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Square Enix have revealed new Kingdom Hearts II plushes of Naminé and Roxas that are available for pre-order from their Japanese, European, and North American storefronts. Both products are viewable via our galleries below alongside their Japan store pages. Several other available store pages are listed at this article's conclusion. Kingdom Hearts II Naminé Plush (¥4,180) - October 1st, 2022 shipment Kingdom Hearts II Roxas Plush (¥4,180) - October 1st, 2022 shipment Square Enix North America (January 2023 release windows): Naminé - $44.99 Roxas - $44.99 Aitai Kuji (September 2022 release windows): Naminé - ¥3,500 Roxas - ¥3,500 AmiAmi (Late September 2022 release windows): Naminé - Discounted price of ¥3,500 Roxas - Discounted price of ¥3,500 Square Enix Europe (January 13th, 2023 shipments): Naminé - €44.99 - January 13th, 2023 shipment Roxas - €44.99 - January 13th, 2023 shipment View full article

Following the onslaught of Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary news, Square Enix announced new upcoming Play Arts Kai figures of Sora, Kairi and Riku. Riku’s Deluxe figure comes with “two face options, including a smiling face and a battle face, the Keyblade Way to the Dawn, and the broken Way to the Dawn.” Additionally, Sora’s Deluxe figure has “two extra face parts, one with a smiling face and the other with a battle face, as well as the Shooting Star and Ultima Weapon Keyblades.” You can view each figure via our gallery below, alongside their respective Square Enix Japan store pages. NOTE: Square Enix North American, European, AmiAmi, and Aitai Kuji store links are listed at the bottom of this article. Each figure on the North American store front possesses a September 2023 release window. The European store pages provide no estimated release times. Sora Play Arts Kai Version 2 (¥19,580) & DX (¥21,780) - May 27th, 2023 shipments Riku Play Arts Kai (¥19,580) & DX (¥21,780) - June 29th, 2023 shipments Kairi Play Arts Kai - (¥20,680) July 28th, 2023 shipment Square Enix North American (all possess September 2023 release windows): Sora Version 2 - $189.99 Sora Version 2 DX - $209.99 Kairi - $199.99 Riku - $189.99 Riku DX - $209.99 Square Enix Europe (no provided release windows): Sora Version 2 - €164.99 Sora Version 2 DX - €174.99 Kairi - €174.99 Riku - €164.99 Riku DX - €174.99 AmiAmi store links: Sora Version 2 - Discounted price of ¥16,600 - Late May 2023 release window Sora Version 2 DX - Discounted price of ¥18,500 - Late May 2023 release window Kairi - Discounted price of ¥17,500 - Late July 2023 release window Riku Version 2 - Discounted price of ¥16,600 - Late June 2023 release window Riku Version 2 DX - Discounted price of ¥18,500 - Late June 2023 release window Aitai Kuji store links: Sora Version 2 - ¥16,500 - May 2023 release window Sora Version 2 DX - ¥18,500 - May 2023 release window Kairi - ¥17,500 - July 2023 release window Riku - ¥16,500 - June 2023 release window Riku DX - ¥18,500 - June 2023 release window View full article

Square Enix has revealed a brand new trailer for the series' 20th anniversary, highlighting several upcoming titles. Firstly, Kingdom Hearts Dark Road has been delayed again to August 2022. A new mobile game called Kingdom Hearts Missing - Link was announced, with a closed beta test arriving later this year. Lastly, Kingdom Hearts IV was announced. You can view the new trailer housing these 3 announcements below: Tetsuya Nomura has provided a new message following these announcements: The Kingdom Hearts Missing - Link logo was revealed alongside the logo: Official Kingdom Hearts IV screenshots have been provided, viewable below: Official new Kingdom Hearts Dark Road screenshots have been provided, viewable below: Yoko Shimomura provided a new comment regarding these recent announcements, viewable below alongside a translation: UPDATE (4/11/2022): The Japanese websites for Kingdom Hearts IV and Kingdom Hearts Missing - Link are now up. For now, they simply link to their respective trailers and have no new information. It is worth noting that the press release for Kingdom Hearts IV provides the following false statement: Strelitzia's actual debut was in Kingdom Hearts Union χ. Square Enix Blog's article on the announcements yesterday clarifies the aforementioned point. View full article

During the currently ongoing Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary event, merchandise retailer Super Groupies has announced that they will be launching 45 wearable accessories in Summer 2022. Event participants have shared images of the advertisements, viewable below: View full article

