Famitsu published a very long, and very detailed, recap of the Kingdom Hearts Fan Event that took place at D23 Japan over the weekend.
Saken has provided a synopsis of the new information, as well as detailing what Miyu Irino, voice actor of Sora, and Risa Uchida, voice actor of Kairi, had to say about their experiences with the Kingdom Hearts series.
There was a lot of repeated content in the report, so we have only included details which are new or expand on previously known information.
- As previously revealed, development of the worlds are split up into three different sections. The first round of worlds are around 90% complete, the middle round of worlds are around 60-70% complete.
- Toy Story and Monsters Inc. are in the first round of worlds, alongside Olympus. Tangled is in the middle round of worlds.
- There are roughly 10 worlds over the 3 parts, but it is unclear if that is just Disney worlds or all of the worlds in the game.
- The Rare Heartless will be a giant-sized Japanese pudding themed Heartless. Co-director Tai Yasue says that there will be different fruit accessories that they wear.
- The Giantland segment will be implemented like an old LSI game. This is something that Nomura really wanted to put into Kingdom Hearts 3.
- You will be able to customise the Gummi Ship with accessories. It is not like Kingdom Hearts 1 level of customisation, but more in tune with how you could accessorise Aqua in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep.
The following was shown as a video message to the audience at the Kingdom Hearts Fan Event at D23.
The first scene comprised of a video message from Miyu Irino, voice actor of Sora, and Risa Uchida, voice actor of Kairi.
In the message, Irino san discussed about the journey he’s taken with Sora and how they have both grown together. As Irino san grew, his expression and style of speech changed, which naturally transmitted unto Sora. About the change, Irino san commented “It’s not like I was consciously aware of it. As I grew and experienced life, the changes I felt also transferred to Sora.”
About his visit to Square Enix’s Osaka office, who are currently hard at work developing Kingdom Hearts 3, Irino san commented, “The amount of information on each piece of content and their respective designs, the trial and error, everyone’s hard work… I could feel the shape that KH was being moulded into and I too felt that I wanted to evolve Kingdom Hearts into something even better.”
Irino san is currently most keen in exploring the Toy Story world. “Sora finally being able to visit the Toy World filled me with so much happiness and joy! I felt exactly like the fans!” he exclaimed.
Finally, Irino san expressed his gratitude toward Sora. “Through Sora’s curiosity and adventurous spirit I have also been able to grow, so I’m incredibly glad to have been able to walk this path with him for the past 15 years. Thank you.”
Continuing, Uchida san was asked the question, “If there was any other character you could voice in KH, who would it be?” in which she replied, “A character who’s strong and confident, a cool character”. She continued, “Upon meeting Megumi Toyoguchi (voice actor of Aqua), I thought she was such a beautiful person… I aspired to be like her!” to which her reply to the question at hand was “Aqua”.
When asked to comment about Kingdom Hearts 3, Uchida san responds saying “I’ve heard rumours that ‘this’, which is one of my favourites, and ‘that’ which has never appeared in Kingdom Hearts before, will be included this time so I’m really looking forward to it!*” With much enthusiasm she concluded, “I’m full of emotion to be reunited with Kairi again. I’ll do my utmost best! (in voicing her)” *She purposely left ‘this’ and ‘that’ incredibly vague.
Next, Irino san and Uchida san talked together about their experiences working on Kingdom Hearts. They reflected upon the KH1 recording days, where they would go out together to eat Japanese dumplings (gyoza), rehearse their lines with each other and about other nostalgic episodes they experienced together. Even recently, they often go and see each other off in their respective performances, where they commented that they feel like they share a connection similar to that which is shared amongst Sora, Riku and Kairi, forged from when they originally worked together which permeates until this day.
Back to Irino san, who talks about his recent endeavours travelling abroad with a single backpack. About his reasoning, he commented, “I wanted to study languages, and experience the various theatre performances available around the world”. “While I didn’t feel exactly like Sora, it was a similar sort of feeling… Travelling around to all these different worlds, meeting and conversing with so many different people… It felt like a Sora-esque adventure”, he concluded.
Upon seeing the video message, Nomura san, with sentiments similar to that of a parent toward their children, remarked, “I’m glad that they were able to grow into adults without causing too much trouble (laughs). They have remained true to themselves and us, as they have been from the very beginning.”
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