements"; according to Keighley, "it's going to be a very exciting night filled with surprises and celebration." In an interview with VentureBeat, Keighley has also stated, "Most of the major publishers will be sharing news on what they’re doing in the future.”
We're very excited to see what games will be nominated this year and what thrilling video game announcements await us; we are also hoping that Kingdom Hearts III will make the nominations for Most Anticipated Game!
Recently, Kingdom Hearts III won a Future Division award from Japanese Game Awards 2018 as one of the 11 games with the best future prospect. Kingdom Hearts III was also nominated for and won several awards for being the best game/RPG/show in E3 by critics including Game Critics Awards, Unreal Engine, IGN, GameSpot, Momocon, and more.
UPDATE [Nov 13, 2018]: The nominees for The Game Awards 2018 have been revealed! Unfortunately, there is no "Most Anticipated Game" category this year, it seems, but we are still excited to watch TGA on December 6!
You can vote for your favorites here.
- 12 comments
- 2,990 views
Are you attending Day of the Devs to play the Kingdom Hearts III demo? Let us know in the comments!
- 7 comments
- 1,973 views
The trailer starts with the Kingdom Hearts III rating provided by the ESRB: It is rated E10+ for alcohol reference and fantasy violence. The full description they released for their rating can be viewed here, but do be warned: it includes minor spoilers for some as far as what type of violence to expect.
The trailer then opens properly with a sea of lanterns in the sky before closing in on Rapunzel and Flynn on a canoe in the midst of it all. Fans of Tangled will recognize this iconic scene, for it is the scene before the popular, “I See the Light” is sung. I will never stop marveling at the authenticity of the cutscenes Square Enix revealed; it really pulls you into the world of the movies. A nice touch is seeing Sora and co. viewing the lanterns, separate from Rapunzel and Flynn from their mound with the castle in the background. It is a good way to start the trailer.
Rapunzel and Flynn sharing a moment. This is a cutscene, folks. The detail!
Movie comparison. Pretty close.
Cutscene...
... Movie!
Our main trio get to relax and check out the lanterns as well.
Next we jump straight into the Winnie the Pooh world after which this trailer is named. We see Sora surrounded by Pooh and his friends, including the small purple Heffalump, a character from Winnie the Pooh that has not been present the previous times we visited this world in the series. The characters are all cell-shaded, with small black outlines. You really do feel like you are viewing a storybook. It makes sense, as Square are doing their best to make every world distinct and a character in their own right.
Pooh and the gang are all here.
Sora reassuring he'll always be with Pooh where it counts. From here you get a nice close-up look at the cell-shading and character outlines, especially on Sora.
After feasting our eyes on such a sweet moment, we transition back into Twilight Town as Utada Hikaru’s beautiful “Chikai”, or "Don't Think Twice", plays over these new cutscenes. We see Pence and Hayner outside the old mansion. Without hesitation, Hayner straight up rushes over and tries to dropkick Ansem in the head. The man was ready! The slow-motion and angle changes really sell the moment, and it is one of the highlights of the trailer for me. As you can imagine, the barrage of memes from this scene alone just goes to show how much of an impact Hayner makes here. I’m not sure if Hayner will survive this attempt (we all know Ansem doesn’t play fair), but no one can say the boy didn’t try, okay? Hayner is a loyal friend that needs protection!
From the blur in motion you can tell Hayner wasn't messing around. He reacts fast and is completely focused here. Can't say the same about Pence...
And here it is! The winning pose! Get him, Hayner!
I had to share at least one. My personal favorite meme thanks to @RecusantVessel! It fits so well!
Afterwards, we see more Organization members, specifically Demyx and Vexen. We get a much clearer look at Demyx’s eyes here. Though some may have doubted it before, with the close-up there is no denying Xehanort’s influence over him. However, his sass remains intact as he tells Vexen exactly what he thinks of their business arrangement. Though they are both tasked to do some type of assignment together, it is clear that Demyx doesn't feel valued by Vexen. The voice acting here is solid and is a highlight for a character we have mostly only seen react based off of fear.
Demyx and Vexen.
Demyx seems unhappy here. In this shot his eyes are unmistakably yellow.
In the next frame we are greeted to Sora reassuring Chirithy that they will meet again. This is the first time any character related to Union χ[Cross] have shown up in a Kingdom Hearts III trailer. Though Nomura stated that Union χ[Cross] would be important to this chapter in the series, it's nice to finally get this scene for confirmation.
Sora and Chirithy in an unknown place. A new world?
