Aquaberry

That's the spirit!

I doubt it's xion, but it could be larxene, or nobody

Let's wait and see basically, I keep getting surprised and hyped

You know, with the return of Marluxia, maybe one of his female friends might make a return as well...

NOTE: This post discusses a possible leak - meaning it could contain possible spoilers. Any fully confirmed spoilers have been marked by the spoiler code. Everything else is discussed freely. On March 5, 2018, an anonymous 4chan user posted an alleged leak, claiming it was legitimate information on Kingdom Hearts III. The post has since been deleted, but it can still be accessed from archives on Fireden. Amongst other questionable information, the post claims the following: As with any alleged leak, there are many reasons to dismiss it:It has not been announced via legitimate channels. Kingdom Hearts III is/may still subject to marketing and content changes. On March 15, 2018, an anonymous 4chan user claimed that this leak was fake, saying that the user who posted it is someone they know who "spread it using the information from the data leak about world assets." (Note that one cannot confirm the legitimacy of this counter-post either.) There are no relevant events or series of events taking place in "early April" that are known to showcase new Kingdom Hearts III trailers. (While PAX East, taking place in April 5-8 this year, had previously revealed a new back in 2013, it has never revealed a Kingdom Hearts III trailer before.) The only relevant event in April is the Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] Fan Event, which takes place in April 15, 2018, i.e. in mid-April. The alleged leak states that The Jungle Book is "one of the only two 'classic' films being represented as worlds in KHIII."* The alleged leak states that "the Keyblade [obtainable in The Jungle Book world] is shaped like the tree Baloo scratches his back on in the film." This sounds very much like The Jungle Book Keyblade design by fan portadorX, viewable on their deviantART gallery. *This can be easily argued as: Upon assessing and investigating this claim fully and discussing it with our sources, KH13 have concluded that there may be chance that some information in this leak might be true. We are neither confirming nor denying some of the information in this leak, for the reasons numbered above. We are merely stating our conclusion following research based on our own resources. Regardless of our observations, we strongly advise fans to REMAIN SKEPTICAL of this information as well as any future allegations. KH13.com's spoiler policy on Kingdom Hearts III allows discussion on publicly or exclusively announced content (eg. trailers, interviews, promotional pictures, etc.). However, leaks are to be discussed in the Spoilers subforum only. Avatars, statuses, and thread titles must not contain spoilers. We may be revising our Kingdom Hearts III spoiler policy in the future, according to future content releases by Square Enix and Disney. KH13 will not be reporting on the content of leaks we confirm to be true on our official news channels. This alleged leak aside, there is some interesting existing trivia surrounding the inclusion of the world of The Jungle Book in the Kingdom Hearts series. In an interview at E3 2013, series director Tetsuya Nomura stated, "The Jungle Book is one world that we always try to insert, but due to various circumstances it always ends up being cut." This was clearly shown when Keytotruth found removed content featuring the world of The Jungle Book in the Japanese edition of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. You can see the video below, where areas from the movie, including King Louie's Throne, are explored. Keytotruth told KH13 that in regards to The Jungle Book world in Birth by Sleep, the only thing left in the game were some map files and references from old file names the developing team didn't clean up. "Most of these maps don't have any actual models, just an empty room," he stated, referring to the video below. "Judging by the world order, world being number 7, it would have taken place between Radiant Garden and Disney Town." Keytotruth explains his findings and opinion on The Jungle Book world in BBS in the following video: A full list of map file names found by Keytotruth (and their respective translations) can be seen below: Upon looking at the assets of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, KH13 user 13th Vessel also found a collision from a deleted map with the name "jb_621.bcd", where "jb" could be the world code for Jungle Book - as file names for each Disney world are denoted by two initials based on the movie's name, as explained in this article, and as shown by Keytotruth's findings above. He explained that maps with the numbers 60, 61, and 62 are "Dive Mode" maps, and speculates that the game initially included the Dive Map of a world inspired by The Jungle Book. You can read more about his findings here. In an old 2005 interview with PlayStation, Nomura stated, "One basic rule that I go by is that, among all the Disney worlds that exist, I try not to pick worlds