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The January 2014 issue of Game Informer has released, and the magazine includes a preview for Kingdom Hearts III. Most of the preview is a re-telling of what we learned from the game's appearance at D23 Expo Japan, however, Tetsuya Nomura (the director of the Kingdom Hearts series) has left some comments explaining some of these revelations in more detail! Nomura's quotes are below (with indirect quotes [in square brackets]): Nomura: [Kingdom Hearts III's main story concludes Xehanort's arc, and it picks up] "immediately after the events of Dream Drop Distance." Nomura: "The process of the wielders coming together will be the main storyline, but one of the highlights of the climax is going to be who is part of the seven lights and thirteen darkness when they get to the final battle. Would it be as everyone expected, or will there be unexpected members added to the mix? That is something to look forward to." Nomura: "All Keyblades transform, and in many different ways. Through the series, various other skilled Keyblade wielders had transformed their weapon; it may serve as a hint to see what they transformed their Keyblades into, in order to understand the different ways in which they changed their form." Nomura: [The special Keyblade moves seen in the trailer are not tied to the Keyblade abilities, but instead to the enemy you're up against.] "When the appropriate attack becomes available, the player can activate it." Nomura: [Kingdom Hearts III] "will be a summation of everything accumulated up to this point, in terms of both story and game mechanics. I'm sure that those who've followed the series up to now are very eager to see what's next, but I think it's also important to create wonder and awe, much like when the first game in the series came out." Nomura: "The end also means a new beginning, and I'm certain that as this story arc ends, players will be able to look forward -- carrying this excitement -- for something new and different, never-before-seen in the series." Thanks go to Kimberley Wallace from Game Informer for the original article, and to KH-Vids for the tip.

The latest issue of Dengeki PlayStation has included an interview with 55 game creators. Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, was one of these creators, and he has shared his thoughts on gaming and Kingdom Hearts in 5 interview questions. SQEX.INFO have translated this portion of the interview, and thanks to them, this can be read below. Q1. What titles have left an impression on you, outside of your own works? Nomura: Titanfall. Q2. What about it left an impression? Nomura: The high presence, realistic battles utilizing extraordinary, giant robots. Q3. Do you have a message regarding memories of your works and plans for upcoming titles? Nomura: Mainly that Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix came out this year, and I tried participating proactively in an overseas event, but I was even more pleased to experience the fan’s excitement for myself. Here as well at D23 Expo Japan, I got to stand in front of fans again after such a long absence, and was happy that the fan’s fervor wasn’t outdone by the overseas experience. We are still preparing to release Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix next year, but we’ll continue working our hardest on Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 as well. Q4. Besides games, what are you most interested in next year and why? Nomura: Obviously, I think there will be a trend towards new hardware systems. You can’t predict what players will think until they’ve used the new systems, so once we know, I expect that the player’s opinions will partly influence the titles currently being developed. Q5. What are your thoughts on the 2013 gaming market and prospects regarding the future? Nomura: I think that the current gen will push the social market trend for another year and next year onward the future of the consumer market will be decided by the next generation hardware. I have a multifunctional hybrid market in mind, something that interacts with other devices, etc.

The latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, releasing on October 24, 2013, has contained an interview with the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Tetsuya Nomura. Here, Nomura discusses both Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, revealing new details about the upcoming titles. Although the full interview has not yet appeared online, @aibo_ac7 has been supplying major details from the interview, and SQEX.INFO have translated these details. This can be read below. - We’re doing our best to brush up Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 as much as possible, even more than 1.5. - The Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer showed in game footage, but it’s not in a condition where viewers can fully grasp it. We’re going to improve the quality much more still. - In the trailer you see 3 of Sora’s new moves, and they demonstrate the 2 attack systems. First is Keyblade transformation, and second is the Disney attraction inspired moves. - The Keyblade transformations will vary for each different Keyblade, their styles as well. - Attractions are an evolution of KH3D’s Flowmotion. You can choose which move you want to use against enemies on the spot. - Even during an enemy outbreak, Sora’s attacks perform naturally. These new actions are just a fraction of Kingdom Hearts 3‘s new components. Update: SQEX.INFO have translated the full interview segment, and this translation can be read below. It’s a privilege to be apart of today’s event, the first D23 Expo Japan. The last time I stood in front of fans was for the premier presentation of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, so it’s been a long time. I was moved by everyone’s excited response. If I have the chance I’d like to do this sort of thing again. I wanted to put out the information for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 and Kingdom Hearts 3 quickly for those who couldn’t attend, so we made the trailers public online. Since they’re both still in production, the trailers are short, but I hope that fans enjoy them. We are brushing up Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 even more that 1.5, even the staff is doing their best to improve it as much as possible. Also, this is the first time that KH3 was shown using in-engine footage, but it’s not in a condition where viewers can fully grasp it. We’re going to improve the quality much more still after this. In the trailer you see 3 of Sora’s new moves, and they demonstrate the 2 attack systems, the first being Keyblade transformation. The Keyblade transformation is different for each Keyblade, and the battle style changes as well. The second is the Disney attraction inspired Attraction Flow. Attraction Flow is an evolution of Kingdom Hearts 3D’s Flowmotion. With Attraction Flow, you can choose which move you want to use against which enemies on the spot, and even during an enemy outbreak you control Sora’s attacks. These new actions are just a fraction of Kingdom Hearts 3′s new components, so please wait for information hereafter.

Update: Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding and Utada Hikaru's father interpreted the question wrong. It is currently undecided whether or not Utada will be returning for Kingdom Hearts III.

