News ► KINGDOM HEARTS III In 7/4 Famitsu Weekly!

[Oracle Spockanort]

It's been a week since KINGDOM HEARTS III was announced at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo during Sony's press conference, and we are all still trying to soak up all of the new information. Many fans have been awaiting this announcement for some years now and with the release of KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance] last year, the stage for the next and final installment in the Xehanort Saga had been had finally been set.

The newest issue of Famitsu Weekly (7/4) that has come out today covers all of the new games revealed at E3, as well as a new interview with series director Tetsuya Nomura on KINGDOM HEARTS III and FINAL FANTASY XV. In the interview Nomura discusses that there has been nothing decided on the possibility of Riku and Kairi being playable characters. He also mentions that KH3 is the end of the Xehanort Saga, and briefly discusses the new "Kingdom Shaders" that the team plans to use to make an authentic Disney look for each world.

Nomura tells fans to expect more information on KINGDOM HEARTS III at Tokyo Game Show 2013 in September, and the Japan D23 event being held in October.

Update: Tai Yasue, co-director of KH3D and Re:Chain of Memories, will serve as co-director for KH3. Rie Nishi, producer for KINGDOM HEARTS 1.5 ReMIX, is also coming on as producer for KH3.

Thanks to Zephyr for translating the highlights of the interview!

・Director: Tetsuya Nomura
・Co Director: Tai Yasue
・Composer: Yoko Shimomura
・Producer: Rie Nishi

・In the story, Sora goes off to find a “key that returns hearts” and travels to various Disney worlds.
・The CG characters that were introduced are: Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

 

Q & A from Director Tetsuya Nomura

・It is a direct continuation from KINGDOM HEARTS 3D and the selection of new worlds is underway. It is the final battle between Master Xehanort in the last chapter of the Seeker of Darkness saga.

・Other than Sora, will we be able to play as Riku and Kairi?: I can’t say no to the possibility.

・Visuals: We continued to explore on how should a next generation KINGDOM HEARTS should look like and we tried to make the textures to closely resemble those of Disney illustrations. From there, it was updated.

・From numerous attempts by Mr. Nozue, the “KINGDOM SHADER” developed visuals that created those textures.

・Action: In the demo, the moments were a lot more rampant. There will be more adventurous experiences, KINGDOM HEARTS III will utilize three party members, in every world NPCs can also participate in these flashy battles. As one progresses, the AI for friends and foes become different.

・Sora learned the Keyblade’s truer strength during the Mark of Mastery Exam.

・The development team of FINAL FANTASY XV and KINGDOM HEARTS III have a friendly competition between each other. There is also a response to a sneak preview, online compatibility is being considered and please wait for more information in the future. This year, TGS in September and also D23 Expo Japan will be revealing more information.

Click here for a recap of the information revealed at E3 2013!

Edit: Thanks to ArikaMiz, we can see new renders for Sora, Donald and Goofy!

Source: aibo_ac7 via Twitter, Sokubou @ Hokanko

 

[gosoxtim]

So there is a chance they might be playable then

 

[Sign]

So excited for TGS and D23! If only the D23 expo held in Anaheim had something for KH as well ;A;

Playable Riku and Kairi? Make it happen, Nomura! You can do it!

I'm really interested in seeing what the worlds and characters will look like with the Kingdom Shader. It's going to be an exciting day when they release the first screenshots~

 

[Nazo]

Nomura tells fans to expect more information on KINGDOM HEARTS III at Tokyo Game Show 2013 in September, and Japan D23 event being held in October.

Honestly, I'd much rather have information on 2.5 at this point. I was never one of the people to whine about KH3 since Nomura said time and time again that it WOULD eventually be made. I want a confirmation of 2.5, specifically that the version of BBS they'll use will be the Final Mix.

 

[Heartkeeper]

Expected I guess, can't wait for TGS, maybe they will have a proper trailer.

 

[rac7d]

I cant wait for the interviews and i can;t wait for the chucckles.
I hope he can let us know how much time has gone by since ddd and kh3.
With the upgraded look, I wouldnt be suprised for them to say hes a year older, which I wouldnt mind

 

[gosoxtim]

So excited for TGS and D23! If only the D23 expo held in Anaheim had something for KH as well ;A;

Playable Riku and Kairi? Make it happen, Nomura! You can do it!

I'm really interested in seeing what the worlds and characters will look like with the Kingdom Shader. It's going to be an exciting day when they release the first screenshots~

Let us pray that Nomura make Riku and kairi playable and tgs and other convection can't come any faster

 

[Sign]

Let us pray that Nomura make Riku and kairi playable and tgs and other convection can't come any faster

It's going to be a while, but the rest of the year will be very busy for us. TGS in September, D23 in October, Jump Festa in December, and all the bits and pieces in between~

 

[Pestilence]

Honestly, I'd much rather have information on 2.5 at this point. I was never one of the people to whine about KH3 since Nomura said time and time again that it WOULD eventually be made. I want a confirmation of 2.5, specifically that the version of BBS they'll use will be the Final Mix.

Why wouldn't they use Final Mix? They set the standard with 1.5+if it was vanilla japanese BBS they would have to explain why the HD collection version of BBS had less content than the PSP version that was released in the west. Using FM is pretty much less headaches for them and I cannot think of a single reason for them not to use it.