that have a similar feel or look to them, for example, The Jungle Book and Tarzan. Visually, they might look a little similar." It can therefore be assumed that The Jungle Book was initially considered as a world in the first Kingdom Hearts game, but did not make it to the shortlist due to aesthetic similarities shared with Tarzan. The Jungle Book was also to make an appearance in the cancelled Kingdom Hearts TV show by director Seth Kearsley, as revealed in the title page of an episode draft written by Kevin Munroe. Furthermore, The Jungle Book medals are present in Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross], first introduced back in 2016 to celebrate the release of the live action movie. Kingdom Hearts III is not unfamiliar with exploring previously deleted content from the history of the series - namely, Toy Story. A Toy Story world is assumed to have been considered since the development of the very first game; in a document pitching the game that was never released to the public, a world icon concept art is shown featuring what looks like Andy's house on top of a Pizza Planet rocket. (You can see the full scan below.) Toy Story was ultimately not included in the game; this could have been due to disputes between Pixar and Disney at the time, which were eventually followed by Disney's purchase of Pixar - and the right to its movies - in 2006. Furthermore, Toy Story models were found in the data of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which released in 2007. Models of Woody and Buzz were found back in 2010 by user Yaz0r; they were amongst the summon models, leading to the assumptions that they were planned for summoning in the game. Returning to the present, we now know that Toy Story is a confirmed world in Kingdom Hearts III, as announced almost a year ago at the D23 Expo 2017. Based on these observations, nothing is currently ruling out the presence of a The Jungle Book world in Kingdom Hearts III. We could even refer back to 13th Vessel's find of the deleted file with the code "jb" in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and the fact that Nomura considers Kingdom Hearts III's story to begin with that game. "The scenes in KH3D and KH0.2 should be thought of as a prologue to KHIII," he stated in a 2016 interview with Famitsu. "The stories for KH3D and KH0.2 connect with KHIII. For me, KHIII begins with KH3D. The subtitle for KH2.8 [Final Chapter Prologue] holds that meaning to it." With this in mind, it is more than possible that the work on The Jungle Book world could be carried on to Kingdom Hearts III. From our own investigation, we think that some of the information in the recent 4chan leak might have a possibility of truth to it (whether genuinely or by chance) but please retain your skepticism despite this. However, whether the leak is true or not, and whether you choose to believe in it or not, there is certainly scope for The Jungle Book to finally make a (long awaited) appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Memo Aponte Mille, the voice actor for Hiro Hamada in the Spanish dub of Big Hero 6, had recently published a video on his Instagram teasing his involvement in dubbing a role for an upcoming new game along with co-star Alan Prieto, who voiced Baymax. The video seems not to be on Instagram anymore, but KHInsider reports that it was published on March 7, 2018. In the video, the actors say that they can't say what the game is about - so we cannot confirm if they are talking about Kingdom Hearts III - but hope that we will hear about it soon. You can watch the video below. There are still no concrete news about the voice acting for Kingdom Hearts III apart from the Japanese dub, which can be heard throughout all the trailers released since up until the most recent ones at D23 Expo 2018 Japan, and which was talked about in recent interviews. With the game releasing this year, fans have been speculating on the development progress of the game, including its timeline for voice recording and the potential appearance of Disney characters' original voice actors. A year ago, Scott Adsit, the original English voice actor for Baymax, even expressed his interest in reprising his role if the opportunity arises in the future. Zachary Levi, the original voice actor for Flynn Rider in Tangled, tweeted on February that he hadn't been approached yet about reprising his role in Kingdom Hearts III. While the newer Kingdom Hearts games did not receive dubs in languages other than Japanese and English, both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II - the main games in the series so far - included Spanish, French, and German dubs. Last year, we helped our friends at Disney Central collect signatures for a petition to Square Enix requesting that these European dubs return for the long awaited Kingdom Hearts III. While this news does not confirm that there will be Spanish (or French or German) voice acting in Kingdom Hearts III, we can only hope that there is a full localization in these languages to enable a wider fanbase to enjoy the last instalment of the Xehanort saga. Click here to view the article

