It has just come to my attention that there are 3 new KH games being released. One, called Birth of Sleep, is being released for the PSP, next KH: 358/2 Days for the Nintendo DS, and KH: Coded for the Mobile. (For more info, go to the Kingdom Hearts Ultimania)

So, my question is, what do you KH fans think about this? Do you think that Square has gone too far and is milking the game for all its worth? Does anyone know anything about these games? Share thoughts, info, and feelings here!

(I didn't really think this was spoilers because there isn't much known so far, but if it is considered spoilery, feel free to move it to the proper place)

Holy crap, they're releasing a KH game for Nintendo DS? I didn't know that. I don't know if I'm happy or mad. *Doesn't own a DS*

And it looks like I have another reason to buy PSP, now.<_<

But, I dunno, nothing is really known about these games so far, I'd like to know more about them, but PLEASE, Square, PLEASE don't make a Compilation of KH. It appears that they're headed in that direction, and if they end up making one, I'll be pissed. They practically killed FFVII with it's Compilation, but KH is fine as is, thank you. :angry:

I really don't want to see greedy, money whore SE milk KH to death like they did FFVII. But, being Sqeenix, they probably will if fans scream loudly enough.

I'm with you there! I'm all for more storyline, but I think in this case they have gone too far. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Nomura said somewhere that KH was going to be Sora's story, that he would always be the main character? Well, with these new games, does that seem to be the case?

From what I've been able to figure, 358/2 Days is the story of Roxas' days in the Organization. At least, that's what it seems to be from the screenshots, and from the bits that have been translated. So, it will take place before KH 2. Technically, this is Sora's story, since Roxas is Sora, but you know fans have all different opinions on that topic, so I won't even go there. It also seems that there is a 14th Org. member, but it is not Namine.

KH Coded seems to be about the events that took place while Sora was asleep after CoM. It also seems this one will show exactly what Mickey and Riku were doing during this time. So, I don't know how much this game focuses on Sora- maybe you play in his dreams or something? :blink:

As for Birth By Sleep, I have very little idea what goes on in this one. From what I gather, there's a new character named Terra who seems like he is the main character. There are also enemies called the Soulless, but other than that, I haven't been able to find out much more for this one.

My problem with KH as opposed to the FFVII compilation, is that in the FFVII they've stuck with characters who have all been in the original game. But with the KH games, they are straying from the original characters and going completely off on a tangent.

Honestly, I'm not very pleased so far. Do we really need to know what happend in Roxas' measly year of existence? And how much do we have to delve into what Riku and Mickey did while Sora was asleep? It just seems to me that they are catering too much to the fans whims, and squeezing all the money they can out of us. But then, maybe my opinion will change. As of now though, I'm not happy. :angry:

Now that I thought about it....Kingdom Hearts will be a carbon copy of FFVII. <_< annoying...now with that, I have lost some eyes for KH.

Well, that was said a long time ago... or it seems like a long time ago, anyway.

I'm not as pissed off about this as FFVII, perhaps because the latter has been a standalone game for nearly a decade, so seeing all these random new guys entering the game makes my vein pop. But KH is still comparably new, and the inclusion of new characters is treated like a constant process.

Because all these seem like spin-offs (and the fact that they exist on a jillion different systems), it makes me less inclined to buy them. No matter how many new main guys get introduced, to me, Sora will represent KH for a long time. It's like a word association exercise: "Kingdom Hearts" "Sora!" :lol:

Honestly, though, 358/2 Days and Coded seem like they could function just as well as side-stories/secret unlockable storylines within the main KH games. >_>

I heard about this. I was like, "Ok, Christmas wish list: PSP and DS... Che, like that would ever happen." But America will probably never get KH: Coded. We never did get FFVII: BC.

As for 358/2 Days, I'm pleased with the fact that they are going to do a game based on Roxas. I loved Roxas in KHII and was very disappointed when he didn't have enough play time. 3 hours wasn't enough. I told myself that I would stretch out the play time so I could spend more time with him. But I didn't :lmao: .

Birth by Sleep, so far that play isn't really catching my interest yet. But I'm looking forward for more information on this game.

I'm not familiar with KH series, but I found this article, and want to post here for those who interested :)

Nomura Discusses Kingdom Hearts..
http://psp.ign.com/articles/824/824305p1.html

I totally agree.

