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New Kingdom Hearts III Trailer Shows Mini-Games

 Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Apr 162018
 

During the flood of Kingdom Hearts III news at February D23 Expo, we learned that there would be at least one Game & Watch style mini-game.

Now we know a lot more. Giantland is only one of many.

This weekend, a Kingdom Hearts Union χ fan event called the Dandelion Meeting took place. While it was mainly focused on KHUX, they also revealed that there will be over 20 mini-games based on classic Mickey Mouse cartoons and old LCD games.

The trailer was then released for everyone else to see.

In the new trailer, Sora receives a game device from none other than Hayner, Pence, and Olette (yes, the Twilight Town trio is back), which lets him play these mini-games.

Some people have started blaming the mini-games for KH3 not being out yet, which is an odd stance to take. They’re just simple mini-games. I doubt they’ve slowed down development that much.

These games, which are collectively called Classic Kingdom, will also be playable in Union χ sometime before Kingdom Hearts III launches.

KHUX is also getting some new features… and a chance to get your name in Kingdom Hearts III.

The “Make Your Mark” campaign will let 300 players have their KHUX name appear in Kingdom Hearts III, based on certain criteria explained in the link above. If you’re a KHUX player, there is an entry form you can complete between now and May 1 if you want a chance at being selected.

Anyway, thanks to KH Insider’s coverage of the meeting, we also have a few other things to think about.

During the Q&A, they revealed that a new world is coming to KHUX and Kingdom Hearts III will include a summons from that world. They also said that the new Union Leaders will be tied in with Kingdom Hearts III.

With these Union Leaders, you’ll see them tied in with KH3. You’ll see hints of their existence. Their stories interwine a bit with KH3, but they will have their own fate and Nomura has already plotted it out. There is meaning behind them, even in their names and even in spelling. We will continue to explore their narrative.”

All in all, some interesting details from the KHUX event! I was going to review Xenoblade Chronicles 2 today, but I decided to cover this first. I also realized that I apparently never reviewed Finding Paradise, so you can expect to see that soon, as well.

What do you think about the Kingdom Hearts III mini-games?

Catching Up on the Weekend’s Kingdom Hearts 3 News

 Video Games  1 Response »  Tagged with: , ,
Feb 122018
 

This weekend was pretty incredible for Kingdom Hearts fans. We hoped we’d get something from D23 Expo Japan 2018… and it turned out to be two trailers and a wealth of information.

I went through a spoiler-filled analysis of the story content in these trailers at KH Theories, so here I’ll focus more on going through the new information we have.

Here is the first trailer.

This trailer confirms several things:

  • Marluxia is returning.
  • Vanitas is returning.
  • The Monsters Inc. world is real.
  • Ariel appears to be a summons.

It was also interesting to see Sora’s interactions with Marluxia and Vanitas, since he has connections to them without knowing why.

The second trailer mainly introduces the new theme song by Hikaru Utada, “Oath” in the Japanese version and “Don’t Think Twice” in the English version. However, it shows some adjustments to scenes from previous trailers as well as new content at the end.

In the new scene, we see Riku (with a new design) and Mickey in the Realm of Darkness. Riku’s Keyblade has somehow been broken, and he leaves it behind for “the other me.” Official renders include what appear to be his new Keyblade.

This has prompted a lot of speculation.

But even more information came out over the weekend besides what was revealed in the trailers!

Do you miss NPCs in Kingdom Hearts? It looks like they’re back for Kingdom Hearts 3! A “Making of Kingdom Hearts III” presentation at D23 included a look at the Kingdom of Corona (Tangled), which is a lively world filled with NPCs.

You can check out more NPC shots here.

Square Enix also revealed a new Game & Watch style mini-game (this seems to be be based on Disney’s Giantland), that the final stage is something Nomura has always wanted to do, and that KH3’s Gummi Ship segments will include an open exploration phase and a combat phase.

I’ve never enjoyed the Gummi Ship segments, but it sounds like it might be more fun in Kingdom Hearts III.

Meanwhile, it also sounds like Kingdom Hearts Union Cross and Kingdom Hearts III will be linked in some way. Nomura calls this Project Xtrace.

KHUX will start using completely new worlds, the main scenario will develop rapidly, and KH3 will reveal why Ventus is around during Union Cross.

(Maybe I should start playing it again…)

Kingdom Hearts III will also include a Rare Heartless themed after Japanese pudding, and they’ll have fruit accessories. The Gummi Ship will also be customizable, in a system similar to how customization worked in Kingdom Hearts 0.2.

Finally, development of the worlds has been split into three stages. The first stage, which includes Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Olympus, is 90% complete. Tangled is in the middle stage, which is 60-70% complete. They’ve indicated there are 10 worlds, but it’s unclear if this refers to all the worlds or just Disney worlds. (Update: apparently the actual Japanese wording could indicate anything between 10-19, so we don’t know how many worlds are in KH3 yet.)

Phew. That’s quite a lot of new information! Are you excited for Kingdom Hearts III? What do you think about the new details that were revealed this weekend?

Does Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Work as a Novel?

 Books, Reviews  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 312017
 

Last week, I read Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, which took over my thoughts so completely I realized the next book I read would suffer in comparison. So, I decided to read something where I already knew the story: the novelization of Chain of Memories.

Like the first Kingdom Hearts novelization, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is largely just a retelling of the game’s events.

(I believe it follows the original, not Re: Chain of Memories, because of certain scenes that are different between the two.)

It’s a nice way to re-live the story, and without the frustrating card battles, I was able to focus on the story itself. Chain of Memories doesn’t get enough credit for its story. It introduces Organization XIII, sets into motion important events for later games, and puts Sora in a pretty dire situation.

Click for Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance spoilers
If Naminé had actually been loyal to Marluxia, the plan to warp Sora’s memories and make him a puppet might have worked. Chain of Memories shows Sora’s breakdown very well. Little by little he changes, until he only cares about Naminé.

It works a lot better than Sora sinking into sleep/darkness in Dream Drop Distance, since there’s no clear progression there. This sort of gradual shift would would have made DDD’s storytelling stronger.

The novelization also includes Reverse/Rebirth, Riku’s story. I was curious about how it would work as a novel, since the game lacks content for Riku’s story. There are new Organization XIII scenes, but the worlds are largely empty.

Well, the novelization handles it by showing events not only from Riku’s point of view, but also from the Replica’s point of view! That’s the most interesting part of the novel, with its only flaw being that it reuses some of the scenes from Sora’s story, which is repetitive even though it’s coming from a new viewpoint.

Yes, Repliku fans, this one’s for you.

In short, the Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories novel is a light, enjoyable retelling of the game’s events, perfect if you want to experience it without the battle system or want new insight into the Riku Replica.

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