Diamond Select Toys have showcased their upcoming Kingdom Hearts figures at the New York Toy Fair 2018, including a never before seen Timeless River Sora figure, Timeless River Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey Minimates, a Master Form Sora Minimate, and Space Paranoids Sora, Donald, and Goofy Minimates. Prototypes for some of these Minimates were previously shown at the New York Comic Con 2017. The release dates for these figures are not known yet. DST also showed their many upcoming Kingdom Hearts releases, including their Series 2 figures and their Kingdom Hearts Vinimates Series 2. You can view pictures of DST's showcase below. Only a month ago, DST confirmed a Series 1.5 of Kingdom Hearts figures coming out in the future. Read more about Kingdom Hearts DST figures here. Click here to view the article

Two weeks ago, Square Enix held a Kingdom Hearts Fan Event at the D23 Expo 2018 Japan. The event was not streamed live, and due to this, the public was not able to view the "Making of Kingdom Hearts" videos that were shown exclusively to the attendees. Nevertheless, many press outlets and attendees were able to recount the events of the experience; KH13 was able to collect these recalls and put together a chronological description of what happened and what was shown in the secret videos. The information can be sourced to Famitsu, DLove.jp, and attendees sora_donald and yuuna_kisaragi. Many thanks to our KH13 Staff NihonScribe, Katie Armstrong, soraspromise and Mio-chan, as well as Keytotruth, for the translations! We have divided the recap into five sections for your reading pleasure. Introduction <3 Kingdom Hearts III: Interview with Voice Actors <3 Making of Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] <3 Kingdom Hearts III: Interview with Developers <3 Conclusion <3 <3 *Famitsu talked about the video showing ten worlds being worked on; it did not explicitly state the exact number of worlds, whether Disney-original or others, to appear in Kingdom Hearts III. Thank you for reading out Kingdom Hearts Fan Event recap! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Don't forget to check out our full coverage of Kingdom Hearts at the D23 Expo 2018 Japan! View full news article

Following the reveal of the Kingdom Hearts III Bring Arts Riku figure, Square Enix have also revealed the Kingdom Hearts II Halloween Town Sora and Christmas Town Sora Bring Arts figures! It is unknown when they will be released, or at what prices. You can see the pictures below. Keep up to date with KH13.com for future news on these products! Click here to view the article

Square Enix have revealed a Kingdom Hearts III Bring Arts Riku figure. The figure stands at 6 inches tall, and includes Riku's brand new Keyblade. This figure will retail for 6,800 yen (approximately $64.00), and will release in July 2018. However, no further specifics have been given regarding a release date. Unfortunately, as of the writing of this article, pre-orders for this figure are not currently available. You can see pictures of this figure below. UPDATE (March 4, 2018): Kingdom Hearts III Bring Arts Riku will retail for 6,800 yen (approximately $64.00), and will release in July 2018. You can view more info on the figure below. (Thanks to Mio-chan for the translations) Keep up to date with KH13.com for future updates on this figure! Will you be picking up this figure? Let us know in the comments below! Click here to view the article

Square Enix have released high quality images from the latest Kingdom Hearts III trailers via a press release, Gamespot, 4Gamer, and an additional screenshot outside of the trailer. They have also released character renders for Riku, King Mickey, Sulley, Mike, and the monster versions of Sora, Donald and Goofy. Riku's render shows his new Keyblade, and Sora's render shows off his Monsters, Inc. inspired Keyblade. You can view the images below. Watch the new Kingdom Hearts III trailers from D23 Expo Japan 2018 here, and don't forget to catch up with our coverage of the event here! Click here to view the article