I'll admit I'm nowhere near as big a KH fan as I am a FFVII fan, but a KH game without Sora as the main character....Doesn't appeal to me very much. Whatever. I'm a biased Sora-as-main-character fan. I do like Roxas a lot, though.

None of these announced games really spark my interest as of yet, but as long as it appears that SE puts time and effort into making a creative storyline and not some spur of the moment trash game thrown together for the sole purpose of makin' some money off the super-popular KH series, I'll be interested to know more.

Well, Sora and Riku are credited as player characters in BBS. I dunno how five year olds can do anything though.

Roxas is basically Sora in 358/2 days. I guess the Org was just that popular (kind of like the Turks having BC)? Still, it's a good move, we really don't know much about them in KH2. Just stock bosses.

Not sure about Coded... but seems to be a Mickey Mouse game.

Is KH becoming the Compilation? Well, not really. To me, though. For one thing the KH world is much broader than FFVIIs. I wouldn't be mad by random Keyblade Master other than Sora coming in, since it's been said that there are indeed others. Who changes the worlds for the better or the worse.

And it doesn't help said KM is Terra. :drools:

Yes, I feel the same way. No matter how many new characters they may make, the thing is whenever anyone thinks of KH, they will most likely think of either Sora or Riku, the main characters. And no matter how events started, the point is KH IS Sora's story, and I hate that they are turning it into a story about all these other people. Sora has been coined repeatedly as the 'key that connects everything', and in the little poem thing, it says something like 'there are many worlds, but they all share the same sky. One sky, one destiny.' Coincidence, that Sora's name means sky? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I'm looking a little too deeply here. But my point is Sora is to KH like Cloud is to FFVII. Take them out of the game, and its just. . . pointless, y'know?

And yes, these stories they are releasing as seperate games could easily be integrated into the main story lines. It would not be that difficult. And honestly? I don't really care about some of the details of Roxas' time during his days in the Org. All that really matters is what happened to him that may pertain to the storyline in general. They could have Sora having flashes of Roxas' memory, the way Roxas had of Sora's. Not too hard, right? Same with this BBS - its a game about the past, correct? Well, why do we have to go into the details? Flashbacks and storytelling are more than enough to satisfy the need for information. As for Coded, the story behind it doesn't seem to really make a lot of sense to me. A Sora as data? And I thought that this game was meant to take place while Sora was asleep in the pod, not after KH 2.

sha: Thanks for that article! It helped answer a lot of questions, though at the same time it creates thousands more. <_<

I don't want KH to become a compilation the way FFVII has. I played it before FFVII (it was actually the game that made me want to play it. I loved Cloud and Aerith in it and wanted to see the original game they were in, and the rest is history. :D ) and its a special game to me. I will be devistated if it is mutilated. And couldn't these games wait until they finish KH 3? *sigh* I just don't know. . .

Edit: Also, who is this Terra guy? I'm not clear exactly. I'm not fond of how they are making the Keyblade so less special, if you understand what I mean. Its like: Ooh boy! Everyone has a Keyblade now! Guess we don't need Sora since there are other KM out there!

ASFLKGH SE STICK TO ONE PLATFORM PLEASE. WE CANNOT ALL AFFORD TO BUY A NEW PLATFORM FOR EVERY NEW DAMN GAME YOU RELEASE. AUGH.


In other words, Sefie will not be playing ANY of these games. Plz to be telling her all about dem!

I second that. D: I'm just a poor student~~ It was already too much to buy PS2. x'D

I'm just upset because I only own a DS. My only options right now are to borrow either my cousin or my friend's PSP, which is also my plan for when Crisis Core comes out. xD

I agree with you, Sefie. What happened to stuff being exclusive? Even if we're insane fanboy/girls, we're not insane enough to buy like four different systems.

Or are we?

I understand completely. I certainly can't afford a PSP, and my brother just recently got a DS. It irritates me that they keep releasing new games for all these different systems. How rich do they think we are? And do I really want to buy a system just to play one game, you know?

But I don't want to waste my money getting all this stuff if these games are going to suck. I might wait and see the fans' reactions to the game before I decide whether or not its worthy enough to play. :lmao: If they're going to move the focus away from Sora and his pals, then I don't know if I'm going to enjoy these new games very much.