Series director Tetsuya Nomura has discussed Kingdom Hearts III on the playstationjp YouTube channel, as part of their 'Conversations with Creators' series. Famitsu.com have published a full transcript of the interview, and @sqexgal has now done a complete translation of it. With a very big thanks to her, the full interview can now be read below. Enjoy! --So many fans were ecstatic with the announcement of Kingdom Hearts 3 back in June. Could you give us another run down of the series and the new title Kingdom Hearts 3? Nomura: The Kingdom Hearts series has a lot of Disney characters, and you play as original characters, traveling to the various Disney worlds. It’s a story about the “heart” as the series unfolds. It’s a story that’s been ongoing for more than 10 years and continues into Kingdom Hearts 3 where we’ll see the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga. --Since it’s the latest console game in the series since Kingdom Hearts 2 which released in 2005, what kind of changes and evolutions can we expect to see? Nomura: I think when you watch the in development trailers, you get a feel of the depth that's possible on a console title. In the case of mobile systems, the amount of information is limited, but with the home consoles you can make a game with a wide field of view. It's been such a long time since Kingdom Hearts has been on the home console, that I think you can feel the considerable scale of it. --On that large a scale, I expect we’ll be able to enjoy even more dynamic action. Nomura: Kingdom Hearts is a series where action continues to evolve. With the past spin off titles, we did something new and the bold action elements changed each time. One thing I want to do with KH3 is to pick and choose the challenges and unique systems from the spin off titles while keeping the system based in the flow of KH1 & KH2. --What’s an example of bold action? Nomura: Sora's mobility has really improved. There are so many possibilities, but implementing all of them would be extravagant, so right now I'm considering what elements and to what degree they'll be liberalized. After all, it's an RPG as well as an action game. It does have that "jump as far as you want" kind of the action characteristic. --Jump as far as you want? That’s insane! Nomura: In the actual game there will be some sort of limit, but this time we are adopting the "free run" style like in current action games, where you can run around, climb, etc. Additionally, your aerial ability and jump ability rise rapidly, so it feels like the action elements are really extravagant. I think people who have played KH2 might understand it easily, it already has greater mobility than Sora's Final Form from that game. --That kind of mobility, no doubt the next gen system PS4 has the ability to realize it? Nomura: I think that the PS4's power is capable of handling a diverse array of actions in a wide area and battles against large numbers of enemies. --Are you powering up the map's traits as well? Nomura: We're preparing a fair number of actions that involve the world maps. Things like climbing up a cliff that crumbles with falling stones, and enemies lifting up a building that you are in. --In the E3 2013 trailer, we see a large number of Shadow Heartless squirming and moving almost like a tidal wave. It seems like the enemies' mobility has evolved too. Nomura: This time we are focusing our attention on developing the AI. The AI of both your allies and enemies has evolved in a way that hasn't been seen so far. Before when a large number of enemies appeared, they all followed a program action pattern. But this time each enemy behaves according to it's own thought process. I think it's something that has been drastically powered up compared to the previous KH titles. --Speaking of allies, will the actions of our travel partners Goofy and Donald change as well? Nomura: Their AI is also being powered up considerably. Since Disney characters have concrete personalities, I want them to act according to their own thoughts instead of just giving them an order and having them obey like in the Final Fantasy series. Relating to their AI, we're configuring it so Donald and Goofy act more like themselves. --Even when they cooperate and mobile, it's not like you give them clear instructions like before. Nomura: The direction we're taking in their growth is to have it so they consider the situation, and help out accordingly. As the player is busy controlling Sora in battle, they consider how they'll participate and their actions increase accordingly. --With the PS4's specs and memory volume, the PS4 is able to implement those features? Nomura: Well, even with the KH games so far, we've made it as seamless to the best of our ability, but the data is resident in the memory... So we include as many actions, motions and effects as possible. Luckily, the PS4's memory volume is big, so it helps. --Bold action, map features, and enemy AI. That's a lot to squeeze into one screen. When I consider it compared to KH2, it seems to become a pretty different game. Nomura: Since it's a numbering KH title that crosses into the next gen, I think you'll be able to feel how it's evolved proportionately. --How about the graphics? Nomura: We're aiming for a photo realistic representation combined with a tone of each Disney world. --You’ve mentioned before that KH3 has a new shader being developed for it, can you tell us about it again? Nomura: This isn't the official name, but it's something we call the Kingdom Shader. You saw it a little bit in the E3 trailer, this visual of a Disney 2D produced painted image represented in 3D. This time, when I was thinking about how the graphics in KH3 would be visualized, it started with Takeshi Nozue working in Visual Works, and he made patterns of various visuals for me. He gave me this "painted looking visual" pattern and I wound up showing it at E3. Visual Works makes pre-rendered footage, and this is based on a way to make it work in real time. --Is the painted looking visual something that you’ve wanted to implement for a long time? Nomura: Since the very first title, the graphic gradation was made with the intention of representing the painted look of Disney's animations. But with the hardware back then didn't have the capability to adjust the lighting freely, so we tried to portray a painted visual in the textures we used. But this time the hardware's capabilities are better, there is no option of "not using light." You don't get a sense of graphical evolution just by setting old graphics to HD, my goal with the next gen isn't to do something that reproduces the pre-rendered scenes from KH1 & KH2 in real time. I considered the concept of the visuals and thus the representation Kingdom Shader was created. --I think all the fans are wondering, what worlds will appear, what enemies will we battle against, etc... Do you have anything to share about that? Nomura: Not yet right now. (laughs) --Nothing, huh? But of course new worlds will be introduced, right? Nomura: As for worlds, I've made some choices and started making them, but at this stage I can't announce what world and which characters. Information will come little by little... There are a lot of new worlds since there are so many Disney titles that haven't appeared yet. As for familiar worlds and characters, you can expect that the locations will be completely, the visuals will be different. --Are the plans for KH3 to utilize the DUALSHOCK 4 functions? Nomura: Like Final Fantasy XV, KH3 is being developed in DirectX 11, so in what ways it will use the PS4's functions hasn't been decided concretely yet. Right now we're in a stage where we are making note of the hardware and it'll become clearer in the future. When I have an idea, I think how about we use the DUALSHOCK 4 touch pad? So I think I'd use it in some form, but right now nothing is decided. --Are you thinking about corresponding functions with tablets or the PS Vita? Nomura: Naturally I'm considering external devices, but I'm still thinking of ideas right now. --Many things can be realized with the PS4, but there seems to be a lot of troubling things too. Nomura: I suppose so. Ideas I think are original are already being realized by other makers, so we are waiting to see what they do, but it's also nerve wracking. So far I've made games on a variety of hardware, but since I want put in as many elements as I can, I have a lot to think about. Because there are various possibilities, I want to make the kinda games that stand out as interesting. --As someone who has seen the generation changes of many systems, what about the PS4 has impacted you? Nomura: I thought it was overkill. (laughs) As expected I gradually accepted it and then I wanted one. (laughs) Players are swelling with expectations, but to make something suitable for this system, this is a hurdle that developers must overcome. The things you can do have increased immensely, so once you start broadening the possibilities, it doesn't end, the possibilities just grow. You're pressed to choose what ideas to keep and what to toss. The announcement at E3 has passed, and I am still feeling the huge response that KH3 received. Everyone was so happy in that moment, I'm challenged by how I'll live up to that expectation with this title. It's a big challenge when you have this system where the power of expression is so high. There have been a variety of systems so far, but I feel like this one is the greatest mountain to overcome. --Not just in Japan, but fans around the world are waiting. Nomura: The mountain is being exceeded so far. I think we'll be able to do something, I believe in my staff. --So are the Final Fantasy XV team and Kingdom Hearts 3 team influencing each other in any way? Nomura: Well, when they see the other team, they get inspired by the great things they see, but that's because that's how things were created in the Square era. KH3's development started later, so it's not as far along, but I think that it's good motivation. --By the way, we'll see the end of the Dark Seeker Saga in KH3, but what will happen after that? Nomura: Kingdom Hearts is a Disney title, so I can't speak for them, but naturally, in my own mind I have ideas about what happens after KH3. About characters, and developments. Maybe sometime there will be a chance to talk about that, but rather than thinking out the concrete details regarding that, right now my first priority is completing KH3. I want to put out KH3 quickly. --We're looking forward to it. Alright, any last messages for the viewers? Nomura: Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 were for PS2 and we skipped the PS3 and now we are releasing Kingdom Hearts 3 onto PS4. The power of expression has increased drastically, and from the developments accumulated so far, even the gameplay by itself, I think that it's become something with depth. So that the day fans can experience it for themselves, we are all working are hardest, so please look forward to the next update.