During the ongoing Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary event, the Memory Locker website launched, hosting 15 messages from several key staff members. We will be working on providing translations for several of these messages throughout the night. UPDATE (4/17/2022) : We have translated each Memory Locker message. Messages, 1, 5, 14, and 15 were translated by our team's Ryuji, while the rest were translated by our team's corfidbizna. Keep in mind that these are fan translations and not official! The Memory Locker website has prevented access to the messages since the anniversary event concluded. However, they are planned to re-launch and we will update you all when that occurs. For now, check out our translations of each message below: View full article

This article will be continually updated with news regarding the Kingdom Hearts 20th-anniversary event, initiating at 2 PM JST/ 1 AM EDT/ 10 PM PDT in Shibuya Hikarie on the 9th floor of Hikarie Hall. However, while the doors open at that time, the actual event itself begins at 5 PM JST/ 4 AM EST/ 1 AM PDT. It is worth noting that there is no guarantee of any news being officially shared throughout the event, as embargos will likely be in place for attendees and staff. Regardless, we will be sharing impressions and tweets from event participants as time passes. Be sure to check back in on this article and view our Twitter for timely updates on the Kingdom Hearts 20th-anniversary event! UPDATE: 12:10 AM EST Event participants have begun posting pictures of the venue's exterior. For reference, Aibo's tweet is viewable below: The new celebratory 20th anniversary artwork has been revealed via Aibo: A celebratory message from Nomura has been spotted, viewable below. We are working on a translation, though some of the text is blurry: Our team's Ryuji has translated the message, viewable below. However, please keep in mind that this may not be 100% accurate: New official merchandise has been spotted at the event, including new Play Arts Kai figures and a new Naminé plushie: New celebratory pins and a clock have also been shown: New kitchenware has been displayed: New perfumes based on Roxas, Xion, and Axel have been spotted: A Final Fantasy VII-themed display is at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event venue: Aibo posted a thought-provoking Q&A response from Nomura, viewable below: "I was uncertain whether to call it KH4 or Verum Rex but ultimately decided to call it the former because this is about Sora." An event attendee, Jyaco, detailed their account of the experience. One particular note in their written account is that it was stated that Kingdom Hearts III has sold over 6.7 million copies as of September 2021. UPDATE (4/11/2022): Various photos of the venue and stage event have been provided by 4Gamer and Game Watch, also viewable via our gallery below: Dengeki shared exclusive photos from their event coverage, viewable via our gallery below: After Nomura's video message, five songs were selected from the series' many masterpieces, and were performed live in an arrangement for the 20th anniversary event (via Famitsu) : Dearly Beloved Sora's Theme Vector to the Heavens Nachtflügel Link to All After the performance, Risa Uchida, the Japanese voice actress of Kairi and Xion started hosting the event as the MC, and Yoko Shimomura, composer of the Kingdom Hearts series, took the stage. Regarding the live performance, Shimomura said that since this was a commemorative event for the 20th anniversary of the series, she personally took on the challenge of arranging chamber music (jargon for a small ensemble of musicians) for the first time. "For the songs chosen, I made sure that they were not only popular songs, but also that there was no bias toward any particular work." she stated. One of the main reasons "Nachtflügel" was chosen was that because it was a newer song that had never been performed live. Looking back on 20 years of Kingdom Hearts, Yoko said she had many memories of her times with songwriting and concerts. "There are many ideas that I still have in my mind, and I hope to have another concert sometime in the future." she stated. View full article

I had to look it up lmao

Sony Japan has announced that to celebrate the Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary, they will be selling commemorative Walkmen. Unfortunately, even when viewing the announcement page, no images of this item have been revealed. However, those who sign up with their Sony ID will receive a 10% coupon. We'll be share to share further news on this unique and unexpected product when it is discussed in a greater capacity. UPDATE (4/15/2022) : The announcement page has been updated to state that the walkman will come with a pair of wireless headphones and "etc," whatever the latter means. There are still no images for this upcoming product. View full article