Plus you'll get your 2.5 at TGS I promise

 

[Nazo]

Why wouldn't they use Final Mix? They set the standard with 1.5+if it was vanilla japanese BBS they would have to explain why the HD collection version of BBS had less content than the PSP version that was released in the west. Using FM is pretty much less headaches for them and I cannot think of a single reason for them not to use it.

Plus you'll get your 2.5 at TGS I promise

Only reason I'm paranoid of it not being FM is because when they show those clips in the 1.5 credits, we know that KH2 will be FM because of the palette swapped Heartless. But there's no evidence to point to BBS being FM. So, even though it's likely, we don't KNOW that it'll be FM.

In other words, I'm pretty sure it'll be FM, but I want an actual confirmation from the man himself

And I sure hope so. September can't come soon enough. 1.5 and TGS within the span of two weeks is going to give me a Kingdom Hearts induced high.

 

[Pestilence]

Only reason I'm paranoid of it not being FM is because when they show those clips in the 1.5 credits, we know that KH2 will be FM because of the palette swapped Heartless. But there's no evidence to point to BBS being FM. So, even though it's likely, we don't KNOW that it'll be FM.

In other words, I'm pretty sure it'll be FM, but I want an actual confirmation from the man himself

And I sure hope so. September can't come soon enough. 1.5 and TGS within the span of two weeks is going to give me a Kingdom Hearts induced high.

Well lets think about this even more: can you imagine what the heck they would answer when asked why two of the games were Final Mixes and one of them wasn't for no reason at all.

Plus for what its worth the FFX collection has both games being the international version so it would be extremely strange for them to have vanilla BBS. Even vanilla KH2 makes more sense because western version didn't have any bonus stuff.

 

[alexis.anagram]

Well, at the very least they aren't writing off more playable characters with any urgency, although that pretty much confirms they must be in reeaaally early development stages. I get the feeling everything right now is still very experimental, and that there's a great deal subject to change. If so, I imagine Nomura has to be careful about what he reveals and talks about, and I expect his interviews will be even more vague and evasive than usual. x'D

 

[Nazo]

Well lets think about this even more: can you imagine what the heck they would answer when asked why two of the games were Final Mixes and one of them wasn't for no reason at all.

Plus for what its worth the FFX collection has both games being the international version so it would be extremely strange for them to have vanilla BBS. Even vanilla KH2 makes more sense because western version didn't have any bonus stuff.

I sure hope you're right. I so badly want to play BBSFM. I would be geeking out over KH2FM too, but I imported that one. Couldn't wait for an international release (and good thing I didn't!).

Well, at the very least they aren't writing off more playable characters with any urgency, although that pretty much confirms they must be in reeaaally early development stages. I get the feeling everything right now is still very experimental, and that there's a great deal subject to change. If so, I imagine Nomura has to be careful about what he reveals and talks about, and I expect his interviews will be even more vague and evasive than usual. x'D

I'm glad, honestly. Don't get me wrong, the trailer was spine-tingling to say the least. But the graphical style during the "gameplay" (since it was confirmed as a CGI movie) still looks strange to me. But I'm not worried. There has yet to be a KH game I didn't think was a flawless 10/10 experience. Yes, even Re:coded.

 

[sdr08]

so guys...what are the chances of getting another trailer at TGS? I'm going to say 25 percent

 

[Pestilence]

so guys...what are the chances of getting another trailer at TGS? I'm going to say 25 percent

Teaser=90%. Don't expect much tho. I'd like to see Soras new design tho since Nomura did lil teasing already. That or the first new Disney world.

I mean would be very strange if Nomura is saying there will be more at TGS and all he would do is make another silly interview. Usually you'd always get a lil teaser at least.

 

[Nazo]

so guys...what are the chances of getting another trailer at TGS? I'm going to say 25 percent

Pretty much. If they announce 2.5, that news will be on full blast. I'm sure Nomura will talk about KH3 enough to whet our appetites, but it probably won't be as huge as the E3 reveal.

 

[gosoxtim]

Pretty much. If they announce 2.5, that news will be on full blast. I'm sure Nomura will talk about KH3 enough to whet our appetites, but it probably won't be as huge as the E3 reveal.

We won't see probably anything much maybe they will show us sora new outfit just a little taste of what to come

 

[sdr08]

Pretty much. If they announce 2.5, that news will be on full blast. I'm sure Nomura will talk about KH3 enough to whet our appetites, but it probably won't be as huge as the E3 reveal.

yeah I am going to say next year TGS for a real trailer, but at least we will getting info along the way

 

[Pestilence]

We won't see probably anything much maybe they will show us sora new outfit just a little taste of what to come

Yes certainly it won't be much this early. Hard to say what they would tease/show anyway. The first teaser for DDD was IIRC very early in 2011 and it still had the old designs of Riku+Sora but it confirmed Hunchback world and showed the flowmotion in action. I expect much lesser teaser with prolly more CGI since TGS in the end is very soon after the reveal event that was E3.

I'd expect the first ''real'' trailer to surface either next years E3 or TGS where they show the first taste of real gameplay and how it looks in action.

 

[Nazo]

I hope Sora's new outfit looks as great as his KH2 outfit. I didn't care much for the DDD outfit, although I think the reason for that was because he looked like himself from KH1 (which I still don't understand why exactly Nomura did that).