Sigh, I remember when my family had the Genesis, Sega, Saturn and... one other console... I think it was car-shaped... all together. Those were the gaming hey-days.

Now, though, heck no. My brother and I have kinda-sorta planned to stick with the PS3 since that seems to be where most of the RPGs congregate. But we'll see where KH3 comes out. Either way, we couldn't afford following every single one of these damned side-games, nope. Need to eat, as troublesome as that is.

*Sighs*

I take it that went out the window long ago. Generally, I like to wait a while after the game comes out to see the critics' reactions to it, but I kinda stopped that lately... I mean, if the game is gonna suck, what's the point of buying a whole new console for it? Just like you said Alantie.

I really, really doubt I'm going to be getting a PS3 any time soon, but for now I'm just gonna save up my money and buy a long overdue freakin' PSP! :fist: Dammit SE, I'm poor enough as it is....

*nods* I am poor too. Us college students don't have much money to our names. <_<

I am going to see how much a PSP costs if I get it used, which might make it slightly cheaper, but if not, well then forget it.

I still haven't got a PS3 yet, but as there aren't any games out for it that I want yet, I'm not inclined to purchase one just yet. Hopefully by the time KH3 or *crosses fingers* a FFVII remake come out, the price will have gone down some. Hopefully.

It's just agrrivating that they would do this to us. They really are trying to get all the money they can. Putting these three games out when they could easily be integrated into one of the others. They are catering to some of the rabids with 358/2 Days though, at least that's how I feel. More with Organization XII and Roxas, which we know is making thousands out there squeal with joy. It just makes me want to. . .. to. .. I don't know, set something on fire!

Like Anti said, I wouldn't mind more stories about Org. XIII. I can't remember half of their names now. They were SO cannon-fodder it wasn't even subtle. :lol: I would've preferred it in a main KH game, or on a console I will eventually get, but the days of exclusitivity are over (unsurprisingly, it's probably way more profitable to keep your market open).

Though the addition of a 14th Org. FEMALE Member!!! has set my alarm off, if SE does a Cissnei-level job of awesome it may turn out well. :D

Anyway, nobody's forcing us to buy the games. Vote with your wallet and all that (or just get it pirated mwahaha).

And of course, the Org. XIII game is the only one that I would be able to get, while the PSP one seems the coolest. It has Sleeping Beauty, dangit!

And I forgot which one Cinderella's world was mentioned for...

The PSP one is the one I can't seem to find much info on. It's gonna have a Sleeping Beauty world?! Gah! I want to play that one then!!!

Yeah, I'd only be able to get the DS game too, unless I can manage to get a PSP for waaay cheap.

*sigh*

So, there's going to be a Cinderella world. . . I wonder what other worlds they're going to bring in. Maybe its just me, but I think a Toy Story world would be awesome!

Well, this was the screenshot where I got the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella things from:



The top two in the center is the castle when Maleficent's thorns are on it, and KHInsider says that the picture underneath that with the staircase is Cinderella.
This is KHI's list of worlds that they know are in the games so far, thanks to the scans:

Birth By Sleep:
- Olympus Coliseum
- Sleeping Beauty
- Hollow Bastion
- Sunset Horizons
- Destiny Islands
- Cinderella (visible on SECOND BBS scan showing a silver staircase)

358/2 Days:
- Wonderland
- Twilight Town
- The World That Never Was

Coded:
- Traverse Town
- Disney Castle

:woot:

Oh wow, thanks for this DivineRose!! I'm so excited for Sleeping Beauty's world! I've been wishing that they would have a world for that for ages! Oh, and yup, those stairs do look like they're from the Cinderella movie! That will be a fun world too! And Sunset Horzions. . . I'm guessing that's the world we see in the secret movie at the end of KH2?

So, can anyone tell me exactly who that character is in the scans? Is that the Terra person I've been hearing about, or is it someone else? I've been out of the loop on the BBS game.

Yeah, that is Terra. ^_^

I can get more scans, if you guys want.