Earlier, it was announced that series director Tetsuya Nomura would discuss Kingdom Hearts III on the playstationjp YouTube channel, as part of their 'Conversations with Creators' series. Today, this video has finally been uploaded, and it can be seen below. It features footage from both Kingdom Hearts III trailers, as well as an interview with Nomura in Japanese. Famitsu.com have published a full transcript of the interview. We will have a full, proper translation of this interview up ASAP. Until then, enjoy! Update 1: @sqexgal has translated a detailed summary of Nomura's points in the interview, and this summary can be read below. Stay tuned for a full translation! Update 2: @sqexgal has now done a complete translation of the interview, and this full translation can be read here. With a very big thanks to her, enjoy!

Earlier at D23 Expo Japan, Kingdom Hearts III appeared with an all-new gameplay trailer, showing off new abilities, attacks and enemies from the game. This trailer has now been released online, and it can be seen below in 720p. Enjoy! Update 1: Disney Japan have uploaded the Japanese version of the trailer in 1080p. This can be seen below. Update 2: goldpanner has translated all of the command windows appearing in this gameplay trailer, and these translations can be seen below. Images are thanks to Water Block. Roll Splash Jump Off Attack Magic Item Summon Raid Ride Jump Dodge Get Off Update 3: Tealgamemaster and Zimfan506 have together created a detailed analysis of the new Kingdom Hearts III trailer, pointing out many things that you may not have noticed. We think this is worth a watch, so check it out below.

Update: The trailer is now live! Square Enix have announced that the new Kingdom Hearts III trailer from D23 Expo Japan will be online at 11PM PDT. This is less than 3 hours away! (Check the time of this post.) The trailer will feature all-new gameplay, including new abilities, attacks and enemies from the game. The thumbnails of this currently private YouTube video are already available, and they can be seen below. Enjoy!

Today at D23 Expo Japan, Kingdom Hearts III appeared with an all-new trailer, showing off the game. Although this trailer has not yet appeared online, attendees of the event have been sharing their impressions, and @sqexgal has been translating them. These details can be read below. - The new KH3 trailer shows something like attractions, a train summon like the electrical parade? Also fighting the Rock titan. - Movements on screen are really dynamic. Just as beautiful as expected for the PS4. - I also noticed a scene where it looked like a Keyblade variation where Sora dual shooting 2 guns. - Sora's new attack! Disney attractions! In the new trailer, you see the pirate ship from Peter Pan, but it's lit up like in the Electrical Parade! - Fighting Heartless and the Rock Titan in Traverse Town. Sora is in front of the electrical parade attraction like boat, attacking. The Rock Titan line gradually appears in front of the electric parade coaster. It seems to attack by spinning around the Titan. - They already said that KH3 uses an exclusive tool called Kingdom Shader, but seeing it, it's really amazing! Sora's hair sways naturally, his expression is soft and realistic, his caricature is portrayed beautifully. I want this trailer to be released immediately! - On the scene where Sora wields 2 guns, it seems that the guns are related to an attraction with the little green men. リトルグリーンメン is what the little green men in Toy Story are called officially in Japanese, so maybe we have Toy Story confirmed. Maybe. - It goes without saying that the action is great, but even flames appear really realistic! I can't wait to see what the magic will look like from here on out! - The special attraction attack used against Rock Titan is the Electric Parade like roller coaster you can ride! It looks a lot like the Big Thunder Mountain attraction from Disneyland. Donald and Goofy are secured by the safety bar, lol. - Also, there was a scene where the Keyblade transformed into 2 guns. - The KH3 trailer we've been waiting for centered on a battle scene with Sora Donald and Goofy in Traverse Town. It looked like Sora was using Aqua's Magic Wish command style. Lastly, the Keyblade separated and was held in both hands, shooting balls of light. - Then the scene changes and we see Sora operating a boat like in an amusement park. Probably Peter Pan. It looks like the night version of the float that Peter Pan rides in the Disneyland Jubilation parade. - The next scene looks like Big Thunder Mountain from Disneyland. You attack while riding on top of a shining coaster as the tracks surround Rock Titan, sending him spinning. Finally, Sora and co get off the coaster as it crashes into the Titan. - This trailer seems to show practical in game footage judging by the movement conditions. The motif this time was the attractions of Disney. The latest KH3 trailer was only battle scenes that confirm the appearance of Sora and Riku. Look forward to Roxas, Ven, and the rest from here on out. A new trailer showing off the past games in the Kingdom Hearts series was also shown, and the details of this trailer are below, again thanks to @sqexgal. - The compilation trailer shows memorable scenes. Lastly the line "To you, wherever you are in this world", followed by Keyblade/key confetti. - The compilation trailer included flashback scenes of hugs, handshakes, arm grabs, Keyblade succession, head pats, etc. Very heartwarming. Xion, Namine, and Vanitas also appeared. Lastly, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX was announced at the event. Make sure you check out this article below.