So far we don’t know if Sora and Chirithy are in a new world or if this is somewhere in the lanes between. It appears like they are standing in the sky, but a scene a little further in the trailer may shed some lights as to their whereabouts.
After Sora’s chat with Chirithy, we encounter more cutscenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Hero 6 worlds. The detail of the pirate ships and Jack Sparrow’s sword fight against Davy Jones amidst the rain is truly breathtaking . I really felt like I was watching a scene from the film.
The water!
My eyes were fooled every time. I legitimately thought I was viewing the movie here.
Movie comparison.
The worlds of Kingdom of Corona and The Caribbean are an example of worlds with plots in Kingdom Hearts that take after their film counterparts. From the more photo-realistic look of the models within Pirates of the Caribbean, it looks like this world will test the graphic engine the most compared to the other worlds Sora will visit. From Kingdom Hearts II to now, the series has come so far in depicting this franchise and I think many fans of these films will appreciate all the effort.
From Big Hero 6 we finally see Dark Baymax in action and view a snippet of what his boss fight will look that.
His eyes are red, not a good sign.
Aerial combat!
It has been a while since the concept art showcased Sora on top of Baymax fighting another Baymax that is seemingly corrupted with darkness. So seeing him within the game engine for me was a high point. His boss fight seems to take place fully in the air and is very fast paced. Despite the combat, the detail doesn’t falter and the city surrounding them feels alive and thriving.
From here on out the trailer focuses mostly on various gameplay and new limit attacks. We get our first look at some of the mini games one can play within Hundred Acre Wood. For me, it reminds me a little of Bejeweled, Diamond Dash, and Tetris. Color coordination and category type seem to play a huge role in progression. It looks very engaging, and the cute aesthetic surrounding the menu and environments adds to the experience.
New limit attacks feature Sora, Goofy, and Donald being wrapped in Rapunzel's hair as she, with the help of Flynn, swing the trio around to attack surrounding enemies. It reminds me of Rapunzel's self contained attacks in which she swings her hair or utilizes her environment to gain momentum. It looks like Rapunzel's limits will be very useful in this regard with a large area of effect.
Rapunzel looks eager and ready to go.
Sora and his friends being swung around. Pretty effective against a large group.
Another cool limit shown involves Jack Sparrow. Sora, and him team up for a flurry of sword attacks that connect with raining bombs from above, sending off a series of explosions and sword slashes towards their enemies.
The last gameplay segment involves a new transformation Sora utilizes. The “Hunny Launcher” canon attack appears similar to the Star Seeker canon finisher Sora can perform with the Keyblade, though this time the attack forms an explosion of honey. It is a short but nevertheless satisfying look into the possible attacks you can do with what I assume to be the Keyblade you obtain from the Hundred Acre Wood.
After this we see Sora running by clones of himself on a white platform surrounded by blue skies and white pillars. This almost appears like a nod to the scenes of Sora and images of himself run amok in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The look of the sky in this area also appears very similar to wherever Sora and Chirithy are standing, though its unknown if these places are truly the same or even connected.
Is this cloudy world real or is inside Sora's head?
Many fans have speculated that these cloudy places are in reference to the Final Mix cover of Kingdom Hearts II. With Nomura’s love of hidden messages within symbols and visual metaphors, I would not be surprised if these places were connected. Let’s not forget, Sora’s name translates to “Sky,” in English, so these places could have a special connection specifically to him or have to deal with how Sora connects to others. Characters falling through the sky are a constant throughout the series.
Cover for Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
Another concerning aspect is that as Sora is in free fall, passing by multiple clones of himself, his body fades away into a translucent blue form from his legs to his torso. This makes me feel like this place has to do with the heart or some other mental field rather than a physical world. It is the most vague moment of the trailer and I’m very curious to find out where this is taking place in the future. Could Sora be traveling through them in order to help Roxas or Ventus in some way?
Another highlight of the trailer for me is the next sequence. Sora looks up only to see multiple shadows fall from the night sky. Besides him, Goofy, and Donald., we also see Lea paired up with Kairi and King Mickey paired up with Riku in the same area, ready to face the horde of Heartless, Unversed, and Nobodies alongside Sora.
It's raining Heartless!
The King and Riku are ready to go!
Kairi and Lea!
For the first time we see Lea summoning his Keyblade in battle. It will be really fun to see him in action. Kairi also goes into a stance similar to Sora, Xion, and Roxas.