Kingdom Hearts II is a widely beloved entry in the series, being many fans’ favorite. And, I believe it’s safe to assume that a significant degree of that love stems from it housing the best world in the franchise, Atlantica. Now, while Atlantica is one of the more well-liked worlds in the first game, its musical implementation in Kingdom Hearts II is masterful, causing many fans over the years to question why the entirety of the game and subsequent sequels didn’t play like this world. Unfortunately, we’ll likely never receive an answer to that prominent, collective fan inquiry, and we’ll have to keep replaying the 5 stellar musical numbers this area boasts. With it being the series’ 20th anniversary, I found it only fitting to reflect on the peak gameplay of the titles and rank the playable musicals from worst to best. 5. "Part of Your World" This is easily the most abhorred song of Atlantica, and part of why is because it doesn’t include the magnificent vocal talents or dancing of Donald and Goofy. Sora’s compatriots provide fantastic vocal and visual range, capturing the essence of these performances far more effectively than any of the other characters. It’s also the shortest song, further providing ample reason for this being on the bottom of the list. Lastly, the fact that players can simply obtain 5 Excellent ratings and skimp out on the rest of the track is unfortunate. Fans want to interact with these musical minigames more and not just view them as spectacles, despite how epic they are. 4. "Ursula’s Revenge" Ah, yes. The best boss battle of not only Kingdom Hearts II but the franchise as a whole. It’s almost depressing how the series hasn’t even come close to reaching the quality of this encounter. Still, that just goes to show how legendary it is. Ursula utilizes the power of King Triton’s trident and enlarges herself, becoming a genuinely threatening foe. Players have to time cleverly incorporated button presses aligned with Ursula’s ever-growing power, resulting in a climactic encounter that will leave you with an undeniably cathartic sense of delight. While Donald and Goofy don’t sing during this battle, the sheer well-induced terror of this scene nearly absolves that fault. If only Xemnas received such a similarly praiseworthy encounter… 3. "Under The Sea" "Under The Sea" boasts sublime metaphorical imagery throughout its duration. The right side of the screen hosts a gauge determining Ariel’s yearning for the outside world or accepted complacency with the life she’s come to know. The player’s performance determining the state of Ariel’s mentality illustrates a terrific relationship between their actions and results. Essentially, the effects of gameplay are transparently depicted in a manner affecting character growth. Further, the necessitated avoidance of Sebastian for success subtly implies his actual existence as a Darkling, serving as a corrupting influence on Ariel’s strained psyche. There is just an almost insane degree of storytelling depth poured into this performance, but the fact that there are still 2 more surpassing it is astounding. 2. "Swim This Way" Despite being the initial performance, "Swim This Way" expertly introduces players to the majesty of this world’s rhythm-based gameplay. Sebastian being the motivator for Sora, Ariel, and the others is a colossal reason for this monumental quality. As alluded to in the prior placement, it’s evident that Sebastian is a Darkling utilizing some manner of camouflage to veil his authentic, horrific appearance. His motives are still unclear, but Dark Road’s final update may finally shed light on this long-running point of contention the fanbase has possessed for over half a decade. Regardless, what makes this performance so noteworthy is Sebastian’s seemingly two-faced nature. While he is a force of corruption during "Under the Sea", his congenial deliverance of praise and motivation seems real here. And, if that’s the case, what is Sebastian enduring throughout this world’s story events? Are the influences of Sora and the gang combating the inherent darkness his existence comprises? It’s a simultaneously inspiring and fearsome thought. Aside from Sebastian, though, Sora’s use of magic and the entirety of the group dancing with one another is a wholesome, endearing sight. You’d be hard-pressed to identify a better first song in any rhythm game experience. 1. "A New Day is Dawning" Finally, we have reached the indisputably best track in the world; "A New Day is Dawning". The sheer, infectious joviality present from every participant in this massive ensemble performance is almost tear-jerking. After defeating Ursula, peace has been restored, and the sea’s denizens celebrate that occurrence, as well as Ariel’s eventual marriage to Prince Eric. King Triton smiling, Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s passionate singing, and the countless dancers emphasize the immense scale of these events. This is also the most challenging song to complete, with a steep score to achieve. Additionally, the remaining presence of the Sebastian icons that must be avoided informs the player that darkness still lurks within this world, and there’s no telling when it will sprout. When Atlantica returns in a future game, we’ll assuredly witness Sebastian’s tragic reveal as a Darkling. Still, until then, this song represents long-desired fulfilling tranquility. Alas, it also is a meta-textual metaphor for how the best world is nearing its end, and players will have to move on. After all, A New Day is Dawning. Not all of life can be enthusiastically joyful. So, while the conclusion of this world can be melancholic due to its qualitative nature ceasing, it teaches players the valuable lesson of how life lacks permanence. Change is always approaching from behind the corner, and despite its confrontations differing in timing for every individual, it’s inescapable. And that was indisputable Top 5 ranking for each Atlantica song in Kingdom Hearts II. Still, do you somehow disagree with this placement? And if so, what does your ranking look like? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

A prominent member of the Kingdom Hearts community, 13th Vessel, has recently shared notable information regarding the origins of the Kingdom Hearts series. In a Twitter post earlier today, he made the SquareSoft 2001 E3 press kit available for public download. Several text documents and early pre-release images of the first Kingdom Hearts entry are viewable, primarily comprising Sora, Riku, Kairi, combat, and the non-finalized logo. Thanks to 13th Vessel for archiving and sharing these signficant pieces of history, and you can access them via his Twitter post below: Are there any specific images or statements here that stand out to you? Let us know in the comments below! UPDATE: (3/30/2022) We have added the Kingdom Hearts SquareSoft 2001 Press Kit images to our gallery, viewable below: View full article