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As of today, Yen Press (a United States-based localization company for Japanese manga and novels), has released the next English translated novel in the Kingdom Hearts series titled Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories: The Novel. The novel consists of 600 pages and is 5-1/2″ x 8-1/4″. This novel follows the events after the first novel in the Kingdom Hearts series titled Kingdom Hearts: The Novel with Sora, Donald & Goofy as the main characters, continuing their adventure to find Riku and King Mickey. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories: The Novel is written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrations were created by Shiro Amano. Original concept was created by Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, and Daisuke Watanabe, the video game's scenario writer. You can check out the description for Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories: The Novel below as it says in the Kingdom Hearts page for Yen Press. Here are some websites you can purchase the novel: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository Right Stuf Walmart Are you going to purchase this novel? Let us know in the comments below!

During the last maintenance period on August 20th, it was revealed that a new story update would be implemented within Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]. As of the maintenance period on September 3rd, the story was indeed updated on Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]. As you go to Daybreak Town you will encounter a new scene in the game between Ephemera and one of the foretellers. Interestingly enough, it seems that the foreteller for Vulpes' name was revealed within the story update. The name appears to be "Ava". Along with the name "Ava" being revealed, a cutscene within the game shows Ephemera disappearing in the form of dandelions within your player's dream. In the maintenance period, information on linking avatars from Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] to Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ was also given. Some notes on avatar linking is only one Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] and Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ account per avatar linking. You can check out translations of the story update recorded by KH13 Archives Team member, Everglow. Translations provided by HikariM, soraspromise, and Aru Akise. You may view images from the maintenance update below.

In an interview with Famitsu Weekly, Tetsuya Nomura, director of the Kingdom Hearts series, was asked questions concerning the HD collection announced for PlayStation 4, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. One topic in particular was brought up about Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. In the discussion, Nomura explains the distinction between "0.5" and "0.2". "0.5" was supposed to be a whole new volume, as hinted at in the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Final Mix ending of the secret episode. The reason why "0.5" was bumped down to "0.2" was because Kingdom Hearts III is still a priority and did not want to affect development for it, however Nomura wanted to give fans a taste of Kingdom Hearts III with it's new technology, which is used for Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. You can read the quote below from the Famitsu Weekly interview thanks to KH13 News Team member soraspromise.

In an interview with Famitsu Weekly, Tetsuya Nomura, director of the Kingdom Hearts series, explained the meaning behind the "2.8" in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. Since this is the first title after Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, Dream Drop Distance HD is being treated as "Kingdom Hearts 2.6". Then, Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover/Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ represents "0" since it is the first title in the Kingdom Hearts storyline. Lastly, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep represents "0.1", which leads to Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. Then from all three titles in the collection, you add 2.6 + 0 + 0.2 to get 2.8. We will provide translations of the interview as soon as we receive them. What do you think of Nomura's math? Let us know in the comments below!

During the Square Enix Music Presents Composer Talk Show, Yoko Shimomura, composer of the Kingdom Hearts series, discussed her experience working on the Kingdom Hearts series. She was asked a few questions concerning Kingdom Hearts, such as her work on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. She took the opportunity to listen to a unique version of "Dearly Beloved" during the talk show, and she discussed her work for Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] and Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ. Other discussions included what it was like to work with certain directors, where Tetsuya Nomura, director of the Kingdom Hearts series was mentioned. Toward the end of the talk show, Yoko Shimomura mentioned some future plans about a Kingdom Hearts presentation, which seems to hint toward the Kingdom Hearts D23 Japan Fan Event that she will be attending.