The entire battle feels like a call back to the 1,000 Heartless battle Sora faces with Donald and Goofy back in Kingdom Hearts II. This new battle will be even more chaotic with every type of enemy our heroes have faced throughout the series present and accounted for. Good thing Sora has a lot more help this time around.
They're all here! I hope our heroes are ready to throw down.
The final moments of the trailer feature more from Organization XIII. We see Terra-Xehanort encountering the Lingering Will and exclaiming, “Who are you?!” It is an intriguing exchange, because back in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Terra-Xehanort knows that the Lingering Will is part of Terra (what's left of him). But here Terra-Xehanort doesn’t recognize the suit of armor, possibly due to his amnesia. I believe this fight is an attempt for Terra to regain his body. This could be the makings of a very compelling boss, and if Sora ends up being a part of the scene I think it would be fitting to fight alongside the Lingering Will against Terra-Xehanort instead of against the armor itself, as was the case in a grueling secret boss fight within Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
Where and when is this taking place? What could have summoned the Lingering Will to face Terra-Xehanort after all this time? Many answers are awaiting the outcome of this fight.
In a fast cut directly after the exchange, we witness a shot of various Keyblades tumbling through the sky and a shot of all 13 Darknesses arranged on a rising platform within a environment. It appears similar to the barren wastelands present in the Keyblade Graveyard, but this could also be the new location where the final battle will be set. This ending leaves us with a feeling of dread as Master Xehanort speaks of recreating the χ-blade once more.
Do you recognize any of these Keyblades?
V-formation is the best formation for evil I suppose.
We also hear some of what the new actor reprising for the late Leonard Nimoy will sound like as Master Xehanort. Some fans have speculated that Mark Hamill, who voices Master Eraqus, has taken upt he mantel. When a fan asked Mark Hamill on twitter directly, he liked the tweet which adds to this theory. It is too early to say, but after viewing the trailer multiple times the resemblance of the few spoken lines to Mark Hamill’s voice is uncanny. We shall see!
The mastermind behind it all.
All in all, this trailer offered so much content for speculation. I really like the balance between the tones of each world and the loving attention to detail. Witnessing Chirithy and the Lingering Will really doubles down on the promise of many loose ends being tied up for this saga as everything comes full circle.
What are your thoughts and opinions regarding this latest trailer? Nomura recently revealed that more are coming for this and next month, so stay tuned for more trailer analyses from us real soon! If we’ve missed anything (or if you have any theories concerning Sora’s encounter with Chirithy and his multiple doppelgangers), let us know in the comments below!
Be sure to follow our social media so that you never miss any Kingdom Hearts III news!
Twitter Discord Facebook Tumblr Youtube
- 6 comments
- 7,160 views
This can be read below, but please note that the final line of the rating summary could be considered a possible spoiler. Proceed with caution!
- 12 comments
- 4,535 views
The trailer showcased the world of 100 Acre Woods, as well as showing off some brand new cutscenes and gameplay footage.
Nomura also announced through Twitter that another trailer will be released this month, and that more trailers will be shown next month as well. Thanks to Mio-chan you can see a translation of what he said below.
You can watch the X018 trailer below.
You can also watch the Japanese trailer below.
Follow our social media for Kingdom Hearts III news and coverage!
Twitter Discord Facebook Tumblr Youtube
- 13 comments
- 6,885 views
The new X018 trailer showcases cutscenes and gameplay from this new world. You can watch it below!
UPDATE [November 10, 2018]: Following the release of the Kingdom Hearts III: Winnie The Pooh trailer at X018, Jeff Rubenstein had a brief interview with Shinji Hashimoto on stage at X018. You can read its transcription below, as well as watch the video from the live show here.
Follow our social media for Kingdom Hearts III news and coverage!
Twitter Discord Facebook Tumblr Youtube
- 16 comments
- 8,071 views
The tweet showed the Kingdom Hearts III lineup included alongside a list of other games that have already been confirmed to be at the event.
The event and two-hour livestream will take place today at 3PM CST (4PM EST; 1PM PST; 9PM GMT) and can be watched on Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also watch it below:
X018 is a global celebration of all things Xbox where people can watch online for news, first looks, and surprises on the largest live Inside Xbox episode ever.
Shinji Hashimoto, executive producer and brand manager for Kingdom Hearts III, will be present at the event. The game will also be playable at the Xbox FanFest: Mexico City 2018, where X018 will be hosted.
Keep an eye on our website and Twitter for updates on Kingdom Hearts from the event!
What are you expecting from X018? Let us know in the comments below!
- 6 comments
- 2,204 views
