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Earlier today, a number of Kingdom Hearts III screenshots were released via the Square Enix Press Center. Their Japanese counterparts featured subtitles in the Japanese language, which we have translated and compiled here for your viewing pleasure! These translations provide us with a small glimpse of certain plot elements in Kingdom Hearts III, such as: Yen Sid talks about perfecting the power of awakening. With Sora and Riku in their new outfits, Yen Sid instructs Sora to continue to get his power back, and Riku and the King to continue their search for Aqua. Someone wants to talk about "the book", so they're drinking tea while waiting for Sora. Chip and Dale forgot to mention the location of a certain place to Sora when they called him. Lea talks to Kairi about a friend he met only once a long time ago; he said this friend was strange. Marluxia is referencing something that may cloud "their" pure light, possibly talking about the Seven Princesses. Ienzo mentions that his intentions - possibly in helping Sora bring Roxas back - are simply academic. However, the language he uses is soft and friendly - this could imply that he does not really mean it, and he might be helping Sora for more positive and friendlier reasons. Interestingly, Ienzo adds he is researching the heart just like when he did when he "was" a human (and not a Nobody); he seems to imply that he still is a Nobody, but he might simply be referring to his time as Ansem's Apprentice before turning into a Nobody. From a Famitsu interview with Tetsuya Nomura, we know that this Ienzo is "human". Xehanort mentions opening the "lock" to the Keyblade War. (Note: The Japanese word for "lock" is the same as for "key".) You can read the translations below. Translations have been provided by KH13 Staff Mio-chan, NihonScribe, and Solis; edits are courtesy of KH13 Discord Staff HaakonHawk. Please note that the original Japanese text was translated as literally as possible by our staff. Yen Sid: “You must at least perfect the power of awakening.” Yen Sid: "The Organization seems to seek those who inherited the pure lights, which is to say, the New Seven Hearts." Yen Sid: "On this, Sora must continue to get his powers back; as for Riku and the King, continue to focus your search on Aqua." Chip/Dale: “Yeah, they said that they need to have a talk about the book, so they’re waiting for you while drinking some tea.” Dale: "Anyway, message delivered, see ya." Chip: "Uh- that reminds me, we didn't mention the location did we-" Olaf: "I really want to meet Elsa soon. She seems like a very kind, compassionate, and overall good person." Anna: "You know my sister?" Anna: "Stop it, put us down now!" Anna: "Leave that snowman alone." Larxene: "I told you before, it's the New Seven Hearts." Lea: "A long time ago, there was a friend I only met once... he was kind of a weird guy." Marluxia: "That may cloud their pure light." Ienzo: "I'm just a student simply trying to decipher the mysteries of the heart, just like [I did] when I was human." (Note: He uses a soft and friendly language, indicating that he might actually be helping Sora for a more positive and friendlier reason.) Master Xehanort: "We will open the lock to the Keyblade War." You can view and read about all the screenshots and renders released today in high definition here!

Following last week's announcement of Sora coming to Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (JP), the collaboration was also announced at the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Fan Festa 2018 to come to the Global version of the game as well! During the announcement, additional footage of Sora's FFBE avatar in action was shown. Check out his sprite and the announcement trailer below! Furthermore, another character along with Sora has been teased to make an appearance in FFBE! It was said that Sora will not be alone in FFBE. The identity of the other character(s) was not revealed; fortunately, the collaboration event is "not too far into the future." Banners in FFBE usually display a group of 3-4 featured characters (with a higher chance to pull); a minimum of two Kingdom Hearts characters was therefore expected, and now corroborated by this announcement. There is a possibility of even more Kingdom Hearts characters joining the game. You can watch the full stream here. What other character would you like to see in FFBE apart from Sora? Let us know in the comments!

Square Enix have announced their lineup for Jump Festa 2019! Among the titles showcased is Kingdom Hearts III, which will be promoted with a photo op and video. There will not be a demo for the game at the event. A variety of official Square Enix Kingdom Hearts merchandise will also be available to purchase, including the recently released Shadow vanity pouch, monogram cushion cover, world stickers, bookmarks, and more. For further information, check out the Square Enix Jump Festa 2019 website. Jump Festa 2019 is taking place on December 22 to 23, 2018, at the Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall in Chiba, Japan. Updated [December 12th, 2018]: The show floor map for Jump Festa 2019 has been revealed! The map can be seen below. Thank you to aibo for the information! UPDATE (Dec 13, 2018): PlayStation Japan has posted a preview of the Kingdom Hearts III Photo Op area at the PlayStation booth for Jump Festa. You can view it below.'