The latest issue of Famitsu Weekly (releasing on September 17th) has included an article on Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, giving us some new information about the titles included within the collection. The article goes into detail on all three titles, giving new information on Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover and Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-, and some details on Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD. We have scanned and uploaded all Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue screenshots and images from the article to our gallery, and these can be seen below. Formal translations can also be found below, thanks to goldpanner and News Team member soraspromise. χ Back Cover CINEMATIC WORK All the worlds were one, with no distance between them. Someday, this period will only be known as a fairy tale. It all began in Daybreak Town. He is the master of masters, able to see the future. So without waiting for the future to pass, he wrote down the prophecy depicting the future of 5 of the 6 disciples. Based on the prophecy, the five disciples undertook missions from their master’s teachings and formed their own unions. After Heartless began to appear, they began to collect Keyblade wielders who shared their mindsets and asked them to collect the “light”. “KHχ” and “KH Unchained χ” “Keyblade War” has become one of the keywords of the Kingdom Hearts series thus far. KHχ is in service on PC Browsers while KH Unchained χ has just begun service on iOS and Android. The scenario of the two games are basically the same, but there has been a trick prepared. Make sure to check both! “KH Dream Drop Distance HD’s story” An HD Remake. Different dreams are connected--When you fall into a dream through a dream, it leads to the “Realm of Sleep”. Some of these worlds were visited on the first trip, but fell into sleep after being lost to darkness. Through that gate, even Heartless may not enter. Instead of Heartless, there is a new dark being in the closed off realm of sleep. It is necessary to take preparation to fight against these dark entities. So both Sora and Riku must pass the examination to be recognized as Keyblade Masters. To gain new power, they must explore the realm of sleep and unlock sleeping keyholes. Equal to the number of light, they must unlock 7 keyholes to be able to return as a master. This is a HD remake of the Nintendo 3DS title KH3D, in which Sora and Riku travel the Sleeping Worlds. It seems as though the gameplay that made use of the 3DS lower screen will be reworked for a single screen without feeling off. We are interested to find out whether there will be new elements. [C'mon, Musketeers. We've got a princess to rescue.]

With the announcement of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue coming in 2016, it's time to go make sense of all of the announcement details along with the 3 titles within the collection. For those of you who don't know, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a collection containing Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover (cinematics), and Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. If you aren't familiar with the entire Kingdom Hearts series, here are the descriptions for the 3 main titles contained in the collection with it's history and stance in the Kingdom Hearts series. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD: : Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD is an HD remaster of the original title, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012 and was the only major game within the Kingdom Hearts series that was not included in either Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX or Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX for the PlayStation 3. However, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is being remastered in HD on the PlayStation 4 as Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD within the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection. The original story of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, where Sora and Riku are summoned to take the Mark of Mastery exam, which determines who becomes the next Keyblade master. Sora and Riku are both tasked to dive into sleeping worlds and wake them from slumber, however Master Xehanort has other plans for the two as they are taking their exams. Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover: The next title in the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection is Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover. Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover is a cinematic movie in which explains the story of the original title, Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] and Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ. The cinematic movie will go into detail about the foretellers and the book of prophecies. Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] was originally released in 2013 on PC as a browser game, exclusively available to Japan. However a port for Kingdom Hearts χ[chi], which is titled Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ will allow everyone to experience the story of the original Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. The story follows 5 foretellers who are sanctioned under a union, forming 5 total unions. Among the foretellers is a traitor, which has not yet been revealed. However, many have theorized who the traitor is. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-: The third and final title in the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection is Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. In the original title, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Final Mix, there was a secret ending within the sercret episode of the game that stated a continuation of the story will be developed. Many interviews in 2011 discussed the title, which was named Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep -Volume Two-. It was apparent that the project was put off, however has returned as Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. Reasons for why Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep -Volume Two- was put off and why the title was changed is currently unknown. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage- follows the events of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and continues the story on as Master Aqua. Also tied in is the events after Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in which King Mickey reveals he has some secrets to confess to Sora. According to the screenshot contained in the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer, it seems apparent that the title is using the same engine as Kingdom Hearts III. Square Enix has also confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage- will contribute towards the story for Kingdom Hearts III, which is the end of the Xehanort saga. For those that don't know, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is the third HD collection in the Kingdom Hearts series, following Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX contains the original titles of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (HD Cinematics) all remastered in HD. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX contains the original titles of Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (HD Cinematics) all remastered in HD. What are your thoughts on Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue? Do you think this will be the biggest HD collection yet? Let us know in the comments below or post on our Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue forums!