D23 Expo Japan is an event taking place from October 12-14, 2013. Here, the Kingdom Hearts series will be featured, with Kingdom Hearts III confirmed to appear, and likely to be receiving new footage. Our coverage of D23 Expo Japan has begun. Keep checking back for more info. Photos Gamer have posted an article about the Kingdom Hearts Limited Stage, and with the article, shared many phots of the event. These can all be seen below. Monday, October 14, 2013 The Kingdom Hearts Limited Stage has begun! We will provide live updates here, so keep checking back. The event goes for 1 hour in total, so stay tuned. All times below are in JST. (With thanks to @aibo_ac7, @sqexgal & @shinkansen3000) 15:00 - The event has begun! 3D Keyblade holograms are being shown, with the Keyblades rotating. The χ-blade is one Keyblade shown. Mickey Mouse is on the screen, with a trailer introducing the past Kingdom Hearts games showing. 15:05 - Disney's CEO is on-stage. Past KH games are being shown. 15:10 - Kingdom Hearts III info is coming soon! Tetsuya Nomura and Shinji Hashimoto are on-stage. 15:14 - The Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over 20 million units worldwide! 15:16 - They are showing early artwork of Sora on the screen. Originally, Sora's pants were orange. 15:18 - They are showing a new trailer about the early stages of the Kingdom Hearts series! 15:24 - Hashimoto is going over the history of KH. Kingdom Hearts III is announced, and χ[chi] is now being discussed. New world(s) and scenarios are coming to Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]. 15:27 - Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX has been officially announced. HD 2.5 ReMIX will release in 2014, and will contain Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. 15:50 - They are showing a Kingdom Hearts III trailer now! It looks much higher quality that the E3 2013 trailer. Sora and Riku are definitely appearing in KH3. Look forward to Roxas. In the new Kingdom Hearts III trailer, you are riding on a boat with attractions like Disneyland. Trailer is like you are playing the game. More details soon. Upcoming announcements Most Kingdom Hearts announcements at the event will occur within the "Kingdom Hearts Limited Stage", an event on October 14 at 3PM JST. A countdown to this event is above. Here, Kingdom Hearts III information and footage is likely to appear. Nomura has also mentioned his wishes to make another announcement on the stage (quote below | full interview here). Could this be Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX? We'll find out soon. Nomura : Regarding D23 Expo Japan, this is the first time that Disney holds such an event outside the U.S., so it is a great honor for us to be invited. I’m very happy that we have the opportunity to hold a special conference for Kingdom Hearts. I really want to make a surprise announcement for this event but it is currently under discussion, so we’ll see (laughs). Since we announced Kingdom Hearts III at E3, we cannot make another announcement for the same game. Instead we will announce something else, which you will see soon enough. Saturday, October 12, 2013 Update 1: An exclusive drawing of Sora, signed by Tetsuya Nomura, is being auctioned off at the event. @luce10wa & @hinako1014 have uploaded a photo of this, and it can be seen below. Update 2: In a speech from Bob Iger, Walt Disney Company CEO, Kingdom Hearts was mentioned, with reference to the Kingdom Hearts event at D23 Expo Japan occurring on October 14, 2013. (Source: @aibo_ac7)

Earlier, it was announced that series director Tetsuya Nomura would discuss Kingdom Hearts III on the playstationjp YouTube channel, as part of their 'Conversations with Creators' series. Today, Play Community have shared new details about the video-- @bKvEBVAvUq has shared these details, and thanks to goldpanner for translations, this can be read below. Hello everyone!! Play Community Admin here. Conversations with Creators is a video series in which we interview the creators of the PlayStation 4 titles that have been revealed so far. Before the video goes public on the Play Community blog, just our Play Community registered members get the next new info early! The next episode of Conversations with Creators is, once again, Tetsuya Nomura, director of Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts III! He gave us a perspective on the PS4 and on this title that was different yet again from his Final Fantasy XV video that went up the other day. He gave us a comment especially for the members of Play Community to see before the video releases. Take a look. ------ I still don't have much information on KHIII that I can release to the public, but I spoke to the extent I was able. Please enjoy the interview, along with part of the new clip that will be released at the event this month. ------- We hope you enjoyed this new info, please look forward to the interview video! Nomura's bolded quote above seems to imply that his 'Conversations with Creators' interview will contain part of a new clip that will be released at the Kingdom Hearts event at D23 Expo Japan, which occurs in a few days time. Stay tuned, as it won't be long before we know exactly what is shown.

RPG Site have conducted an interview with the executive producer and composer of the Kingdom Hearts series, Shinji Hashimoto and Yoko Shimomura. Here, they discuss the production and music of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. Most of this we've heard before, but it is always interesting to get some new details about the insight behind the game! Check out the full interview at the link below. RPG Site's HD 1.5 ReMIX interview with Shinji Hashimoto & Yoko Shimomura One interesting thing asked was about the possibility of a Kingdom Hearts II HD, and of HD collections for the Xbox. We've copied this question and its response below, with thanks to RPG Site. RPG Site: Having played the Japanese version already, I feel that it's really raised the bar for what can be expected from HD remakes. With Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster now also on the way, has it allowed Square Enix to streamline the process to consider revisiting more of their PlayStation 2 output? Hashimoto: To be able to make all those different Kingdom Hearts games within the series in HD we need your support and we need everyone's support worldwide. If everyone played HD 1.5 ReMIX and they loved it, then we could then move on to the next one...? At the moment, we'd just like everyone to enjoy HD 1.5 ReMIX. As you know we've done HD 1.5 ReMIX, Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster, and Final Fantasy VII on PC, so the art team is currently working non-stop at the moment. It's very difficult to catch up with all the latest technology alongside that. RPG Site: If Kingdom Hearts II HD was ever considered down the line, it would obviously help bridge the gap ahead of Kingdom Hearts III on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. 1.5 has only seen release on PlayStation 3 - but could Xbox owners ever see a HD version to help prepare them for the next title hitting their platform of choice? Hashimoto: I've been asked so many times about this! I need to ask one in return -- would you like to see the games on Xbox? RPG Site: I'm personally already familiar with the games on PlayStation, but obviously there are a lot of Xbox owners in the West, especially the UK and North America, who won't be. It may seem like something of a dodging answer, but I just see it as an area of the market that might currently be missed - even if it wouldn't effect me personally. Hashimoto: [chuckles and nods] Thank you for explaining. We'll continue to consider this prospect.

According to some 2ch.net users, series director Tetsuya Nomura will discuss Kingdom Hearts III in an interview on the playstationjp YouTube channel, as part of their 'Conversations with Creators' series. Last time on Conversations with Creators, Nomura discussed Final Fantasy XV. The Kingdom Hearts III interview is said to be published sometime during October 2013. Thanks go to @aibo_ac7 for the find! Disney D23 Japan is also coming up around that time, with the Kingdom Hearts presentation occurring at 3PM JST on October 14, 2013-- here, new information is likely to appear. We've added a countdown until this event to the right of the news posts.

IGN have posted an article containing an interview with Shinji Hashimoto, the executive producer of the Kingdom Hearts series. Hashimoto discusses Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, and hints towards a possible Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX! Comments from series composer Yoko Shimomura are also included. Here are the quotes from the interview, thanks to Luke Karmali from IGN. Hashimoto: "It’s been 11 years since the original game was out and now we’ll have Kingdom Hearts III at some stage in the future. The people who played the original game, at the time they were probably around 12 or 13…but now they’re in their twenties." Hashimoto: "While fans of Disney are usually quite young and Final Fantasy players are much older, they come together to create a Kingdom Hearts audience that’s very unique. The feelings people have towards the series are so deep these days because they spent many of their teenage years, which is a very sensitive period of your personal life, with Kingdom Hearts." Hashimoto: "As the game was originally released more than ten years ago, it was quite difficult even to get all the data! Also, updating the screen size to look its best in the HD format was a challenge, as the ratio is completely different. That kind of detail was hard to do." [Meeting Shimomura, I asked her whether or not she was tempted to rework aspects of the original soundtrack she perhaps wasn’t completely satisfied with. She quickly told me that this never entered her head. From the moment she revisited the tunes she knew they’d stood the test of time; they still had the ability to affect her.] Shimomura: "I felt really nostalgic revisiting my old project, but at the same time I found lots of new things too, things that I’d forgotten doing. So it somehow felt strangely new, too. It was fun." Shimomura: "Of course the basic music across the series is all the same in terms of themes and the like, although it does vary slightly depending on which Kingdom Hearts game it is. But I always want to bring something new to the games." Hashimoto: "If everyone plays 1.5 HD ReMix, if everyone likes it and everyone supports us, then 2.5 HD ReMix could happen. So at this stage, we just have to encourage people to play 1.5 HD ReMix!" [Though Kingdom Hearts III was confirmed at long last at E3 this year, Hashimoto reiterated this was more an attempt to reassure fans that the final instalment in Sora’s story is on the way, rather than suggest its arrival is imminent.] [One thing Hashimoto point blank refuses to do is rush the game out the door. Picking up the thread of our earlier conversation, he argues that the franchise remains so important to people not just because they played through it during a formative stage of their lives, but also because Sora’s growth and development now mirrors their own. It’s this powerful feature of the series that Square Enix hopes to focus on in Kingdom Hearts III in order to provoke a reaction that is in equal parts nostalgic and reflective.] Hashimoto: "The fact is that the main focus of the series is Sora and Riku; how their friendship develops, but also how they grow up. After so many years, the players’ personal growth is closely tied to the game’s story at this point, so that’s the most important thing about the series and what we want to put into the game. For Kingdom Hearts III, players will be able to resurrect the happy memories they have from being teenagers when playing Kingdom Hearts III. So it’s very contemplative, and will match the personal experiences of much of the audience very closely." Hashimoto: "I can’t really say anything about the future beyond Kingdom Hearts III. I’m the producer, not the director, so it’s totally out of my hands. It’s up to Tetsuya Nomura whether or not we’ll see Sora in future Kingdom Hearts. Hashimoto: "As I said earlier though, the Kingdom Hearts storyline is designed to mirror the player’s personal experiences. If people play HD 1.5 ReMix they remember what it’s like to be a teenager again, access those memories and experience some enjoyable nostalgia from their past. That theme is something we want to keep with future titles as well. About the characters, we can’t say anything…but that’s the theme we want to continue."

Square Enix have sent out a press release revealing new Kingdom Hearts III key artwork. You can view this below. Update: @Obsqura has uploaded an extremely high quality version of this render, 10,400 pixels by 8,000 pixels! This shows just how detailed Sora, Donald and Goofy's models are for Kingdom Hearts III are! This can be downloaded here.

Updated September 11, 2013, see below. Both Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] have been confirmed to appear at Tokyo Game Show 2013, via a press release uploaded to the official TGS website. Tokyo Game Show 2013 runs from September 19 to 22, 2013. At E3 2013, series director Tetsuya Nomura implied that new Kingdom Hearts III information would be released at the event. Update 1: Square Enix have launched their official Tokyo Game Show 2013 website. Currently, the website covers various Square Enix titles appearing at the event, including Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]. A page for Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] is available, containing some screenshots from the game. Stay tuned for more info. Update 2: Square Enix have listed some merchandise which will be available at Tokyo Game Show 2013. Available for the first time is the Kingdom Hearts keychain set, pictured here. Amazon.co.jp have also listed this 6-keychain box, which is set for a release date of October 4, 2013 for a price of ￥3,215 (approximately $32.12). Update 3: Square Enix have released their booth map for Tokyo Game Show 2013. This confirms that there will be an "Open Mega Theatre", which means it is likely that all trailers shown will be available for everyone to see (and secretly record). You can see this below.

IGN have posted an article containing snippets from an interview with Shinji Hashimoto, the executive producer of the Kingdom Hearts series. Hashimoto discusses Kingdom Hearts III and the progress that has been made with its development. You can read these snippets below. "Having Tetsuya Nomura as director for both projects [(Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III)] would obviously have an impact [on their release timeframes]." "So at E3 this year we announced Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV. Both have Tetsuya Nomura as their director, so we can’t create these two big games at the same time." "It’s a difficult job, as we want each game to be perfect in terms of quality." When asked why Square Enix decided to announce the game this year if significant progress hasn't perhaps been made, Hashimoto explained that the company thought it was about time it addressed speculation about the long-awaited conclusion to the trilogy. "A lot of people have wondered for the last couple of years if Square Enix has actually been working on Kingdom Hearts III; that’s why we announced it at E3 this year. But please, we need you all to understand that there’s a lot to do." IGN will post the full interview later in the week, which contains more discussion about Kingdom Hearts III and the future of the Kingdom Hearts series.

Today, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan held a pre-Tokyo Game Show 2013 press conference. Here, upcoming PlayStation 4 titles were shown. Kingdom Hearts III appeared in a montage of PS4 titles, with a short clip. This clip is the same footage from E3 2013, so don't get too excited-- but it is still notable that this is the first time Kingdom Hearts III footage has been shown in Japan. You can see the clip below. There are 9 days left until Tokyo Game Show 2013 officially begins (on September 19, 2013), where Square Enix is likely to reveal new Kingdom Hearts III information. Stay tuned! Update: Following the official showing of the PlayStation 4 in Japan at the SCEJA Press Conference, Sony have created pages for many upcoming PlayStation 4 releases-- including Kingdom Hearts III! This page does not yet reveal any new information, but it should see updates sometime in the future. It also shows that a downloadable release, multiplayer and online support are still undecided. Again, no new information or confirmation either way, but it is better than nothing! Thanks go to @aibo_ac7 for the find. Kingdom Hearts III on PlayStation Japan

gamescom 2013 is a gaming event held in Cologne, Germany, running from August 21 to August 25, 2013. This is our coverage article for everything Kingdom Hearts at the event. Square Enix have confirmed that Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX will appear at the event with a playable demo. Also, Kingdom Hearts III is said to appear as part of the scheduled stage shows' trailer shows. This will probably just be the trailer from E3 2013, but there is a chance we will receive some small new tidbits of information. We will be constantly updating this article with coverage from the event. Photos - A HD 1.5 ReMIX poster on the event floor (Source: @Square_Portal, thanks to @aibo_ac7) - Photos of wallscrolls, the HD 1.5 ReMIX demo & merchandise have appeared online thanks to KH13 member Jull08. - More photos have appeared online thanks to KH13 member birthbysleep. Videos IGN have uploaded some offscreen footage of HD 1.5 ReMIX gameplay from the event. Thanks to them, this can be seen below.

The Los Angeles Times have published an interview with the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Tetsuya Nomura. Here, Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts III, revealing new details such as the philosophy of Kingdom Hearts III's development, a confirmation that the series will continue after Kingdom Hearts III, and a mention of the gameplay having a strong relation to that of Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. Thanks to the Los Angeles Times, we have created a full transcript of the interview for you below.

FFWorld and FFRing have published an interview with the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Tetsuya Nomura. Here, Nomura discusses both Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, focusing on the philosophy behind the development of the games. We have translated FFRing's full transcript of the interview from French into English for you (The FFWorld article is about the same interview, but it is not a full transcript.), and this can be read below. Please remember to credit all websites involved if you use this translation. Kingdom Hearts was your first title as a director. What do you think about this game today? Nomura: It is of course more than ten years since the game came out, but I still do not think it has aged. Instead, it always has a certain freshness. At the time, the game team, including myself, had worked passionately on it, and that's probably why it gives me that impression, even ten years later. Have you been tempted to add more things to the HD remastering of Kingdom Hearts than just graphics and controls? Nomura: Everything that was in the original game worked very well for its balance, and for the system we had imagined at the time. Although I designed many other gaming systems in the ten years that followed, I think that this balance would be upset if I was to integrate the first Kingdom Hearts. My only regret is Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, for which we could only release the cinematics in HD. I wished to include this episode as a playable in HD 1.5 ReMIX, but unfortunately we could not do it because we had to prioritize the development of Kingdom Hearts III, which fans have been waiting for. This is why we have not added other things to the HD version. Will you do other HD remasters in the future? Nomura: There is of course other episodes of Kingdom Hearts that we have not yet been published in HD, so if we had the chance, we would like to do so in the future. With the announcement of Kingdom Hearts III, we can say that you have entrusted the future of the series in the Osaka team. Are they up to the challenge? Nomura: The Osaka studio developed HD 1.5 ReMIX, so we can not say that they have never worked on the current console generation. But you're right, in the case of Kingdom Hearts III, it is actually the first time they have developed a completely new numbered episode, on next generation consoles at that. This is why we have made ​​many preparations and extensive tests to date. As I feel that the preparations are complete, we were able to get in the development phase. However, as your main team at Square Enix is situated in Tokyo, do you not have difficulty communicating with the Osaka team? Nomura: In fact, the co-director and producer Tai Yasue and Rie Nishi are there. They are key members of the Kingdom Hearts project, so when they need to discuss a lot of different topics with me, they come to Tokyo. This is our usual method of working. But as technology is ever advancing, our new offices in Shinjuku are now equipped with a video conference system. Now, Yasue and Nishi can send me their materials or proposals in advance, which allows me to add my comments or my drawings and show them on camera in our video conferencing. In addition, there is no time difference, so even if we are far apart, it is easy to work. So we can say that you supervise the team more than you do the head? Nomura: Yes, especially this time with Kingdom Hearts III. Yasue and Nishi's teams offer me lots of ideas and we discuss together to know what we will keep or not. Is it surprising? Nomura: They offer me many interesting ideas, of course. After all, the more the merrier, the more the merrier. So it is always better to have a whole team to think, rather than myself. This is beneficial. The past ten years of existence, the Kingdom Hearts series has found its own identity even though many were initially surprised by the alliance between Square and Disney. Do you think it is always helpful to include characters from Final Fantasy in KHIII? Nomura: It is not because the Kingdom Hearts series is now well established that we do not need to add characters from Final Fantasy, it is actually that we have published a number of derivative episodes on portable consoles in recent years, and because of the technical limitations of these platforms, the volume of the story was rather limited. For KHIII, disk space is much larger, so we can actually deepen the story and are adding more characters. It really depends on the size of the game. It is quite possible that we will integrate many Final Fantasy characters.

RPG Site have published an interview with the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, Tetsuya Nomura. Here, Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts III, revealing new details such as the reasoning behind creating so many spin-off titles. Thanks to RPG Site, we have quoted the Kingdom Hearts-related questions from the interview below. For the full interview, check it out on RPG Site. RPG Site: It must be an interesting time for you right now - in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 you're revisiting a major milestone in your career, while building two new ones in Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III. When you look back at your older titles, such as KH1 or FF7 and 8, what do you see? Do you see changes you would like to make, or do you release your creations once complete? Tetsuya Nomura: Well, as a creator I always create something new - I keep challenging myself to create something new. Looking back on my old games and everything I was involved in, I often think to myself 'I could have done this' or 'I could have added that,' and stuff like that. It's part of the process. Right now, though, for Kingdom Hearts specifically - the original game was released more than ten years ago now, but looking back, the original Kingdom Hearts Final Mix... I don't feel like I should add this or that, or any more. Back then, it was perfect as it is. Even though I've played this HD version of the game knowing its age, I don't feel that it's very old when I play it. I can still feel the passion I had back then in this original game - so, yeah. If we remake a game, maybe we then go and think about adding new elements and sequences and stuff like that, or making large changes - but I think a HD remaster, with the visual upgrade, is the right thing for this particular game. RPG Site: After the E3 announcement and showing, a lot of people online are defining FF15 as having Kingdom Hearts style combat. When 15 was Versus, I always figured it as an experiment - that your team would then go on to KH3 after completing that - but now Osaka is on KH3, which also looks to have that signature gameplay style. Does that concern you - that the two games could end up too similar in gameplay? Nomura: Okay, so... [pauses] Two games. Both directed by myself. [laughs] However, both games are developed by two completely different teams. The two of them - they don't fight, but they compete - in a friendly way - and they try to create better things together. Both sides are, of course, developed for next-gen consoles as well. KH3 and FF15 share some base action RPG gameplay mechanics, it's clear, but Nomura seems unphased. There's a difference between the two, of course; Final Fantasy XV is a numbered title - the big history behind Final Fantasy, the task they have on their shoulders is huge, because it's the latest Final Fantasy game and has to live up to that history. For the Kingdom Hearts team there is less history, but there are thousands of people around the world who are so passionate about the Kingdom Hearts series and have been for years - and this of course is the first announced numbered Kingdom Hearts title in many years, as well. People's hopes and expectations are very, very high there, as well - so that is on their shoulders as well. So, the two teams have different kinds of tasks, different kinds of missions they have to complete and accomplish. That's the most important thing for both teams. From the user's point of view, I don't think they worry about these things, or think 'which is better?' or anything like that - both teams look in a different direction. The most important thing for me is that they focus on the tasks - the missions - that each team has. RPG Site: It's appears it's all about sequels and spin-offs now. There were many Kingdom Hearts titles between II and III, while on the FF side we have sequels - X-2, XIII-2, Lighting Returns - and you've already announced FF15 will have sequels. How does planning for multiple titles at a time instead of just one effect you as a creator? Nomura: To start, the reason why we have had so many Kingdom Hearts spin-off games... well, look - it's above your imagination, seriously, believe it or not - creating a HD game is unbelievably difficult. [laughs] People think it's easy - even a HD remake like 1.5, they think 'Ah, easy job' - but it actually isn't like that at all. Everything is difficult in the process, even with a HD remaster of a game. For 1.5 for instance, when we decided to make it, we had to decide where we were going to concentrate because it was so difficult, there was so much work involved. We'll likely spend the better part of the console generation with FF15's core cast via sequels. The main reason why we had so many spin-offs for Kingdom Hearts is because we couldn't start preparing for Kingdom Hearts III for a while - for a long time - because... well, because of some reasons, basically. However, if we didn't release any Kingdom Hearts games after the second at all, people might forget about the game, might forget about the series. Obviously, I didn't want to do that - that's why we decided to make a spin-off game until the preparation for Kingdom Hearts III was ready to do. So, in a way, because of this, if there were no spin-off games, there was no Kingdom Hearts III. It was kind of needed to have all those spin-offs - a lot of spin-offs - because the time was quite long before the Kingdom Hearts III preparation started. With Final Fantasy, each game has a different reason why we decided to do sequels and stuff - for Final Fantasy X, for XIII... Of course, with Final Fantasy XV, we announced at E3 that there will - probably - be a sequel to this game, as well. There's a lot of different reasons, and they all depend on the game and the situation as well. Of course with FFXV I wanted to release the previous version of the game constantly - but it was very, very difficult to do so. Now we have re-revealed the game, I'm excited to bring more information in the future.

Earlier, at Japan Expo 2013, KHDestiny and KHisland had the opportunity to interview Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series. KHInsider have translated this interview from French to English, and thanks to all three of these communities, you can read the interview below, where Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, and hints at a future HD collection. Enjoy! • We are very happy to meet you and we want to thank you for this interview. Nomura : The pleasure is mine. • Last year, you were not able to attend Japan Expo and instead drew up an exclusive promotional image for Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] for the French fans. Tomorrow you'll be on stage to talk about Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. I think many fans will be delighted to see you in France! How do you feel about the conference tomorrow? Nomura : At the moment we can not reveal tomorrow's presentation in detail, but I think what you'll see will be very exciting. Yesterday I was in the audience at the Final Fantasy conference and it was really busy. So I was a little nervous, imagining that so many people at the Kingdom Hearts conference tomorrow. • Ten years after his first adventure, Sora is back in HD on PlayStation 3. How do you feel seeing Kingdom Hearts, the first game of the series, appearing in high definition? Nomura : When we first announced the HD remaster, the audience thought it was simply an update of the game, but it's not so easy to create a game in HD. Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 REMIX- took several years to rebuild the game so it's not an easy task. When I saw the final product, I really thought it was beautiful, much more than what I expected, so I'm very proud of this HD version. Even if the original game was released more than 10 years ago, the end result gives the impression that this is a new game that players will genuinely enjoy. I'm sure they will not believe it is a 10 year old game. This is why we decided to create this remaster, but also to pay tribute to the team that accompanied me during the development of the first Kingdom Hearts, comprised of talented and clever people. I can still feel their passion and I am very proud. • Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories are finally arriving in Europe. Regarding Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, did you intend from the beginning to offer these two new games to Western audiences? Nomura : As you said, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was released in Japan, and Re: CoM in the U.S. but not in Europe. But the last 10 years I've been thinking about how to make these new games available in other regions. Of course, the Kingdom Hearts series has many fans outside of Japan, so we took the opportunity to offer players the Western Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Re: CoM. Since the first Kingdom Hearts was released over 10 years ago, this means that some fans have never played the original version. So it was a great opportunity to allow all players to play the same version of the game and take the story in its infancy. • We know that you would have liked Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days to be completely remade, as was CoM with Re:CoM. In the end, the game is told in the form of videos. Was it your goal to increase the intensity of the story through expressions with more detailed characters? Nomura : The Kingdom Hearts license has already existed for 10 years, and my goal with this remaster was to allow all players to better understand the history of the series and how the games are linked together, which is the reason we added the plot of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. I really wanted to offer a playable version of this game but we announced the development of Kingdom Hearts III last month at E3, and it became our priority at the moment. Instead, we opted for a narrated version of the story of 358/2 Days. • Kingdom Hearts HD is a link between the previous Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts III. Do you plan to expand the work to include HD remasters of other titles within the Kingdom Hearts series, such as Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts II and Re:coded, seen in the credits of Kingdom Hearts HD? Nomura : Of course, we will spend some time working on them before the release of Kingdom Hearts III. Unfortunately, there is nothing more I can say on the subject at this time. • The Cloud Service system of the PlayStation 4 will allow players to experience titles originally released on PlayStation 1, 2 and 3. Are there any plans to utilize this system to allow owners of the PS4 to play Kingdom Hearts HD? Nomura : We did not even think about the issue because our priority at the moment is the development of Kingdom Hearts III. Additionally, we are working on the next Kingdom Hearts HD remaster, which is our second priority. We have nothing planned about it for now. • You created the surprise by announcing Kingdom Hearts III at E3. Concealed in the credits of Kingdom Hearts 3D, there was a message that read - "This leads to Kingdom Hearts" with the figure III formed by Sora and Riku - was this intentional to create a teaser for KH3? Nomura : Of course, it was our goal! (Laughs) • You said that the announcement of Kingdom Hearts III was necessary but may be premature. How far along is the game development on this title? Nomura : This is the first next-gen game developed in our studios in recent years by the team in Osaka who have been working on titles for portable consoles. This is a whole new experience for this team working on next-gen consoles and it takes some time to master. However, with that said, it's not as if we just started development. But contrary to what you can imagine, we have no playable build of the game at the moment because it will take some time to test all the new features that will be in Kingdom Hearts III. Again, the team so far has worked on titles on portable console with limited capacity, but they already have many interesting ideas for Kingdom Hearts III, and it is difficult to test each of these elements to determine which will ultimately be retained. So for now, we are more in a test phase. • The press release for Kingdom Hearts III unveiled by Square Enix discusses the search for the "Key to Return Hearts." Is there anything you can tell us about that? Nomura : There are two possible meanings of the "key." One of which is the “hardware” key, which opens doors - this is what keys are in general (laughs), and the other is the “light” key, that opens something else. In this case, it is currently unknown as to which type of key Sora must find. This is the main storyline of Kingdom Hearts III - Sora must go on an adventure to find the "key" without knowing what or where it is. But as you know, we can’t really say anything else on the subject (laughs). • In the trailer for Kingdom Hearts III, we saw an EX gauge. What can you tell us about it? Is it a final element of gameplay or just an early concept? Nomura : The gameplay seen in the E3 trailer has not been finalized. As I said earlier, we are in the testing phase and this version of gameplay was one of the features being tested at that time. What you have seen in the Kingdom Hearts III trailer was a more successful version of a test version. but the final elements of gameplay depended on the "Kingdom Shader" greatly change the game according to the environment in which progresses the characters. You will see the differences in each world, it will be really interesting. • In Kingdom Hearts 3D, Sora does not become a Keyblade Master. Because Sora is one of your favorite characters, was it difficult for you to put him in this position or choice due to Kingdom Hearts III? And with Kairi, will she and Sora ever achieve the Mark of Mastery? Nomura : I thought a lot about whether