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News ► Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Boxart Revealed!



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FudgemintGuardian

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I can't help but laugh at Xehanort. His face looks so weird!

Is that supposed to be Xemnas and Ansem (possibly Riku?) behind him? They don't look quite like themselves and why do they have scars on their cheeks? Also, I don't remember their ears being that pointy.

Terra looks stoned! :) (And also not like himself.)

All in all, I like it, but it looks very rushed.
 

hemmoheikkinen

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I really like the colors, and the deep blue background gives me Birth by Sleep feels. I also really like how the Aqua/especially the hair), Ven, Sora and Roxas are drawn and the Keyblades look also nice. But why Master Xehanort looks like that? It`s like his head is shaped like an egg or something, and his arms are a bit too thin in my mind. It just have the feeling that Nomura was little busy while drawing this, but I can`t blame him since he has two very important games on his shoulders. I`m also little bothered because of the lack of Namine and Kairi, but overall I really like this picture.
 

SoraForeverKH

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Whoa! That is what the boxart is going really going to look like? All the characters are looking pretty good...but Master Xehanort's totally creeps me out!
I know the old antagonist is meant to look really scary, but...I don't know about this particular picture of him. Sorry...lol. I just want to roll on the floor laughing!

But, it isn't going to keep me from still wanting the game! I'd buy it if the cover was completely black! I like how Aqua looks. Funny how Sora's jacket is blowing up in the wind. Lol
I do like how the three main enemies are looking over all of the heroes. That is exactly how I would do it.
 

Shogo-Kun

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I like it, but it could have been better. First off, the symmetry is way off at the bottom. If Nomura added at least one more character, it would look so much better in that regard. Also, Sora and Roxas on the bottom look way too damn young; like Nomura actually forgot how to draw them. Also, I'm not feeling the whole Keyblades surrounding the characters and the way the characters are just floating in space. Other than that, it does look really good and is conceptually better than I.5's artwork. However, in terms of the actual art I.5 beats this by a mile.

This is one of those pieces of art that could have been improved with more time.
 

JustSnilloc

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As a poster, that would look pretty awesome, but as a game cover?... Kind of has way too much going on (maybe it's just me though). On the other hand, that bundle looks amazing O_O *drools*
 

JustSnilloc

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Let's pick out all the keyblades shown! (starting from top left and going counter-clockwise)

- Master Xehanort's Keyblade (MX) [BbS]
- Guardian Soul (Auron / Olympus Colosseum) [KH2]
- ???
- Monochrome (Steamboat / Timeless River) [KH2]
- Rumbling Rose (Beauty & The Beast / Beasts Castle) [KH2]
- ??? (Heroes Crest?)
- Circle of Life (Lion King / Pride Lands) [KH2]
- Fatal Crest (Underdome / Olympus Colosseum) [KH2]
- Star Seeker (Let's be honest, when HAVEN'T we seen this one?) [KH1, KH2, BbS, etc.]
- Wishing Lamp (Genie / Agrabah) [KH2]
- Bond of Flame (Axel) [KH2]
- Sweet Memories (Pooh Bear / 100 Acre Wood) [KH2]
- Kingdom Key (Roxas)
- Kingdom Key (Sora)
- Gullwing (FFX2 Group) [KH2]
- Decisive Pumpkin (Christmas Town / Halloween Town) [KH2]
- Way to Dawn (Riku) [KH2, Days, DDD]
- Follow the Wind (Pirates of the Caribbean / Port Royal) [KH2]
- Sleeping Lion (Squall Leonhart / Radiant Garden) [KH2]
- Hidden Dragon (Mushu / Land of Dragons) [KH2]
- Destiny's Embrace (Kairi) [KH2, BbS]
- Master Keeper (Eraqus) [BbS]
- Fenrir (Cloud / Olympus Colosseum) [KH2]
- Photon Debugger (Tron / Space Paranoids) [KH2]
- Void Gear (Vanitas) [BbS]
 

Antifa Lockhart

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Let's pick out all the keyblades shown! (starting from top left and going counter-clockwise)

- Star Seeker (Let's be honest, when HAVEN'T we seen this one?) [KH1, KH2, BbS, etc.]

Star Seeker wasn't in KH1, Mickey was wielding the Dark Realm's Kingdom Key. Also, you forgot Zero/One from coded.
 