PlayStation Asia have announced that Kingdom Hearts III will be playable at the Play Everything Roadshow in Quezon City, Philippines! This will be taking place on December 7-9, 2018, at the Annex in SM City North EDSA. Thanks to @gameaddict12345 and Phiryon for the tip!

A Kingdom Hearts III pop-up experience has just been announced! The campaign will take place at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, from December 14, 2018, to January 31, 2019. Special features will include a playable demo of Kingdom Hearts III, a special Keyblade exhibit, and Kingdom Hearts artwork. The full announcement follows. UPDATE (Dec 7, 2018): Posters for the pop-up experience have been found around Disney Springs. The signs include Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, and Pirates of the Carribean. You can see them in the gallery below. (Pictures taken by Fulcrum422) UPDATE (Dec 10, 2018): The Pop-Up Experience will be located in the Town Center of Disney Springs. According to the latest Dub Dee Dub Revue Podcast, the experience is speculated to be in the former Disney Corner building.

A Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius collaboration was announced during FFBE's 3rd anniversary livestream! In the future, you will be able to summon Sora as a character in the mobile game. You can watch the announcement below (starts at 5:36:12).

D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, have recently published the Winter 2018 issue of their Disney Twenty Three magazine. Therein is a special Kingdom Hearts III feature, including enlightening comments by director Tetsuya Nomura, as well as the Disney and Pixar representatives who have worked with Square Enix on the game! The magazine is exclusive to D23 Gold Members. Fansite Kingdom Hearts Destiny have published the feature in its entirety in French on their website. Thanks to this, we have paraphrased the interesting comments around the production of the new Disney and Pixar worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. You can read them below. Jason Katz, Story Supervisor at Pixar Animation Studios, had never played a Kingdom Hearts game when he was first approached to work with Square Enix on Kingdom Hearts III. It was Tasha Sounart (Associate Creative Director for Disney Theme Parks and now Kingdom Hearts III consultant) who introduced it to him. Katz didn't comprehend the popularity of the series when he first worked on it - this was until he saw the fans' extreme reactions of appreciation at KH3's D23 Expo 2017 presentation. The feature also recalled series director Tetsuya Nomura's comment about how it has been his heartfelt wish for a long time to have Pixar worlds in Kingdom Hearts. Katz said that the collaboration between Square Enix and Pixar went wonderfully and that Square Enix perfectly delivered Pixar's stories. He said that Pixar nudged them in the right direction and guided them where appropriate. Sounart said that Pixar were involved at every stage: scripts; storyboards, scenes, and character design. As the heart of Toy Story is nostalgia, Katz said that they were interested in the Square Enix development team sharing with them the memories of their childhood toys. In regards to the Infinity Badge Keyblade, this was also a collaboration between Pixar and Square Enix to capture the essence of the Toy Story movies. Sounart explained that they really wanted to reflect Buzz and Woody in the design, describing how items like the sheriff badge and rocket form a perfect design. One thing the Pixar team wanted from the beginning was the alien toy as the Keyring. The Pixar team thought meticulously about where the Kingdom Hearts III arc would canonically fit into the Toy Story timeline to ensure continuity. A question they had to answer to fans and to themselves was, "Why didn't any Toy Story characters mention meeting Sora in the movies?" Katz went as far as to have many exchanges where he stressed the importance of the two types of wallpaper you can see in Andy's Room in the series: the cloud wallpaper in his old house in the first movie, and the stars wallpaper in his new room after his family moves into their new home. As Kingdom Hearts III takes place between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 while Andy is still young (although it was originally meant to take place right after the first movie before that idea was scrapped), Katz said the stars wallpaper in the game was non-negotiable: "It's nerdy, but still very important for us." Pixar is known to include many Easter Eggs in their movies, and Kingdom Hearts III is no exception. Sounart said, "Keep an eye out for the Pizza Planet truck!" In regards to Monsters, Inc., Sounart said that most monsters do not have a nose, so Sora in his monster design doesn't either. Sully is one of the few monsters to have a nose. There were many other details to consider, such as how would Sora, Donald, and Goofy's clothes be incorporated into the world. Their final designs was another perfect amalgamation between Kingdom Hearts and Monsters, Inc.. Unlike Toy Box with Galaxy Toys, the Kingdom Hearts III world of Monstropolis showcases a location from the movies, the Monsters, Inc. factory. Katz pointed out that in the movies, we really only see the scare floor, the door vault, and the main entrance. In Kingdom Hearts III, there will be an opportunity to see what the basement and the are behind where they store the doors look like, along with visiting the sets shown in the film. Peter Del Vecho, producer of Frozen, said that due to the movie's popularity and huge fanbase, it was only natural for it to meet Kingdom Hearts. Del Vecho said that Square Enix did not only want to make a great game, but they also wanted to make Disney proud. Square Enix was determined to adapt the Disney phenomenon that is Frozen into a Kingdom Hearts world from the very beginning. Del Vecho was impressed in their desire to get fully immersed in the process with overseeing animation, layout, and even some camera movements. Del Vecho's team was amazed at how closely they matched the animation. Del Vecho said that there are many Frozen fans that wanted to continue the adventure in the movies, and now they will have the opportunity to take it home with them. As Elsa interacts with Kingdom Hearts III characters that were not in the movie, Del Vecho would like fans to thus take part in a new storyline by playing Kingdom Hearts III. Katz said that the more he lives the world of Kingdom Hearts, the more he appreciates how fans have welcomed its characters. Because of this, he feels lucky to be able to create art for a living (and bring Kingdom Hearts III's art to life). He finds it incredible that he got to play a small role in a series that so many people have been playing their whole life. A similar feeling about Kingdom Hearts' longevity is shared by Nomura himself, who commented, "I do feel the love towards Kingdom Hearts from all the fans. But I also feel with the passing of time that there are more team members were fans of Kingdom Hearts even before joining the team. It is wonderful to know that we have people on the production side that love the series, as well." The feature concludes by remarking that as Kingdom Hearts' fan base is so important that even the creators are fans, it must be something special, and that, ultimately, that is the same message shared by the Disney stories; Nomura agrees, "I see a kindness in those Disney stories that resonates with everyone. " You can read more statements made by Tasha Sounart and Jason Katz on working on Kingdom Hearts III here. UPDATE [Dec 3, 2018]: Fan Edward Munoz has kindly provided us with scans from the whole Kingdom Hearts III feature in the magazine! You can read the scans in the album below.

Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura has tweeted that the next Kingdom Hearts III trailer is planned for release on December 10, 2018! Nomura adds that on December 18, there will be a "final" - possibly referencing a final trailer - and lastly on December 21 a half-minute commercial movie (for theatres) will be revealed. The full translation of the tweet is provided below, which point to this release plan being provisional. *Previously, after the release of the Together trailer, Nomura tweeted that he was working on a separate version for Japan. Translations have been provided by KH13 Staff Mio-chan, Solis, and NihonScribe. The original tweet follows. [UPDATE]: Kingdom Hearts' (worldwide) official Twitter account recently tweeted Nomura's clarification on the trailers' release dates. You can check his message here below: UPDATE (Dec 7, 2018): Kingdom Hearts Director Tetsuya Nomura has tweeted about the times for the next few trailers. The new video will be on December 10th at Midnight Japan Time and the Final 2018 trailer will be on December 18th at 5:00 PM Japan Time. We have provided translations for the tweet. You can read them below. (Translations provided by KH13 Staff member Mio-Chan)

Amazon Games have just announced a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer will be debuted on their Cyber Monday stream on November 26, 2018, starting at 1 PM PST! They added that they will also make a DLC announcement and reveal an exclusive bonus for Twitch Prime members! You will be able to watch their stream here.

On November 24, 2018, from 12PM - 12AM EST, a group of community members will be holding a 12-hour live stream for charity project called Chirithy4Charity! Donations will go to Extra Life, a charity organization that helps the Children's Miracle Network Hospital and gathers donations through live streaming of various video games. They will of course be playing Kingdom Hearts and will be holding various events throughout the whole stream, including a Kingdom Hearts II race, data battles, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 lvl 50 Critical run, Dream Drop Distance bingo, and much more! The goal is $250, which we hope will be overcome. Check them out on Twitter for more information and follow them on Twitch where the livestream will be held! Use the hashtag #Chirithy4Charity and #ChirithyStream on Twitter and help spread the word! We hope to see you there! You can watch the announcement video below.

Gamestop (US) has listed Kingdom Hearts III Digital Deluxe Edition for PlayStation 4 on their online store for $79.99! The pre-order item will be available to download on 1/29/2019, 12:00 AM CST. No further information has been provided. You can access the listing here. Thanks to @FarProximity for the tip!