Sora was to become Keyblade Master or not. But because I always wanted Sora to relate to the players, if he became Master, it would have meant he would have really reached a very high level and it is not yet ready for it, and we do not want that to happen. The decision to not make Sora a Keyblade Master was not really difficult, but I thought it was better that he remains an ordinary boy to be closer to the players. About Kairi, we really considered the question but we can not say anything about it yet. During the summit announcement at E3, we did not mention Kairi at all. We will share information when we are ready, so please be patient during the wait (laughs). And of course, there is the matter of the other Keyblade Bearer at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3D. Unfortunately we are not allowed to disclose the details of this character presently. • Currently, Sora and Riku have developed many skills. In every Kingdom Hearts title, you have always managed to explain why the main characters like Sora are starting from scratch in terms of their skills. Do you have an idea for why this would occur in Kingdom Hearts III? Nomura : As I said, we are currently doing a lot of testing on Kingdom Hearts III. There are many amazing things that you still have not seen, as the actions that the main characters will perform. It will be really exciting and impressive. As you know, we have developed many new features in Kingdom Hearts 3D with very fast movements. It was sort of what we were hoping for Kingdom Hearts III, and with that you could say Dream Drop Distance was a test for this game. The gameplay of Kingdom Hearts III will be an improved version of the Kingdom Hearts 3D. This is truly amazing and never seen in any existing action game. • What is the creative process in choosing worlds for Kingdom Hearts? Do you start development with some worlds already in mind, or are there guidelines to follow for consistency with the previous games, or possibly requests from Disney? Nomura : Several factors come into play. First off, Disney will sometimes offer us ideas of worlds to integrate, and then there are the worlds that I really want to include personally in Kingdom Hearts III. I also think of the worlds of the previous games in order to maintain consistency in the story. My team will not hesitate to provide suggestions for their own ideas. After deciding what worlds will be present, we start planning the conduct of the story in these worlds but also to make them interesting and fun for the players. • In selecting worlds, are you interested only in Disney movies that have already been released or do you also consider future productions, such as "Frozen"? Nomura : Of course, it is possible to include the worlds from future Disney productions. We currently have some ideas for the worlds of Kingdom Hearts III that we cannot speak about. Until the game’s release, new Disney productions will continue to emerge and we'll see in time with Disney for the possible integration of these films. • The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One offers interesting features such as voice recognition, motion detection or the use of touch with the PSVita and Xbox SmartGlass. Do you plan to exploit these opportunities for your games? What is your opinion on these technologies? Nomura : We would like to incorporate these features in Kingdom Hearts III. The one that we find most interesting is the voice recognition. I think it would be great to be able to control Donald and Goofy through voice command to tell them what to do. Wouldn’t that be nice? (Laughs). • Has the collaboration with Disney evolved over the last ten years? We recently saw John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive, at the Future of Final Fantasy conference held by Square Enix at E3, and Kingdom Hearts III will be present at D23 Expo Japan. Disney seems to be well involved in the development process of the Kingdom Hearts series. Nomura : Regarding D23 Expo Japan, this is the first time that Disney holds such an event outside the U.S., so it is a great honor for us to be invited. I’m very happy that we have the opportunity to hold a special conference for Kingdom Hearts. I really want to make a surprise announcement for this event but it is currently under discussion, so we’ll see (laughs). Since we announced Kingdom Hearts III at E3, we cannot make another announcement for the same game. Instead we will announce something else, which you will see soon enough. I'm very shy; I do not like being on stage in front of lots of people and will usually say “no” to this kind of opportunity. But for this event, which promises to be important, I am very honored to be on stage. Concerning the Japan Expo, I do not have a habit to speak to the fans, even in Japan. I've never done before, so this will be the first time in Europe that I will deal with European fans. And it will be my first time addressing the Japanese fans at D23. • When the first Kingdom Hearts was released, we did not know that the series would continue over the years to reach its tenth birthday. The story chronicles the Seeker of Darkness has it developed progressively games, or did you have in mind an idea of the overall story of this saga from the beginning? Nomura : When I created the first Kingdom Hearts, I did not have a clear vision of the history of the Seeker of Darkness, but I was already thinking of the Kingdom Hearts II and Chain of Memories. I knew at that time that there were two additional games after the first Kingdom Hearts. Later, when I finished Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, I had other plans: Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days and coded. This is kind of what happened in the history of the series: I did not have a clear idea of the whole story from the beginning, but it is built over time. About the history of the Seeker of Darkness, I knew long ago that it would end in Kingdom Hearts III, and also, I've always wanted so Kingdom Hearts III on a console. The reason for the announcement of this title took us so long, is that some things that we wanted to add in the game asked us some time to think before making a decision. More details will be announced shortly. • In Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, we have the pleasure of discovering re-orchestrated versions of original music. What motivated this choice? Nomura : This is not something I asked for, but rather a request from the musical team and Yoko Shimomura. Since the graphics have been improved in high definition, the musical team wondered, "Why don’t we also make an improved version of the music?" • Do you have a final message for the fans? Nomura : First, I really want to apologize to European fans not being able to offer them Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories for so long. I'm really sorry about that. Also for Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, there are new scenes connecting with the rest of the story, so again, I apologize to European and American fans. My apologies also cover additional battles found within Final Mix, including the fight against the unknown black coat you have not benefited. I'm sure you're wondering why you have not had the opportunity to enjoy this version, I'm really sorry again. But this time, the visual aspect is reworked, the graphics are high definition, and the soundtrack was re-orchestrated. As I said at the beginning of this interview, it's a game out there for over 10 years and yet we do not feel like it’s been that long. I'm sure fans of the series and new players who have never played the first game, Kingdom Hearts, will enjoy this HD 1.5 ReMIX. And most importantly, before the release of Kingdom Hearts III, I wanted all players to be able to enjoy the story of Kingdom Hearts as a whole. This really is the purpose of this remaster and I really hope the fans will enjoy playing.