Nazo

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This was so worth the wait. That artwork looks fantastic, even better than the 1.5 boxart. I am a bit upset that they didn't include Kairi or Namine at all, but oh well. They're in the games and that's all that matters. Can't squeeze everyone into one picture and still have it look this pretty. Negative space is important after all.

Now we just have to wait patiently for the announcement of the Western collector's editions ^_^ Those Japanese ones look really nice, even if most of them are just the 1.5 + 2.5 packs. Although, that one with the crown picture on the disc is probably the Bluray disc music. And that visual art book looks quite nice. Still hoping for a localization of the Series Memorial book too.

All that aside though, this art is killer. Can't wait to find a super high resolution copy and make it into a poster.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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I think I'm gonna do a redraw of the boxart. Don't have Photoshop of any of that so it'll have be by hand. (And may only be line-art, but I haven't decided yet.)
It's just that the more I look at it, the odder it is. One thing I didn't notice the first time is that Roxas looks like he's 10. Data Riku looks odd too, but I can't place why.

A thing I'll ask before I get working on that picture is, since Ansem didn't actually appear in either of those games is it safe to assume that's Riku? Because I was thinking of adding a faded profile of Riku (it'll probably mostly just be the hair and blindfold) next to him to signify it's actually Riku.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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It's just that the more I look at it, the odder it is. One thing I didn't notice the first time is that Roxas looks like he's 10. Data Riku looks odd too, but I can't place why.

They all look a lot younger than they are except Xehanort xD

It might be because Data Riku is looking in a different direction. Every character on the right side of the image is looking/facing to the right except him, so it throws off the balance.

A thing I'll ask before I get working on that picture is, since Ansem didn't actually appear in either of those games is it safe to assume that's Riku? Because I was thinking of adding a faded profile of Riku (it'll probably mostly just be the hair and blindfold) next to him to signify it's actually Riku.

Yes, it is most likely Rikunort.
 

Elysium

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I like this more than the 1.5 cover, but not better than the regular game covers. I think the bottom would've turned out better if they had Sora and Roxas back-to-back and you only saw the side-profile of Roxas (maybe have his Keyblade pointed the opposite direction or not present at all), but obviously they wanted Roxas prominently featured. If they had him behind, then Riku and Kairi could've been on Sora's side opposite to Goofy and Donald, which would've worked better for me. Maybe DiZ or Axel beside Mickey? Oh well, it's still nice. I love all the Keyblades.
 

Lnds500

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I think I'm gonna do a redraw of the boxart. Don't have Photoshop of any of that so it'll have be by hand. (And may only be line-art, but I haven't decided yet.)
It's just that the more I look at it, the odder it is. One thing I didn't notice the first time is that Roxas looks like he's 10. Data Riku looks odd too, but I can't place why.

A thing I'll ask before I get working on that picture is, since Ansem didn't actually appear in either of those games is it safe to assume that's Riku? Because I was thinking of adding a faded profile of Riku (it'll probably mostly just be the hair and blindfold) next to him to signify it's actually Riku.

It's pretty obvious that the composition compliments the duality of MX's self and the connection between him, Ansem SoD and Xemnas (the blue glow surrounding them and the way they seem to come off of him). Ansem SoD may not be featured directly in any of these games but BBS is where that connection was first established. It also works much better with all three of them above the rest and it makes sense in the series's greater premise.
 

WanPisu

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I don't own an English copy of 1.5 and could definitely consider getting a 1.5+2.5-bundle if something of that sort would be released in the west. A Collectors Edition sounds too expensive though.
 

Ruran

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Kehehehe, soo typical.

I like it definitely better than the one for 1.5, as this one looks really like one piece and not three parts stuck together. Although I do find the symmetry a bit off as there's no one beside Roxas and Mickey each (or on the other side there is one character too much each).
Maybe Mickey should have been put down beside Roxas and the Data-guys left and right with Aqua in the middle.

By this time, most of what's wrong with this cover has already been said but I prefer the 1.5 cover to this one. This one doesn't have many more characters, but I thought the advantage of having the characters separated in boxes allowed them to interact better and it felt more natural. There were little things, like Kairi playfully poking Sora's crown while he was trying too hard to look like a bad ass, Axel, Roxas, and Xion, peacefully looking at the sunset, and Riku and Mickey enjoying their time together while Namine contently watched. The characters felt like they were in their elements (well mostly. Donald and Goofy were kind of awkward and felt more like an after thought).