At the Kingdom Hearts Fan Event at the D23 Expo Japan 2018, series director Tetsuya Nomura and series executive producer Shinji Hashimoto came on stage - along with a very eager King Mickey - to present exclusive Kingdom Hearts III content to the attendees. During their presentation, they disclosed some interesting information regarding the development of Kingdom Hearts III. Everyone in the Osaka studio is working on Kingdom Hearts III, with 100 additional employees from Tokyo. Kingdom Hearts III has a dedicated Lighting Team and Facial Animation Team The Background (BG) team alone has 80 members and even outsources to a foreign studio, making it the biggest BG team in Square Enix. Nomura explained the development process of Kingdom Hearts III by categorizing it into three parts: early, middle, and late development. There are around 3 worlds per section - but this does not mean there will be nine worlds in Kingdom Hearts III in total. The early stage worlds are 90% complete, and the middle stage worlds are 60-70% complete. The audience was not given a percentage completion for the last stage, but he said it was something incredible, "something he's always wanted to do and put into Kingdom Hearts, ever since the days of working on Final Fantasy. It is bound to surprise everyone." While he didn't disclose the contents of this last stage of development, he appeared to be very satisfied with it via using phrases such as "everything can be done" or "culmination of the past". According to the developers, "It seems like this Kingdom Hearts is in a whole new league." Great effort was put into each world and they incorporate their own mechanics and gameplay elements to the point that A wide variety of gameplay is to be expected. Minigames were showing during the "Making of Kingdom Hearts III" video inspired by Giantland, a Mickey Mouse short from 1933 inspired by "Jack and the Beanstalk". They showed Rumplewatt the Giant at the table trying to catch a little 2D Sora, who is then seen hiding from him behind a fruit bow. A little 2D Mickey can be seen as well, jumping from the lamps. Hollie Bennett from PlayStation commented that this minigame looked like the Game & Watch games from the 1980's. [unfortunately, due to copyright concerns we had to remove the photos. We apologize for the inconvenience.] When developing the game, the team write the story board, then develop the script and finally do the animation, unlike most game developers. There will be a special capture method for subduing rare Heartless. (For the regular Heartless, defeating them will be distinguished by striking them depending on what's on their head.) It was said that exclusive missions are being prepared. The "Making of Kingdom Hearts III" video also included a behind-the-scenes on how the Keyblade for the Monsters Inc. world was developed. The developers discussed the difficulty in designing a Keyblade that was true to the world, and showed a storyboard of images that helped influence it. They said they made several designs, shortlisted one or two, and selected the final design based on Nomura's preference. *In the , Hollie Bennett reports that Kingdom Hearts III has the biggest Background Music Team in Square Enix; IGN Japan reports that it is the biggest Background Team (in charge of city and field design). It is unclear which statement is true, or if both are true. Translations are courtesy of KH13 News Team Member @n_scribe13. Watch the new Kingdom Hearts III trailers from D23 Expo Japan 2018 here, and don't forget to catch up with our coverage of the event here! Click here to view the article

It was said that the NPCs were moving on and about

Attendees says the Kingdom was "full" of NPCs

The attendees of the Kingdom Hearts Fan Event at D23 Expo Japan 2018 were able to watch exclusive media from Kingdom Hearts III, featuring Tangled, Baymax, and the Toy Story world. One such footage was a "Making of Kingdom Hearts III" video, which provided a glimpse into the Kingdom of Corona from Tangled. The castle town was shown; Rapunzel was seen walking, with her hair floating with the wind in a way that responded very well to the topography and physics of the world. There were many NPCs walking about, along with many elegant houses and shops, helping to portray the town in vivid detail comparable to the movie. A picture was taken which shows Rapunzel admiring her braid, with a few NPCs and buildings in the background to bring out the atmosphere of the Kingdom. IGN Japan reports the following: Thanks to KH13 Staff Mio-chan for the translations! Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we had to remove the gallery album from this article. We apologize for the inconvenience. Watch the new Kingdom Hearts III trailers from D23 Expo Japan 2018 here, and don't forget to catch up with our coverage of the event here! Click here to view the article