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On Saturday, March 5th 2016, the floor plan for E3 2016 was released. The floor plan details where each company will have booths set up for those attending the conference and Square Enix will have their booth set up in the same place as last year's E3 in the south hall. Thanks to the NeoGAF forums the layout can be seen here below but please be aware this is subject to change. On March 4th the executive producer of Disney Infinity @John Vignocchi confirmed on Twitter that Disney interactive will not have a booth at this year's E3: Is it possible that Square Enix are planning something Kingdom Hearts related at E3? Do you think both Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will have a presence at the show? Most importantly are you now excited for E3 2016? Let us know in the comments!

Another piece of cut content for Kingdom Hearts II has been found in the game's code by YouTuber Keytotruth. An unused song has been discovered which seems very reminiscent of the Final Fantasy IX theme Eyes to Eyes ("Stolen Eyes") by composer Nobuo Uematsu. The instruments used for this theme are different from the Final Fantasy IX version suggesting this was used as a placeholder and the initial composition was early in development. You can listen to the unused song below.

On Friday the 18th of December at 10:00pm (EST), Square Enix released a brand new trailer for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue that was displayed at Jump Festa 2016. Here is KH13's analysis of the trailer to bring you some interesting details of the story and the gameplay we have seen so far. 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage- The first section of the trailer displays Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. We get our first look of master Yen Sid, Kairi, Riku and King Mickey in real time, via the kingdom shader. Due to PS4's engine, the book on Yen Sid's desk has far more texture added compared to previous instalments. Also various assets have been removed and added in the Mysterious Tower. Yen Sid explains in order to protect the seven pure lights from master Xehanort, they must assemble seven guardians of light and therefore must bring back Terra, Ventus and Aqua. Does this confirm the trio from Birth by Sleep will be three of the seven guardians of light? King Mickey admits he, "met Aqua once, in the realm of darkness." This suggests that the 'encounter' Aqua has in the realm of darkness is with King Mickey himself. One can only wonder what happened during this encounter and why Aqua is still trapped in there for over a decade. The fact Aqua did not turn around suggests Square Enix may be keeping her full character model and gameplay a secret until sometime next year. χ Back Cover The second section shows HD cinematics of Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover. Back Cover will be using Unreal Engine 4, the engine used for Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-, and Kingdom Hearts III. The first shot we see is the room in the clock tower from χ Back Cover's counterpart, χ[chi]. Could the book on the desk be one of the six book of prophecies that belongs to the Master of Masters? Furthermore, this is the same room where the five foretellers are seen speaking to a black hooded figure in Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]. The foreteller of Unicornis states, "A Lost Page...There's something missing from our Book of Prophecies." To which the foreteller of Anguis replies, "Are you implying that the one in possession of the missing page is the traitor?" This leads us to believe the traitor stole the page to hide his or her identity from the events they are planning to unfold, when Leopardos confirms, "The missing page tells of a traitor in our midst." The voice actors of Riku, Kairi, Ventus, Terra and Aqua could be the same voice actors of the foretellers Unicornis, Ava (foreteller of Vulpeus), Leopardos, Ursus and Anguis respectively, although this is not yet confirmed. Could this be pure coincidence or could this mean something more? This actually adds greater depth to a popular theory that the foretellers were reborn as the Kingdom Hearts main protagonists. The final lines, whilst back in the clock tower, are spoken by someone we haven't heard yet. Could this be the Master of Masters? Dream Drop Distance HD The final section shows Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD. First and foremost, the 60 seconds of cinematics shown is over double the amount of gameplay shown at 27 seconds. This shows Square Enix really wanted to display the increased level of detail and improvements to the texture of the character models, compared to the graphical engine of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. This is displayed by having close up shots of many characters throughout. The subtitles have changed from the 1.5 and 2.5 ReMIX's as the bold outline has been removed to make the text look more clearer. During the gameplay there is no HUD menu displayed throughout, suggesting the game may release later in 2016 rather than earlier. The quality of the game is looking far brighter and flashier, whilst appearing to run at a consistent 30 FPS. Lastly, with Dream Drop Distance HD coming to home consoles, the camera appears to have been pulled back slightly to give a greater range of view and movement. Are there any interesting features we may have left out? What are your thoughts on the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer? Let us know in the comments below!

On the 13th December a brief summary of the D23 Expo Japan 2015 event, was televised in Japan. The majority included sections from the Kingdom Hearts Premium Theater event, which included a small sneak peek of brand new gameplay footage from Kingdom Hearts III. The design of the attraction flow ride The gameplay begins with the newly revealed attraction flow, shooting ride, (based on Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster) being displayed in real time. Let's take a quick look at the design of the ride. The front has been replaced with the Kingdom Hearts symbolic gold crown, instead of the traditional star-command logo. In addition the attraction flow rides' color scheme differs from the original Disneyland ride from green to a dark blue, possibly to better suite the games overall design. Furthermore the design from the original has also changed. The ride looks sleeker and more compact to give greater maneuverability for Sora to attack. The attraction flow attack The attraction flow ride appears out of an invisible golden door at a fast pace. Sora smoothly black-flips on to the shooting ride to begin the attractions' attack. Donald and goofy then quickly drop behind their shooting pistols in support. The camera then transitions into a first-person shooter mode from Sora's perspective, displayed by him placing protective glasses over his face. From this it's also revealed The Mysterious Tower is officially confirmed to return as a world in Kingdom Hearts III. We can also see what appears to be, Pink Concerta heartless from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Also the Yellow Opera heartless, which are now confirmed to return. Sora begins to attack with a red projectile, Goofy green and Donald blue respectively. Mini-game Each time Sora hits a solider heartless he receives 10 points displayed in the upper-left hand corner. When he juggles them continuously in the air the points increase from 10, 20, 30, to 60, as the word 'CHANCE' is displayed above the enemies' head. This is the first time a mini-game point system will be introduced inside a time-based attack. Assuming Kingdom Hearts III will have trophy support, is it possible to unlock a trophy based on a high-score? This is supported with 'HI SCORE' and '1000' being displayed under the current points earned. Notable aspects Whilst using the attraction flow ride there is also a full green bar that's divided into sections on the left-hand side. It's possible that this will decrease over time to show the duration of the attack. What are your thoughts on the new Kingdom Hearts III gameplay footage? Have you noticed anything we may have missed? Please leave your response in the comments section below!

Square Enix's Third Business Division are continuing to hire employees to help complete Kingdom Hearts III. Square Enix were looking for suitable candidates at the beginning of January and are needing further assistance yet again as we head into the new year. Business Division 3 includes a team that is responsible for the majority of the Kingdom Hearts titles, including Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 and 2.5 ReMIX, and the upcoming Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and Kingdom Hearts III, while other teams within the division have worked on other projects. The eleven occupations listed below are the majority of the same jobs Square Enix advertised in January and have been open to apply for all year. The addition to this list is a 'scenario planner' role that is currently being advertised. Thanks to @Tokyofog for translating the job description for the new Scenario Planner position: What are your thoughts on the new Scenario Planner role and the pace of Kingdom Hearts III development cycle so far? Feel free to leave your opinions in the comment section and let us know!