:D Yes, I for one would like that! ^_^

So, the way I'm figuring things, BBS is supposed to take place in the past, right? Which means no Sora ( <_< ) correct? So how does Terra fit into everything? And what about these Soulless? Blast, if I could only read Japanese! :angry:

Does anyone else feel that having so many other characters with Keyblades kinda defeats the purpose of the game? I don't mind so much that Riku, Mickey, and Kairi were able to have them, but to have more and more people cropping up that can weild Keyblades. . . it just makes things seem sort of pointless, and unspecial, if that makes any sense.

*sigh*

actually you can see terra looking at sora playing with riku(both with 4 and 5 years old) in destiny island

Gah, really? :( Curse you BBS. . . *shakes fist* Yay for seeing chibi Sora and Riku, but anger for not being able to play as Sora in this game.

*slouches off to sulk in the corner*

i know..i want sora sora sora more sora!!!!! infinite soooooraaaaaaaa :sad:

I knooooowwww!!!

:cry:

What is KH without Sora? Honestly! It just steams me up.

Well, I remember Xigbar saying something about Sora not being even half of what the previous wielder(s) were, so maybe that was some foreshadowing about finding out about the other ones. Nothing was ever said about Sora (or Riku, intially) being the first Keyblade master ever. *shrug*

There are also Ansem's writings (or whoever the hell wrote those, I have no clue at the moment about the KH plot :lol: ) about the Keyblade in KH1, being used for light or darkness and all that. Generally, I've felt that the Keyblade was always something bigger than Sora, something that preceeded him and that it didn't exist because of/especially for him. So it wasn't surprising to see other Keyblades by other users. (Even if Sora will always rule because he was, gameplay-wise, the First.)

Hmm... Well, as I said, I always felt the Keyblade wasn't a Sora's group-only thing, so this proliferation of Keyblade Masters doesn't affect me too badly.

But as for Sora and his gang becoming less special-- I actually think having others wield Keyblades since KH1 sorta... lifts Sora up into some cult-like, superior status? Because he's become the marker, in a way. "The Keyblade Masters after Sora." (Of course, that's not according to the in-game plot; I'm talking about the sequence of the game coming out.)

The most apt comparison I have is Suikoden: it's like how everyone and Konami treats McDohl, the main character of the first game. He's just FISHING in the sequel and people were "OMG IT'S MCDOHL. <33333" You can also compare it to Cloud's appearances in the other Compilation games and his cameo in KH1.

Even if we never get another game about Sora, Riku and Kairi, their presence will always linger in other games because they were The First. They'll get that kind of giddy, "Whoa, look, Sora's in KHXXIV! You get to play as him if you complete the game in Obscenely Hard Til-Your-Eyes-Bleed Mode!" reception.

I guess it's frustrating for people who actually want to play as Sora. But if the series has to move away from Sora, I'm glad he's the pioneer and will probably get loads of nods/salutations/cameos for a while.

Nomura loves Sora, so I'm quite sure he won't be replaced for awhile. And the fact they're using his KH1 sprite again in the side games... I think they'll take him in a slower pace. >.<

Yeah, perhaps you guys are right.

Another thing though is if they take the game away from Sora, how are they going to work in the Disney Worlds? With Terra they've solved the problem momentarily by sticking to early stages of the Disney stuff (ex, Hercules will still be a young kid in that game and stuff like that), but are they eventually going to move away from the Disney aspect of the game completely? If so, wouldn't that change a lot of what KH is? I think some people tend to overlook this aspect of things and focus more on the characters original to the KH series and the FF characters, forgetting entirely that Disney is half of things too.

Maybe I'm just thinking things too deeply here, but I don't want KH to become another FF series, you know? What makes KH unique to me is that it blends the FF type of stuff with classical Disney tales to make a completely new thing. If we start going off on these new characters, how long before the Disney part of things is phased out and everything becomes just another long saga with the Keyblade as the focal point?

There's also things about the Keyblade that are confusing. For instance, Riku said that there can't be two Keyblade Masters when he takes the Keyblade frome Sora in KH1. By that, I figured it meant that being a Master was somehow different from weilding the Keyblade. I'm not sure if there's a difference in the way Sora uses the Keyblade to the way Riku, Mickey, and Kairi do, but it seems that Sora has abilitys with his that the others don't. He's the only one we've seen who has the ability to seal worlds to protect them from the Heartless- the only time Mickey or Riku use their blades to seal something closed, its always with Sora. (Ex. At the end of K1 where Mickey and Sora seal the door, KH2 where Sora, Riku, and Mickey open the door together to chase down Ansem.) My thoughts are that while it seems that anyone who has a pure heart untainted by evil can use a Keyblade, its a different thing than being the Keyblade Master. Does that even make any sense?

