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In what seems to be the latest issue of V Jump magazine, user YonkouProductions has shared a page featuring Kingdom Hearts III! The feature shows screenshots from Twilight Town and Olympus, and character renders from the world of Hercules. Take a look at it below. UPDATE [18 Oct, 2018]: YonkouProductions has added another page from the magazine, showing a screenshot of the Fire and Wind Titans. Some of the previously shown screenshots, including that of Hercules and Pegasus, are shown in larger size. See the page below: Shueisha, the publisher of the Jump line of magazines, is the sponsor of the Jump Festa event, where a Kingdom Hearts III trailer was released in 2015. Jump Festa 2019 will be taking place on December 22-23, 2018; Square Enix is expected to reveal their lineup for the event sometime next month. Are you expecting a Kingdom Hearts III appearance at the event this year? Let us know in the comments!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: The Novel is now set to release in the West in late November 2018, as revealed by publisher Yen Press. The localization of the light novel was first announced back in 2016; its original release was listed as June 2018, which was then delayed to November 13, 2018, and has currently been delayed again to November 27, 2018. The cover for the light novel has also been revealed. You can see it below. The novel is still available for pre-order; the paperback is available at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, IndieBound, AAA Anime, Books A Million, and Indigo. Digital copies will be sold as well by Amazon, Barnes & Nobles iTunes and Indigo. Let us know if you'll be picking it up in time for Christmas!

The official Kingdom Hearts Facebook account is planning a livestream featuring Kingdom Hearts III at PAX WEST 2018! The stream is scheduled for today at 2:30 PM PDT, and can be accessed on Facebook. Attendees of PAX WEST this year are able to enjoy the Toy Box and Olympus demos of the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III, releasing January 29, 2019, worldwide. Square Enix is also giving away Kingdom Hearts III phone holders, and have put on display replicas of the Keyblades Shooting Star and Infinity Badge. Let us know if you are/will be at PAX WEST 2018, otherwise, or tune into the livestream to find out what's going on at the event!

The possibility of exclusion of dubbing in Kingdom Hearts III for audiences such as German, Spanish, and French-speakers has been an ongoing issue among the international fan community of the series, so much that even a petition was conducted in an attempt to make the upcoming game's dub more inclusive. Disappointment therefore ensued when it was confirmed by the Square Enix France CEO that Kingdom Hearts III would only be dubbed in Japanese and English. HobbyConsolas has recently published an interview with Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura, whom they asked for explanations for the lack of dubbing in more languages. Nomura also talked about the translation process, the scriptwriting process, and whether Kingdom Hearts III can be a starting point for newcomers to the series. You can read the interview below. We would like to thank KH13 News Team member Overshot and KHχ staff Nymph for providing translations.

VG247 has recently published Alex Donaldson's interview with Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura. Here, he talked about having found the right balance while working with Disney, their approach to world expansion, recap elements and more in Kingdom Hearts III. In regards to his approach in directing Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said he hasn't changed much, not unlike in his previous interview with Donaldson back in 2013. Nomura also spoke about seeing the positives of working with Disney's restrictions. Infact, the Pixar team working on Kingdom Hearts III had a lot of praise for Kingdom Hearts III's development team during the Kingdom Hearts III Premiere Event. Tasha Sounart, the Associate Creative Director at Pixar Animation Studios, and the Pixar Story Supervisor Jason Katz, spoke about the success of Toy Story's and Monsters, Inc.'s representation in the game being owed to the efforts spent in the back and forth between the studio and Square Enix. When Nomura was asked about what Kingdom Hearts III would have been like it had it been developed for the previous generation of consoles, Nomura replied that he hadn't given it any thought. He simply talked about how the development team worked to make new players and those who have forgotten the series' previous experience catch up to the story in Kingdom Hearts III. He stated that recap videos will be added at the start of the game, along with other elements throughout the game to further players' understanding of the story. Nomura said that the quality, size, and depth of each world is prioritized over the overall world count, and that was greatly achieved through expanding them vertically. It is still not possible to make a simple comparison between the size of Kingdom Hearts III's worlds to the previous games' ones. Nomura also referred to Gummi Ships to have "symbolic significance" in the series, and restated that Gummi Ship levels in Kingdom Hearts III will have a higher resemblance to an RPG world map and include exploration and detailed customization. Nomura concluded the interview by acknowledging that fans have a lot to expect and look out for in the final instalment of the Xehanort saga.

IGN Brasil has just published an interview conducted with Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura back during E3 2018, in which he talked about his favorite character, the dark themes in Kingdom Hearts III, and, surprisingly, Mary Poppins. Nomura stated that his favorite character from the series is Ansem (Xehanort's Heartless), and that he does not relate to Sora. Nomura commented that he prefers JRPG games to not show explicit violence. However, he still promised that Kingdom Hearts III will have some "shocking scenes." Regarding choosing the worlds that will appear in the game, he said: When asked about his favorite world from the series, Nomura laughed. He responded that his favorite world has not been revealed yet. He states that there will be "some original world in Kingdom Hearts III." Nomura even mentioned the idea of a Mary Poppins world. The interviewer also asked Nomura if he was aware of how popular Kingdom Hearts is in Brasil, to which he replied that he was surprised in discovering a Brasilian fanbase. What "shocking" surprises could be awaiting in Kingdom Hearts III? Would you like one of them to be a Mary Poppins world? Let us know in the comments!

Following a hands-on experience of an hour-long demo of Kingdom Hearts III, Geek.com has published an insightful review of playing the third main installation of the series from the perspective of a newcomer. In it, Tony Polanco describes his positive experience of playing through the Olympus and Toy Story demo. While talking about the various gameplay elements, he adds in comments made by a Square Enix PR representative on what to expect from the final version of the game. He states: It seems that players can advance through the game's main story in approximately 40-50 hours, or about double that time considering additional playable content. Click here to read the full review on Geek.com! Many thanks to Tony Polanco for talking to us about his experience and confirming that these statements were made by a Square Enix PR representative. UPDATE: Geek.com has updated the following statement to clarify that the game lengths given to them by the Square Enix PR representative were approximate, but the exact length has not yet been finalized as the development of the game continues towards its release date. How will you be playing Kingdom Hearts III when it comes out? Will you be speeding through the main story or enjoying it in full on your first playthrough? Let us know in the comments!

Following the reveal of the Sora Nendoroid figure (releasing December 2018), and a tease about more Kingdom Hearts figures coming soon, a Riku Nendoroid has been revealed! The following picture has been published on the "WONDERFUL HOBBY LIFE FOR YOU!! 28" website gallery, which provides some sneak peaks of figures that will be on display at the Wonder Festival taking place in Chiba, Japan, on July 29, 2018. Thanks to @churroz for the tip! UPDATE (July 28, 2018): A new photo of Riku with Soul Eater has also been revealed. You can view it in the gallery below. Thanks to @retro_oo for the tip! Have you pre-ordered the Sora Nendoroid yet? Are you looking to add Riku to your collection? Let us know in the comments!

Facebook is promoting Kingdom Hearts III at San Diego Comic-Con with a travelling photo-op! The backdrop shows Kingdom Hearts III renders of Sora, Donald, and Goofy. You can check out the video below! Churro has also taken a video of the travelling backdrop. Watch it below, and check out his pictures too! Let us know if you're at SDCC 2018, and don't forget to share your pictures!

In revealing their products line-up during the San Diego Comic-Con 2018 preview night, Square Enix unveiled many upcoming Kingdom Hearts products, including three sets of wallets, available in black and red! These are the Kingdom Hearts wallet, bifold wallet, and key case wallet: you can see them below (pictures taken by @churroz). These products are prototypes pending licensor approval, with no release date as of yet. Othe upcoming Kingdom Hearts products shown at the event include Bring Arts figures of Kingdom Hearts III Kairihttps://www.kh13.com/news/new-play-arts-variants-unveiled-at-sdcc-kingdom-hearts-costumes-found-in-dissidia-data-mine, and Cloud and Sephiroth in their Kingdom Hearts outfits! San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 19th to July 22nd. The Kingdom Hearts III demo has been announced for the event, and you can get a chance to play it via collecting tickets at the Square Enix booth, starting from 9.30am local time. What do you think of this lineup? Will you be attending SDCC? Let us know in the comments below!

