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The September 2016 issue of Dengeki PlayStation features the upcoming Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue over four pages. The feature shows the cover art for the game, as well as various stills from the TGS 2016 trailer released earlier this month. The article talks about the new TGS 2016 trailer and impressions on the demo that was available to play at TGS 2016. You can view the feature scans below, courtesy of @RyougaSaotome. Update: Translations have been provided courtesy of Goldpanner. You can read them below. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will release on January 12th, 2017 in Japan, and January 24th, 2017 internationally.

With only 12 days to go until the start of EGX 2016, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue has been revealed by Square Enix to be playable as a demo at the UK's biggest gaming event. The Square Enix lineup of playable games will also include titles such as Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Quest Builders, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Hitman, and more. EGX 2016 will take place at the NEC in Birmingham from 22nd to 25th of September. EGX has previously provided a playable demo of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX in 2014 in London. More details about the event can be found at the official EGX website. Will you be attending EGX 2016 as it offers the demo for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue for the first time in the UK? Let us know in the comments below!

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue has been confirmed by Square Enix to be playable as a demo at yet another convention lining up this late summer. PAX West 2016, taking place on September 2nd to 5th in Seattle, Washington, will feature a hands on experience of the game at its Square Enix booth. Other demos that will be playable at the booth include Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, World of Final Fantasy, Hitman, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and more. Square Enix will be hosting public previews and panels at the convention, as well as running sweepstakes for Square Enix Members Rewards. Some images from PAX West 2016 can be found below thanks to the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account: Will you be attending PAX West 2016 and trying out the demo for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue? Let us know in the comments!

Gamescom 2016 in Cologne, Germany, is now open to trade and media visitors, two days prior to opening its doors to all. Press visitors such as Finaland have managed to sneak a peak at the Square Enix products in display at the event, including a prototype for Kingdom Hearts III Sora Play Arts Kai, which was recently announced and is available for pre-order at the North American branch of the Square Enix Store. Prototypes for Organization XIII Roxas Play Arts Kai and Kingdom Hearts Static Arts figures of Kingdom Hearts II Sora, Chirithy, Shadow, and Meow Wow are also in display; these were previously revealed at the San Diego Comic Con. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will also be playable as a demo at the event. You can view the pictures of the Play Arts Kai and Static Arts display below, courtesy of @Finaland_, @KHfansite, and @Servant_Serah. Gamescom will be open to everyone from August 19th to August 21st. Will you be attending? Let us know in the comments!

Following recent discoveries of hidden areas in the code of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, KH13 forum member Ligero_miguel joined the search and found some more interesting information within the game's code. His findings include beta mini-maps, concept art from the Prankster's Paradise world, unused items, unused HUD, a prototype menu, and beta screenshots. He has found messages by the developers within the code in the game, including references to the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica and name of songs by Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Joe Williams. He also shows a picture of the roman numeral "III", which he believes was due to appear after the end credits of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, following the secret message of "THIS LEADS TO KINGDOM HEARTS" which can be spelled out from the sequence of letters appearing during the credits. Ligero_miguel mentions that his most interesting find is a file called "jb_621.bcd", a collision from a deleted map. He explains 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, which could have had an area code denoted by "jb". This is especially intriguing as there was . Also, an episode from the cancelled Kingdom Hearts TV series took place in the world of The Jungle Book, and Jungle Book medals were added to the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ to celebrate the release of the recent live action movie. The video below shows Ligero_miguel's discoveries in the code of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. What do you make of these findings? Would you like to see The Jungle Book in future Kingdom Hearts games? Let us know in the comments!

Square Enix NA Store is now accepting pre-orders for Keychains on four classic Keyblades - Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key Dark Side, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Additionally, Lea's Keyblade, which was recently announced for release in Japan is also up for pre-order. The Keychains will be releasing on December 2016, each at a retail price of $19.99 USD. Description and picture of the Keychains are as follows: Will you be purchasing any of these Keyblade keychains along with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue this December? Let us know in the comments!

Update 1: Kevin G. Quinn has replied to a tweet from our staff member confirming his involvement in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue as the voice of Master Gula, the Foreteller of the Leopardos union. A screenshot of the tweet can be viewed below. Update 2: Kevin G. Quinn has since deleted the tweet. Update 3: Karissa Lee Staples confirms that she voices Master Invi in Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover! An old tweet from May 23rd on Karissa Lee Staples's official Twitter account points to the actress being behind the voice of Master Invi in the movie Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, contained in the HD collection Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. The tweet shows a message directed at Skylark Sound Studios. The picture in the tweet reveals a blurred still of what seems to be a scene from Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, apparently featuring Master Invi, the Foreteller of the Anguis union, facing the figure of Master Aced, the Foreteller of the Ursus union, who has his back turned to the viewer. You can view the tweet below as well as a close-up of the still, which was not featured in the of the game. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is due to be released worldwide on December 2016 for PS4. It will feature the return of Willa Holland as Aqua in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-, as well as previous voice recordings from other actors in the remastered game Kingdom Hearts HD Dream Drop Distance. The HD collection is in the final stages of production, with voice recordings for the English dub "almost done" as mentioned by series director Tetsuya Nomura in his latest interview with Famitsu.

Square Enix Holdings have released their Results Briefing Session for the Fiscal Year ended March 31 2016, in which they give us a reminder that the series' third HD remaster, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, is still being planned for release in 2016 in Japan, North America, and Europe. We are steadily approaching an official release date announcement for the awaited game, which includes Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, the movie Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, and the short playable episode Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. Perhaps E3 may bring us the good news, as it did for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX two years ago.

While at PAX East 2016 last week, Senior Editor of The Koalition, Jakejames Lugo, was able to sit down and have a little chat with Hironori Okayama, the producer of Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ. Okayama discussed gameplay features, such as how he drew inspiration from other Kingdom Hearts games, the reasoning behind creating a turn-based battle system, and the process behind designing medals. He also mentioned wanting to implement real-time multiplayer battles over the current individual raid boss fights with shared HP reductions and rewards. Following up on Gamer Escape's interview also at PAX East 2016, Okayama reiterated that the game was created based on North American user feedback. He plans to use results from future user surveys to identify areas of demand in order to implement further changes. Okayama also pointed out that there are completion bonuses in the game that might yet have to be discovered. You can watch the video posted by The Koalition and listen to the full interview below: