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Hey, anyone here good at digital coloring and is intimately familiar with the right ones to use on some manga pages? I'm willing to pay for art commissions for anyone here artistically inclined enough to color in some pages of the manga for me!

How long did it take for you to beat Kingdom Hearts for the first time?

The Square Enix North America Store has revealed nine new Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stands now available for pre-order, releasing in August 2024. Three of the stands featuring the key art for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts will cost $34.99 each, while the other six stands featuring Sora, Kairi, and Roxas will cost $14.99 each. You can take a closer look at each of the Acrylic Stands in our gallery below, alongside their product links: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Acrylic Stand - Boundary - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Heart - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Premonition - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts III Acrylic Stand - Kairi - Promise - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts III Acrylic Stand - Sora - Promise - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Late Summer - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Ocean - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Wind - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Beach - $14.99 Will you be picking up any of these acrylic stands? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

The Japanese Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Twitter accounts have released six new digital wallpaper backgrounds for use in web conferences and video calls. You can view the collection of wallpapers in the gallery below. Which background will you try on your next video call? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Man... I had totally forgot about this place after almost 8-9 years since I last logged in. I remember it use to be booming with all kinds of posts years ago. I guess it died down a bunch since then. 1.) Introduction and Explanation Anywho, for those who don't know me. I'm the crazy guy that attempted, Raged hard, raged some more, almost lost my sanity, completed, and proved to everyone on gamefaqs over 8-9ish years ago that it's 100% possible, and legit to be able to complete BOTH (Well... Now 3 is added as well, so more than 2)(NAMELY 2.5, and reasons will be listed next) Kingdom Hearts games at Level 1 Proud Mode for KH1.5(which, if you DIDN'T know, because of the way the mechanics work, Proud mode is actually the harder difficulty for a Level 1 run in KH1.5 instead of Critical because you ALWAYS do chip damage in Proud. Critical is actually a little easier because Sora can do more damage in that difficulty) and Critical Mode(2.5 + 3), but not just complete them at Level 1; (that's been done by a handful of people. However, everybody that has completed the Lvl 1 run always labels their run "complete" Yet, they all stopped at SILVER Crown.) But, I decided, and wanted to take it all a step further, and be the standout of them all. As well as debunking the most ridiculous, yet shockingly widespread belief beyond the masses: the before thought "Impossible" Holy Grail of Kingdom Heart challenges: Completing Level 1 critical mode... AS WELL as obtaining 100% completion in the Jiminy Journal, including completion of EVERY Mushroom XIII challenges, and actually having the GOLD Crown! Which was considered literally impossible. (Yeah, I know. Insane, isn't it?) 2.) The False Rumor And The Mission To Prove The World Wrong To actually 100% the Jiminy Journal, and Obtain Gold Crown in 2.5 which involves the Mushroom XIII challenges. Everybody, and their momma back then swore, and pushed the notion of "You can't complete atleast 1 or 2 of the mushroom challenges (most notably, Agrabah mushroom, Twilight Town, and Port Royal mushroom, respectively) without leveling up, it's totally impossible" As well as the old fable of "It's impossible to get Ultima Weapon in 1.5 at Level 1 because you don't get lucky strike abilities to grind synthesis materials without leveling" etc. Nah, it's all do-able. A huge pain in the ass? Yes. Definitely. But, achievable. 3.) Hype Yourself Up/Believe In Your Ability Like myself before attempting, I'm sure most people would just shake their head, and say to themselves "nope. Never. Cant do it" I was that guy. Then one day, I told myself "Hey... they put the option to void any EXP gain.. I'm gonna try it.. Let's see what happens, and how it goes at level 1. I mean, it can't be IMPOSSIBLE; They obviously added it as a feature for a reason." 4.) The Beginning of Doubt Of course, I begin. I start treading along, beginning my journey into my first attempt into a Kingdom Hearts game without leveling up. Everything goes smoothly, up until you start getting demolished left, and right every second, and the bosses annihilate you in a single hit. Making you re-evaluate, and question your ability, and if you can do it. 5.) Opening Your Perception/Total Realization The KH series, AND the series' difficulty as a whole; drastically, and dramatically changed for me once my eyes opened, and I seen the blatant "slap you in the face" obvious, and stopped trying to play Kingdom Hearts like an Action/Adventure RPG like a normal/casual playthrough would basically literally be. Instead, gaining the Square Enix perspective, and knowing their past; made me realize that it's supposed to actually be played like, (and get ready for a mind blown moment) a friggin' Turn Based RPG... Honestly, I think once you guys get this realization, and mindset in your head like I did while you're playing through; every one of you, and I mean EVERYONE of you guys, no matter how "gud" you ARE or AREN'T at the Kingdom Hearts games in a casual, normal playthrough. You can be absolute dirt at the (falsely assumed random, seemingly "unpredictable", ever-constant flow of combat) but start trying to take a slightly different approach/('s) towards the way you actually play games like this, and even open up your mind, and perceive, and acknowledge the gameplay in a different way altogether than what you, and probably, most people normally would have absolutely no idea or even fathom that there's more to, and many more ways to go into a Kingdom Hearts game than the basic, "normal" DmC-esque style combat that we all experience/('d) and most of us, are even conditioned to. 6.) Breaking Old Habits/Adopting New Ones However, once you change the perception/habits you have of the game already, and change the rules ever so slightly, and subtly to merely change towards a playstyle that of the old-school, traditional turn based views, and start planning strategies, and changing your playstyle around a "turn-based rpg mindset" instead of our pre-conditioned, already accustomed, and comfortable free flow combat that most of us are already "comfortable" with or use to. 7.) Acknowledge Game Mechanics/Learn Everything Any of you guys without a doubt in my mind would be able to Level 1 the game as it then becomes almost trivially easy once you decide to perceive KH in just a slightly different way (Turn Based instead of Free Combat) and start to play in an entirely different way accordingly (Having a turn based view/play style really helps not only by helping you learn to better/more accurately time your attacks, guards, dodge rolls, reflects, and etc. But, also makes you a lot more aware, and attentive as you're going to be learning to take it slow, and not rush battles, but to stay on your toes, closely watch for any, even if very subtle visual clues: motions with an enemy's hands, AND their body language. As well as listening for any audio clues or catch phrases; these are everything you are looking for to expect, and anticipate the next move of your opponent. Get a hit in when you can, and defend all the counter attacks that will be delivered back afterwards. Learn the timing to perfect guard; it's going to be the key to your survival, and the timing of each attack you learn never changes. So you don't have to ever expect or assume that a certain attack is ever going to be slower/faster than when previously used. You finally learn the timing for perfect guarding an attack, and you'll always be able to perfect guard it, as it will never be change the rate of speed. 8.) Truth of Developer's 100% Intended Game Design And The Public's Blindness So yes. After stating this, and the way certain mechanics work. Know it or not, even believe it or not. Even though it does EVERYTHING to make you "think" it's an action RPG. Which is semi-true, and fully the case to the masses. It was fully meant, and intended as a Turn Based RPG, and I'm going to open your eyes, and convince you. 9.) How The Kingdom Hearts Series Hides It's True Intended Design, and Disguises Itself As An Action RPG Any casual player gets the action RPG style in a normal playthrough. Just as every first time, 2nd time, etc. player always does. Nothing about the gameplay comes off as "turn based". And is more than often considered the polar opposite of a Turn Based game. Which, was presented this way to appeal to a wider audience such as younger aged, Disney lovers who didn't grow up with RPGs, or just jumped into the game world. As leveling makes it where you literally never have to learn or even use guard, reflect or parry the counters you receive if you really never even wanted to. As taking damage is hardly worrisome, or trivial, and easily tended to with a Cure, and Potions. You can even just carelessly attack, and attack anytime you want. Even if it isn't the best time, and you take a hit. You can still beat the game, and everything in it regardless. - No Turn Based Elements seen/felt whatsoever 10.) Awakening Into Reality/Acknowledging The Hidden Truth: Turn-Based Gameplay In comparison, Level 1: Any hit you take can 1 shot you. If you get caught in a combo attack, you WILL die. There's no possible way to constantly spam attacks, and tank hits. You gotta learn how to properly utilize things that you probably hardly, if ever even used: Guard, Reflect, Dodge Roll, Aerial Recovery, etc. and to learn timing. All this coupled along with the Revenge Counter mechanic (Which, I will explain in more detail below) is how it becomes a Turn Based game; as there is only a certain amount of attacks you can deliver before the enemy counters. - Turn Based RPG 11.) Notice The Signs/Process Everything/Uncover The Veil The first mentioned; is the game probably 90% or more of the masses experience, and perceive. People just don't see the alternative, and it's funny because I just seen a thread on another forum where the OP literally posted "I absolutely love Kingdom Hearts, because it's not just another cliche Turn Based RPG. I despise them." That was almost laughable, and cringe to read, and goes to show just how many people can overlook major things that are hidden in plain sight. However, if one is to attempt a Level 1 run, and play Kingdom Hearts the true way the developers intended; fact is, it's nothing more than a regular Square-Enix FF style "TURN BASED RPG" with complete movement, and control of character at all times. 12.) The Main Mechanics And Physics: The Enemy's "Revenge Counter" Seriously, when you get down into the physics, mechanics, and all the equations that go into every single boss fight, you begin to see it. Just ONE example is this: You're in the middle of a fight, let's say with Data Roxas; just for an example. Soon as the battle begins, and you gain control of Sora, you need to cast a reflect to counter Roxas' Keyblade Spin. After the successful reflect you are granted a small window where you're allowed to attack, and land up to (and let's just say for instance in this example, maybe 3-4 hits) 3-4 hits on Roxas before he is scripted to automatically counter attack. These counter attacks are termed "Revenge Counter" or just simply "RC" abbreviated. if you ever see the term in guides or posts, or in future research, but didn't know what it meant. 13.1) Explaining "Revenge Counters" And "Revenge Values"/Looping Bosses And Minimizing Danger Ah, Revenge Counter. The key to winning, and main mechanic of a level 1 run tbh. Every enemy has always been scripted to counter attack after a few hits, and this was so everybody at level 100 with Sora couldn't just endlessly wail on an opponent non-stop, and make it even easier than what it already was to begin with. Now, once you actually learn about, and study the revenge counter mechanic, and how each enemy works; you actually can use it 100% in your favor in completing, hell, I'd even go so far as to say even almost cheesing a Lvl 1 crit run. As in, learn to read the small signals before attacks. Nothing is unpredictable. There's ALWAYS a signal/warning. Learn how many hits you can throw before they counter attack Sora. 13.2) Deeper Breakdown Of "Revenge" Mechanics/Examples Of "Baiting" Attacks These hits, the attacks, the number, whatever you're most comfortable calling it; for future reference or research of your own are termed "Revenge Values" or simply "RV" if abbreviated. After you learn how many hits you can land (the number of hits it takes to bait an RC is the opponent's RV) learn the timing to guard the counter attack/(s) after, and retaliating in the enemy's small, brief recovery window. All you do is, count your hits, after you land that 4th hit (or whatever number of hits the current boss' Revenge Counter activates) you need to automatically hit guard so you can negate his RC, and guard his other 2-3 hits he dishes out before leaving another open window to land another 3-4 hits on him. It's literally rinse, and repeat: Attack 3-4 times to force or "bait" the enemy to counter attack-> Guard incoming revenge counter attacks from the enemy -> Throw another 3-4 strikes to hit his Revenge Value again to force another auto-counter. And it's just repeat steps over again. Essentially, what you're trying to do is put an enemy into a neverending loop that you can fully predict. You will see evidence of this in every fight in every video I'm going to post below. You pay attention, and you'll notice that I'll always hit an X amount of times (factor of X is the actual RV. Determined differently with each enemy. Could be 6 hits, like Marluxia's RV. Could be only 4 hits like Roxas' RV) but I ALWAYS land no more, and (hopefully) no less than the exact number of attacks needed to bait them into a RC, and guard it. 14.) Always Land The Exact Revenge Values. No More Any attempt to, or if you accidentally deliver an extra attack that is higher than the actual RV, you might as well retry; because you're not going to be guarding that counter, get caught in a combo you can't escape, and face the 1 hit death. Just follow those simple steps, and it then repeats the pattern if you're doing it correctly, and won't be unpredictable. What you're really trying to do is just try to keep everything in a never-ending loop so any unpredictability, and danger is eliminated. 15.) Explanation of "I-Frames" and How To Use Them For An Advantage Also, another biggie is learning I-Frames. Or, "Invincibility Frames" meaning the tiny few frames where Sora is invincible for instance: when you use a Drive Form, there are a few brief seconds of frames where you will not take any damage in the middle of using a form. Or using a skill like Donald's Duck Flare, and using it to your advantage, as you will see me do a bunch against Lingering Will at Level 1 to avoid being skill/attack/item locked, whip locked, and to stay safe during his DM or "Desperation Move" (Every boss has a DM which is expressed by the screen going dark, and the boss does their "finisher" per se.) 16.) The Biggest Slept On/Underestimated Skills In The Game: Reflect/ra/ga And Guard To probably over 90% of the KH community that sleeps on, and probably have never once used the spell Reflect-Reflectga. You have no idea just how busted, how necessary it is, and how brokenly powerful that spell is. Especially in a Level 1 run. It's pretty much an absolute MUST in it to do any real damage at that level. Not only that, but if you're not a master or not use to timing your guard precisely yet, Reflect/ga is an alternative that is safe, and don't need to be facing any particular direction to guard anything. Only downside to spamming reflect constantly instead of mixing up guards, and reflects is that if you don't rely on using guard, and spam reflect instead; you're going to be struggling to keep, and have MP when you want/need it. 17.) Short Summary/Review Of Everything So Far/Convinced Yet? Convinced yet? Literally. Turn-Based RPG. Except think of each of your 3-4 chain attacks as a "turn" and you know that as soon as you land your 4th keyblade hit, your turn is over, and it's automatically going to be the opponent's "turn", and since you're expecting this, and know this, you block perfectly in time with his counter attacks, and learn their pattern. The key is to try to just keep it in a constant, simple, loop-ish kinda fight. Making sure to force the counter attack yourself so you know precisely when to guard; rather than having to randomly guess/pray when their next attack is going to be, and if you're going to be able to read it quick enough. 18.) Opening Up Your Mindset/Perception/Planning Strategies Toward The Hidden Turn-Based Gameplay Is Key This was the biggest, and most obvious "eye-opening" realization that helped me tremendously once I started looking at it as a Turn Based game. Respectfully like most of Square Enix's works prior. Which, I believe if most people started having that mindset of playing it like it's turn-based, just about everyone that truly wanted to would be able to complete the level 1 challenge a lot easier than ever initially thought. Literally every boss has their own respectful number of attacks they can receive before being scripted to auto-counter attack. Don't matter who you're facing. Don't care if it's a regular ol' Heartless, and Nobody, or if it's the friggin' One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth or the "Seemingly impossible, even at Level 100" Lingering Will himself... They all can be read, and baited into an auto-counter. All of them. 19.) Outro/Final Messages/My Video Proof If anyone is interested in watching a few of my Level 1 Crit 2.5 Organization fights for entertainment or maybe to study for your own future level 1 run, I'm going to be posting links to them below. I just wish like hell that I had a good camera back then... I'm so sorry, and apologize from the bottom of my soul about the quality, but... It's literally all I had. My crap phone camera, and setting it up to point directly at my TV while I'm actually playing live in the moment, as you can probably tell by the noise of all the button mashing but, at that time, all I was worried about was having proof so all the board back then stopped saying that I was a liar, and showing that I actually did it... Recorded most of the highlight battles anyway Level 1 Crit Run .vs Sephiroth - https://youtu.be/GtBcldOxgIg Level 1 Crit Run .vs Marluxia - https://youtu.be/mDz2O8CZxFo Level 1 Crit Run .vs Larxene (THIS BITCH RIGHT HERE...) - https://youtu.be/nf684D52Mwc Level 1 Crit Run .vs Axel (w/ Restrictions) - https://youtu.be/vztQYNIeT4U Level 1 Crit Run .vs Lexaeus (No Damage) - https://youtu.be/ad58PWJmt80 Level 1 Crit Run .vs Roxas (w/ Restrictions) - https://youtu.be/TTaMJpxxxJM Level 1 Crit Run .vs Lingering Will + Silver Crown (Evidence of me using I-Frames to my advantage, and how you can utilize it) - https://youtu.be/dTm215sIhmI Obtaining Crown From All Data Battles Lvl 1 - https://youtu.be/IydQ7qub5-w Obtaining The Elusive and "Impossible" Gold Crown Lvl 1 Proof - https://youtu.be/YdbUuJd5JM8 Then the creme de la creme. 100% Jiminy Journal At Level 1 Proof - https://youtu.be/I0d1_Ec_UdY Bonus: My proof of getting Ultima Weapon on Level 1 PROUD Mode (Ultra Difficult) in KH 1.5 (Was hilariously, also considered impossible at first) - https://youtu.be/ye2ZsgQWI_Y 20.) Final Words Of Encouragement/Faith In You All Hope others may find help, and for others, even courage to attempt this challenge. If anyone is interested in trying it, and maybe have questions, I'd be more than happy to help out in any way that I possibly can, and any feedback, comments, questions, and anything is welcome, and wanted. Thanks guys! Like I said earlier, don't ever doubt yourself in anything. If myself, of all people can beat every KH game at Level 1; then I KNOW for a FACT anybody at all can. I promise you. As for the brave souls that will be attempting this seemingly impossible task anytime in the upcoming future, I leave you all with 1 final, and important message: "May Your Heart, Be Your Guiding Key"

The Square Enix Japan e-Store has announced a new line of Kingdom Hearts themed Jacquard handbags, wallets, and backpacks. There are six different items within the line including a Shoulder Bag, Backpack, Key Case, Long Wallet, Tote Bag, and Bum Bag. Each item features a monogram pattern throughout with iconic symbols prominent in the Kingdom Hearts series. All products are set to release January 13th, 2024. You can take a closer look at the items in our gallery below along with their respective store links and price points. Kingdom Hearts Jacquard Shoulder Bag - ¥14,300 Kingdom Hearts Jacquard Backpack - ¥19,800 Kingdom Hearts Jacquard Key Case - ¥6,600 Kingdom Hearts Jacquard Long Wallet - ¥13,200 Kingdom Hearts Jacquard Tote Bag - ¥15,400 Kingdom Hearts Jacquard Bum Bag - ¥13,200 Will you be purchasing any of these new items? Let us know in the comments below. View full article

The Square Enix Japan e-Store have begun accepting pre-orders for the Kingdom Hearts Chesterfield Sofa originally displayed at Tokyo Game Show 2022 back in September. The front arms of the sofa are embossed with iconic symbols from the Kingdom Hearts series while embroidered symbols are featured along the chair's backrest. The sofa will cost ¥297,000 (approximately $2,131.00 USD) and is expected to be available October 14th, 2023. Currently pre-orders are limited to Japan only and the pre-order period is open until July 2nd, 2023 at 11:59 PM JST. You can take a closer look at the Kingdom Hearts Chesterfield Sofa in our gallery below View full article

Which Gummi Ship system do you like best?

Because of this, it gives me another question what would happen if we will have another game that will be based on MoM's origins? I can already imagine Nomura and his team are going to make another prequel based-game. I mean look at Dark Road and Missing Link, but hey all of this is just a theory and also my headcanon. I created an X Saga which serves as a prequel of all the stories of the Kingdom Hearts series. Here are the lists. Kingdom Hearts 0/KH0 -A boy who can wield a key-shaped sword called the Keyblade by using the X-Blade as a model, has the ability to create his own Keyblade by using people's hearts. It also talks about a story of the conflict between light and darkness. This conflict continued for an unknown period of time, in which the boy saw many of his loved ones perish from the darkness overtaking their hearts. Kingdom Hearts: Before X (Chi)/KHBX -After the boy's homeworld is destroyed, the boy crosses into a new worldline, settling in Daybreak Town. The boy would later grow into adulthood, getting used to the new place until he traveled to the different parts of the town. He met some people in that place. People that might have the potential to fight the impending Darkness that would later destroy another world. The boy trained some of the people there on how to wield and craft their own Keyblades inside their hearts to protect themselves from Darkness. The boy would later adopt a moniker called "Master". The Master saw Daybreak Town as another world that would later be destroyed into darkness but he developed a plan. He composed a book called the Book of Prophecies from events foreseen by his Gazing Eye. This allowed Darkness to peek inside the Book, but the Master intentionally remained vague in order to mislead his foe. Kingdom Hearts X/Unchained X (Chi)/KHX -The Master raised many Keyblade wielders for many years until he found six individuals that would later become his apprentices. The Master gifted them different names and gave them an important role that would later change many events, including the lives of his six apprentices. Because of the distrust of the different Unions, it will create a war that will destroy many worlds. One of his apprentices finds out about the Master's dark motive and goal to defeat the Darkness. This leads one of his apprentices to act on his own accord but still follows the role that the Master gave him. One of his apprentices created a different union and rallied Keyblade wielders that will not participate in the Keyblade War so that they will be the only ones that will keep the light safe into the future. Kingdom Hearts Union X/KHUX -A new generation of Union Leaders are trapped inside a data simulation, finding out about the secrets of the Master's plans and motives, and also the ones who are left will face an entity called Darkness. The Union Leaders realized that Daybreak Town is about to be destroyed by the Darkness so they used a pod that will transport them into another world/timeline. Some of the fates of the Union Leaders after they used the pods are unknown but some of them got successfully transported into a new world so that they can keep the light safe. Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link/KHMS -An ancient keyblade wielder that got sent into another worldline called Scala ad Caelum. A city of light and darkness, dreams and distortion, the remembered and the forgotten, and also the city created by his old friend/acquaintance. Here, another generation of Keyblade wielders lived in societies that sprawled and branched like veins through the city. Kingdom Hearts Union X: Dark Road/KHDR -Two keyblade wielders wanted to become Keyblade Masters in their own right. One walked into a path of light, but the other walked into a path of darkness. It created a rift in their story. A rift that will create a new set of history. And that's how the Dark Seeker Saga started. What do you guys think? Which game's story summary interests you? I know KH0 and KHBX are never gonna happen since they are just my ideas, but hey I actually don't mind another prequel story about MoM's origin game/movie like X Back Cover. Because we all know Nomura is going to make the story even more complicated. But wanna hear your thoughts on my headcanon summary?

Which Disney Animated Series do you want to appear in Kingdom Hearts series. We all know in reality not all of them are not gonna happen right? But hey a man/child can dream. Which Disney Animated Series you want to appear and why? If it does happen, the worlds I want to appear are: Gargoyles (I love the dark atmosphere of this series. A Q&A with Greg Weisman, the creator of Disney TV series Gargoyles, he confirms that Gargoyles was "getting close on Kingdom Hearts") Owl House (It would make sense considering the show is filled with magic I can already imagine Luz and King as your party members.) Amphibia ( Imagine if we saw an Amphibian versions of Sora, Donald, and Goofy or Sora, Riku, and Kairi and might meet up with Anne and her friends to stop King Andrias and his master.) Ducktales OG Reboot (OG or Reboot it doesn't matter. The reason why I included the reboot 2017 is because the reboot became one of the medals that you use in KHUX) Star vs The Forces of Evil (Same as Owl House but Star and Marco are your party members.) Goof Troop (Max and PJ) (As a way of providing more backstory and focus for Donald and Goofy, I'd love to have worlds that revolve around Goof Troop/A Goofy Movie and Duck Tales.) Tangled: The Series (Imagine Sora will encounter villains like Varian, Cassandra, and Zhan Tiri) Kim Possible (Most of the villains would make for EXCELLENT boss battles.) Motorcity (If it's at all possible, cause I can see a lot of cool fights coming out of this world. Plus, I just really dig that show's style, and want to see more of it.) Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (I can see this being a similar situation to Space Paranoids or the Timeless River, where it exists as a world within Toy Box). I know some of you may not agree with my list, but all of them are my opinions. That's why I want you guys to form your own answers and lists. But what do you guys think? Do you think Tetsuya Nomura will create another filler KH game and he will use Disney Animated Series' worlds as an example? Let me know your thoughts and answers.

During the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary Trailer shown earlier this morning, a new Ichiban Kuji lottery was announced. It showcased a new Sora and Kairi set of figures in their throne chairs from the artworks of Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory respectively. Additionally, it is scheduled for a 2022 release. This is the third Ichiban Kuji lottery in the series history, with the first being in 2019 and the second in 2020. You can view these figures in the 20th Anniversary trailer below. Update 10/6/2021: The Kingdom Hearts ~20th Anniversary~ Ichiban Kuji has been updated, showing the ranked prizes. You can see the prize list below: ○ Prize A Sora Statue ○ Prize B Kairi Statue ○ Prize C Design Clock ○ Prize D Plush Mascot ○ Prize E Canvas Board ○ Prize F Hand Towel ○ Prize G Glass ○ Prize H Keyblade Charm Collection ○ Prize One Prize Sora Statue-Last One ver. ～ ○ Double Chance Campaign Sora Statue ～ Last One ver. ～ We will continue to update once new information releases! So stay tuned! View full article

Okay, I’m confused. I heard there were curse words in the KH mangas, but I have them. There's literally none except for a mild one that Axel says in the last KH2 volume while fighting Saix. Did Yen Press change the dialogue when they re-released the mangas, or something? (I do not condone profanity, nor use it myself - I’m just confused on why people are saying that the KH mangas have language when I myself have read them and found barely anything pertaining to what people claim.)

The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics has begun with the opening ceremonies beginning on Friday. The opening ceremonies includes the Walk of Athletes, a period of the ceremonies where all the countries march into the stadium. Music for the Walk of Athletes includes music from various video games including Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dragon Quest, and yes, even Kingdom Hearts had made the list! Olympus Coliseum and Hero's Fanfare from the Kingdom Hearts series have been featured on the Walk of Athletes. You can listen Olympus Coliseum in the background in this clip. [Thanks to KH13.com Staff Member HaakonHawk for the clip!] export.mp4 The Summer Olympics, which was postponed from last year due to the pandemic will run until August 8th. View full article

Other than the series always thematically showing that love is the ultimate answer and power, even more so than the power of light or darkness, here are some quotes: From Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Aqua: "A pure heart filled with light... It's strange, the Master taught me darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?" Fairy Godmother: "Oh, my dear, you're too young to know. Experience more things, and you'll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams." (Fairy Godmother implying the only way to defeat darkness other than with light is with love.) From Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Yen Sid: "I will tell you what your friend needs right now. It is not your protection. He needs you to believe. You see, Ventus's heart hangs in the balance. It sleeps in the place between light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend--one who believes in him, to show him the way home. Just as long as you love him...then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs--the realm of light.” (Yen Sid implying the balance between light and darkness is love and that love is the only thing that can lead Ventus' heart home.) From Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories: Riku: "What are you making me choose now?" DiZ: "Between the road to light and the road to darkness." Riku: "Neither suits me. I'm taking the middle road." DiZ: "Do you mean the twilight road to nightfall?" Riku: "No. It's the road to dawn." (Riku not choosing light or darkness, but choosing what he calls "dawn.") From Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance: Riku (to Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Young Xehanort): "I walk the road to dawn!" Riku (to Ansem, Seeker of Darkness): "Consume the darkness, return it to light.” Young Xehanort (to Riku): "I don't know how you did it, but you really have found a way to trap darkness inside your heart. And a boy who's immune to darkness is of no use to us." (Riku reaffirming that he wields both light and darkness, and that he turns the darkness into light. That is the state he calls "dawn." And Young Xehanort confirming that by walking the road to dawn, Riku has somehow become immune to darkness.) From Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance: Data-Ansem the Wise: "The heart has always been quick to grow. Each exposure to light, to the natural world, to other people, shapes this most malleable part inside of us. Nobodies are not different from us in that manner. Sora was the only one able to return to his human form without destroying his Nobody. That is a statement to the love in his heart for other people, and the bonds that tie them together. Perhaps...he has the power to bring back the hearts and existences of those connected to him—to recreate people we thought were lost to us forever. Our most precious treasures—even an empty puppet—the trees of the forest, and the petals on the wind—there are hearts around us everywhere we look. And it does not take superhuman powers to see them. Surely we remember as children the way our hearts made everything seem so shiny, and perfect. Sora has a heart like that—uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When he sees the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, he may have the power to mend it. He has touched countless hearts, he has accepted them, and he has saved them. And some of those hearts have never left him—whether they fell into darkness or were trapped there—whether they sleep in the darkness of Sora's heart, or were welcomed into its warmth—they can be saved. All Sora needs to do is be himself and follow wherever it is that his heart takes him. It is the best and the only way." (Data-Ansem the Wise saying that Sora's uninhibited undying love for people and his willingness to always see the good before the bad in anyone or anything is the ultimate answer that could solve everything and save everyone.) From Kingdom Hearts III: Ventus: "I didn't ask for this. To be sifted apart nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just light, not just darkness. We decide what we are." (Ventus implying light and darkness are choices and you can choose to be both or neither.)

Here's King Mickey arriving in The World That Never Was in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Here's the Replica for Roxas being sent to the Keyblade Graveyard by Ienzo, Even, Ansem the Wise, etc. in Kingdom Hearts III. (Which Roxas' heart comes out of Sora and then goes into the moment it arrives.) It's the exact same method of travel/arriving at a world. They have the same animation of a sparkle in the sky and then a beam of light coming down from where the sparkle was, transporting a person or object to a world.

A new video has been uploaded on the late XXXTENTACION's YouTube channel featuring "Nocturne", a track composed by Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura in memory of the late musician Jahseh Onfroy, who was a big fan of Kingdom Hearts. Here, Shimomura is seen playing the piano for the track; at the end of the video, Yoko responds to an question on why she decided to name the track "Nocturne", while a video of Onfroy listening to her music on repeat on a boat plays in the background. The video also features tweets that Onfroy had made about his love for Kingdom Hearts. "Nocturne" is featured on the Deluxe edition of XXXTentacion's second studio album "?", which released today. Shimomura said on Twitter that she composed the track while thinking about what Onfroy was thinking in the very last moments before his death, and that she would be happy if fans would listen to it. She also wrote that Onfroy loved her music so much that he listened to her songs before going to bed every night. She added that when she was shown the video of Onfroy on the boat listening to Kingdom Hearts music (more specifically, the track "Vector to the Heavens" from Shimomura's album "memória!"), it brought her to tears. You can watch the video and listen to "Nocturne" below. The description of the video is as follows. Translations for this article were provided by KH13 Staff @Mio-chan. View full article

People often ask why Kingdom Hearts uses terms like "hurt" instead of "pain" or "unreality" instead of "alternate dimension." Or why they use the terms "light" and "darkness" so much. The in-universe explanation for this is that the Kingdom Hearts World works very differently than our universe and has its own set of labels and rules for many things. The real world meta explanation for this though is that Tetsuya Nomura seems to like Kingdom Hearts to sort of establish its own labels and rules for things. And there's a reason why. For example, they're now calling the other side of the World that Yozora comes from "unreality" and "fiction" rather than just saying its another dimension or something. Getting used to these terms and the way they're used can be odd and jarring at times, however that's kind of the point as these unique terms sort of make you think and wonder more about these concepts. Something more mainstream such as Marvel uses more common terms such as other "dimensions" and the "multiverse" to bring characters and worlds together that usually wouldn't make much sense to bring together to make it make more sense and easy to understand for the audience so they can just focus on the characters and worlds that are being brought together instead of focusing on how weird and incomprehensible the concepts of other realities and universes really are. Kingdom Hearts likes to use words such as "unreality" and "fictional worlds" to put more focus on what these concepts actually mean and how weird and incomprehensible these concepts truly are. Instead of shying away from how philosophically weird and trippy some concepts are in order to make things easier for the audience to understand, Kingdom Hearts fully leans into it. So, if they were to just use the term "pain" instead of "hurt," you would think you understand what they're talking about completely and not take a closer look at the concept being talked about, while using the term "hurt" makes you take a closer look and examine what the concept of pain/hurt truly means and makes you wonder if you even do understand what it really means. There are concepts in life that we take for granted and think we know what they truly mean just because we've heard the words and the definitions of the words our entire lives, so we don't really take the moment to really think about it philosophically. If they used the word "pain" it would've just become another sentence that passes by and gets replaced by the next sentence without you taking a deeper look into what's being said. I remember as a young kid playing Kingdom Hearts and some of these odd terms would really make me think more about the underlying philosophy and existentialism of it all rather than just focusing on the more generic aspects that overlie it all. People often make fun of Kingdom Hearts for these odd terms and how often some terms like light or darkness are used, but I really do think there's a point to it. The way these terms are used might seem silly in a conventional way, but Kingdom Hearts has never been about thinking conventionally and has always been about establishing and following its own rules. The stuff with Yozora and Quadratum has made me the most interested in the series' future than I have been in a while. The mystique and intrigue of it is on par with after I saw KH1's secret ending for the first time. It's got the same vibes of what got me so hooked on the series so much as a young kid in the first place. It even brings back the same KH1 opening quote, bringing it back to the roots of what made the series so interesting and stand out. The theme of existential confusion that underlies the whole series. "I've been having these weird thoughts lately, like is any of this for real, or not?" "None of this... makes sense to me." Nomura has even said that the KH1 opening quote is what got KH approved in the first place. Q9: What can you say about the secret boss & episode? Nomura: "The secrets contain my thoughts about the future of the series, but with the information out at present I don't think you'll be able to guess any of it. Some parts of the battle ended up very different from what I requested. But it surprised me in a good way, so take it as it is." Q10: Why did lines from KH1 appear in the final trailer? Nomura: "Those were lines I'd long wanted to put together if I ever got the chance. You may not understand, but the inclusion of those lines is what got the world of Kingdom Hearts approved. There is no mystery to solve this time, they stand at the doorway." While many aspects of the story weren't planned by Nomura in advance, I definitely believe there has always been underlying themes and meanings that Nomura has rooted in the series and stayed consistent with and has had plans for ever since the first game. And now that the main story that has been going on with Xehanort is finally complete, it seems like he will finally bring out those underlying themes and meanings in full force and bring them to the forefront rather than in the background. Things are going to start getting really existential, meta, and trippy going forward. And I think this is what Nomura has planned for, hoped for, and always wanted to do since the first game. And I think those quotes of his prove that. The ongoing story has concluded. The ongoing mysteries have now been concluded. The time has come for the underlying themes of existential confusion, hearts, fake worlds, data worlds, dreams, other versions of yourself, not knowing what is real, etc. that have been built up and built up to finally explode and to get what Kingdom Hearts has always truly been about. "There is no mystery to solve this time, they stand at the doorway."

I'm quite late, but I just finished MoM. While I appreciate the recap and enjoyed the minigames, I can't say I wasn't a tad bit disappointed. This game was very much hyped to be a Kairi game (box art, the narrator, etc.) but she wasn't even in any parties. She does one fight -- where she's transformed into Sora so you don't even get to actually be her.I did a slight rewrite (if you can even call it that? less of a rewrite more of a what if MoM was a full fledged side game). Kairi, feeling responsible for Sora's fate & driven by her love for him, sets out on a journey to - hopefully - bring him home. She travels various Disney world’s searching for clues to Sora’s whereabouts, growing in strength & skill along the way, eventually unlocking her deep, hidden memories. There would be 11 worlds and it mainly keeps the actual ending of Melody of Memory, except Kairi and Riku both go in the portal.It's here if you'd like to read it! Hope you enjoy it and I'd appreciate feedback.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H93uiCBS4uMz1z_D3AqOH5nNImfUZSd7/view?usp=sharing