Famitsu have recently posted their full interview with Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura online! This interview was previously published in the July 5 issue of Famitsu Weekly; however, it was not published in full. We have already translated some parts of the interview (which you can read here and here); find the rest below! Translations have been provided by KH13 Staff Mio-chan and NihonScribe, and Katie Armstrong and Keytotruth. You can read the rest of the interview in full below. In the light of these new remarks, what are you most excited about in Kingdom Hearts III? Let us know in the comments!

The sheet music for Utada Hikaru's "Chikai", the theme song for Kingdom Hearts III, is now available for pre-order at Amazon Japan! The sheet music for the piano solo and piano-vocal scores can be pre-ordered for 648 yen, and will be released on July 31, 2018. Amazon Japan also offers delivery to some locations outside of Japan, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The full version of Chikai was released with Utada Hikaru's 7th studio album, Hatsukoi. The English version, "Don't Think Twice", has been featured in various trailers for Kingdom Hearts III but hasn't been released in full yet. Are you looking forward to get your hands on the sheet music or listen to someone play it? Let us know in the comments!

In last week's issue of Dengeki PlayStation, a Kingdom Hearts III feature included an exclusive interview with Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura. We previously published a summary of the key points as posted by the blog Hokanko(Alt). You can view the scans below. You can read the full interview below, with translations provided by KH13 News Staff NihonScribe and Mio-chan, and Keytotruth and Katie Armstrong. [uPDATE Jul 3, 2018] We have slightly revised our translations thanks to SQEX☆GAL and Keytotruth; we have written the revised translations in blue for your benefit. Let us know your views and thoughts on this interview in the comments!

Square Enix have revealed their line-up of demos playable for Anime Expo 2018, and Kingdom Hearts III is on the list! Attendees of the event will be able to play the Rock Titan boss battle at Olympus Coliseum and explore Andy's Room/Galaxy Toys at Toy Box. Anime Expo 2018 will take place July 5-8 at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. Below is an excerpt from the press release. Let us know in the comments if you'll be trying out Kingdom Hearts III at Anime Expo 2018 !

Game Informer’s Kimberly Wallace had previously interviewed Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura at E3 2018. Recently, more of this interview was published and shed some light on Kingdom Hearts III. You can read Nomura's quotes below. Are you excited about the final battle in Kingdom Hearts III? What kind of hardships are you expecting Sora to go through? Let us know your theories and expectations in the comments!

During the "KH3に 繋がる 物語たち" ("Stories Connecting to Kingdom Hearts III") promotional campaign taking place between June 25 and July 1, 2018 at Shinjuku Station in Japan, special Memorial leaflets were being distributed to fans at specific times of the day. However, due to congestion and the safety issues that entailed, this distribution has been discontinued for the remainder of the campaign. The picture books and special board showcase will continue as planned. Square Enix have announced that the Memorial leaflets will be redistributed to 50 winners of a Preliminary Lottery; the winners can collect them at the Square Enix Café (Tokyo and Osaka) and at ARTNIA. To apply to take part in this lottery, membership to the web service “Square Enix Members” is necessary. (Member registration is free). 50 sets of five ring notebooks (each with a chapter cover design from the Kingdom Hearts recap series) can also be won in the lottery. For more information on how to participate, you can visit the official website for the campaign. (Translations were provided by KH13 Staff Mio-chan.) There are 15 Memorial leaflets altogether, 3 from each chapter from the Kingdom Hearts recap video series. There are five chapters, namely Departures, Memories, Twilight, Dawn, and Darkness; they were displayed at Shinjuku Station as "picture books"from which fans could pull out a page (in the form of a Memorial leaflet). Below is a collection of all the pages. Besides illustrations and quotes from prominent events in the Kingdom Hearts series, each leaflet also had a special quote on the back hinting towards the story of Kingdom Hearts III. We have compiled an album of all the leaflets and the picture book they came from, which you can can view below. These include the front, content, and back of each leaflet. All leaflets are in order. Goldpanner has translated the messages at the back of each leaflet; these are provided below with permission. Translations are in the order of how they appear. It is interesting how each of these quotes somehow connect to the scenario depicted in the leaflet they came from? What do you make of these quotes? Who could be the characters saying them? What do you think they could mean to the story of the end of the Dark Seeker Saga? Let us know in the comments!