-

With this cover half the characters look like they just don't know what to do. There's Xehanort up top looking like a troll with the headshots of Xemnas and Ansem in the background which is fine enough. Although, Xehanort looks like he snorted something which is making his face contort in a weird way. Then there's Terra who looks absolutely baked and like he's wondering if anyone else is seeing the mysterious floating Keyblades while in space, or if it's just him. Ven looks like he hit the good stuff first and is starting to crash. Aqua looks annoyed that she didn't get the grade A stuff, but still got enough of a buzz that she doesn't really know what she's mad at anymore. Mickey is tweaked that there's nothing left for him while Data!Sora and Data!Riku are getting a contact high. Sora's the only one who looks okay but Roxas is standing behind him like he has nothing better to do and like in the first cover art Donald and Goofy are just there.

Xehanort's proportions are weird; the Kingdom Key's handle is colored wrong, BOTH of them; the symmetry is off in the cascade of characters; half of them don't know what emotions are; and the Keyblades are just there awkwardly pointing at the characters like they're going to impale them. It's definitely a steep down where before they formed a cool Game of Thrones-esque thrown. It just looks rushed and full have half baked concepts. I don't know what's trying to be conveyed here.

Though to say something positive about it, I agree that the colors are great. Each character is distinctive and you can tell who's who. I like where they were going with having Roxas stand behind Sora in an almost identical pose, symbolizing that Roxas is his "shadow", but the symmetry throws it off. While it's not getting a positive reaction so far, I actually like that Roxas and Sora look younger. The characters appearances have always looked a little off in terms of age, SRK looked more like they were 10-12 in KH1, but then in KH2 they looked like they were 17-18. I know teenagers grow like weeds but they did not look like they only aged a year. I think Sora does looked like he aged, but just slightly as he should have and Roxas was made to look younger (actually, they've been drawing him like that since Days) to match. It is a shame that we didn't get KH2 Riku, Kairi and Namine but I guess that's what happens when Nomura's adamant about 13 being a prominent number.

I have to say, it does make me concerned a bit for the cover of KH3. This is something that has been brought up many times in the past-having as many relevant characters as possible on the cover. It surely can be done, Nomura has proven several times that he can really pack them in if he has to, but most of the time I feel his artwork suffers for it. The cover for 2.5 is an example of how I feel his art suffers when he tries to cram in a bunch of characters because it often involves them nonsensically staring out into the void and standing around awkwardly, and also as a result, the setting tends to diminish. I don't know what he's planning for the cover, but I reckon he'll be compelled to include as many characters as he can. Which makes me tentative at best.

Edit: One other tinsie-tiny, itty-bitty, little detail I forgot got to mention is that one of the screws in Roxas's KK as wasn't colored in, lol.
 
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FudgemintGuardian

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It's pretty obvious that the composition compliments the duality of MX's self and the connection between him, Ansem SoD and Xemnas (the blue glow surrounding them and the way they seem to come off of him). Ansem SoD may not be featured directly in any of these games but BBS is where that connection was first established. It also works much better with all three of them above the rest and it makes sense in the series's greater premise.
I knooooooooooow, but I gotta put Riku somewhere.
Next to Roxas could work. I find that spot to be rather empty.
 

limit

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This is actually kind of disappointing... everything just looks so cluttered, and I'm not exactly a fan of all the keyblades. I know they needed to be there because of the way Nomura drew it, but that's the problem. I feel like this was really rushed, more so than other works of his might have been. I don't particularly have a problem with the character's expressions so much (save Xehanort, that's disgusting), but... ugh.

See, I really liked 1.5's boxart because of its simplicity. Am I a fan of having the characters segmented? No. But for 1.5 it did work because you saw all the different games and their respective characters acting in the games, not just staring blankly. Yes, there's the problem of symmetry which is also a major issue, but I just hate how there's so little free room. And the fact that this is going to be on my beloved game cover... *shudders*

See, I don't even think I'd like this as a poster. It definitely has good aspects going for it, such as the idea of the various characters being together, the villain being there as well, the color scheme as a throwback to BBS, but there's just so much room for improvement. I hope there's at least an alternate poster like there was for 1.5.
 
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