Arg. It's giving me a headache to think about it, and I'm not sure if my ramblings are making any sense to anyone but me. Sorry for the lengthiness. :sweat:

Quality over quantity, please. They are giving KH the FF7 treatment and throwing games on every mobile gaming system. First of all I will most likely never get to play them and second of all back in the days when we just got one FF game every few years they really were highlights of the year, gaming wise, and now I can hardly even keep track of all the games being released taking away that real magic they used to have.

For lack of better words Square is whoring out their popular games bit too much for my liking.

Urgh. I'd rather not get started on this.

KH was the game that got me into RPGs, and it has a special place in my heart. It was the first game I had encountered where the storyline completely sucked me in. I was eagerly anticipating for KHII for two or three years, and while it was good, I felt dissapointed that it didn't have any of the charm the first one had.

So when I found Square was preparing to milk my favorite franchise to the bone, it's easy to say that I was pretty pissed off.

I have a DS, so I'll probably get the game that's coming out for that, but I've officially lost my faith in Square.

I can related to your feelings a lot. While KH wasn't my first RPG, (that belongs to Zelda!) it was my first encounter with SE games, and it was this game that eventually lead me to FFVII. That makes it special to me, and I hate to see them destroy it. Sometimes its just better to leave a good thing alone. I don't want them to completely stray from what KH IS. If that makes any sense. :blink:

The game for the DS seems to be the least evil of the 3, and will most likely be the only one I'll get to play. But I'm still not happy with that either. :angry: Unless something happened to Roxas that pertains to some great event that will take place in KH 3, I say just let it alone. Let the fans use their imaginations. That's what fanfiction is for, am I right? To fill in the little holes that weren't completely explained, to satisfy your craving for more. We don't need another game for that, to ruin our own ideas and imaginings.

Another lengthy post. I appologize. :blush:

KH series is fine on their own, SE. After all, fans' imagination and interpretations are fun without having them being disproven. (I remember enjoying a one-shot that shows Roxas' possible birth before KH2 is out)

Seriously, KH is what helps me remember Cloud and Aerith when I rented FF7 years back and was really surprised by their roles. (That and people are raving about it a year or so after its initial release.)

Some game series can make spin-offs look good, unfortunately, KH isn't one of them.

I understand what you're saying. KH is what got me into FF games, too.

I think I'd be less upset if SE wasn't releasing everything on different systems. If they were all for one (or even two) systems with reasonable time between the releases, I think it'd be easier to do with.

Not that it makes up for the feeling that KH is being milked like FFVII. *ka-ching*

I'm pretty much in the same boat: KH was what introduced me to FF series... but I do get the feeling that instead of trying to come up with new FFs, they're milking previous games for all its worth. The fact that Ven looks like Roxas and is being voiced by the same VA for Roxas... well, pretty much says it. Roxas is a VERY popular character in Japan... he's getting the same treatment Zack is getting with Crisis Core.

I have a hard time understanding why people seperate Roxas and Sora as two different people when they are the same person. Maybe it's because Roxas has a lot more angst, I suppose, but it just frustrates me to no end when I have to deal with people who claim to love Roxas and then turn around and hate Sora. Isn't that one of those oxymorons? Or is it a paradox? Either way, it's sort of screwy. The only time I don't really mind when Roxas and Sora are portrayed as seperate people is in fanfiction. But whatever. *sigh*

But regardless of how popular Roxas is, I don't want to see his character destroyed and used to make SE more money. Part of what makes Roxas (and Zack I'm supposing) so popular is that most of his past is unknown, letting people relate to him more easily. Which is why I feel that making the game about Roxas is unnessicary; let people use their imaginations to fill in the gaps, the same way people did with Zack up until this point.

But it seems I'm in the minority with the rabid fans on the loose. :rabid3: :ph34r:

There shall always be rabid fans; it will never change. xD

Well, there's a new interview with Tetsuya Nomura out!

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (Nintendo DS)

Interviewer: Does the 14th member fight? What kind of weapon does she use?

Nomura: We’ve already decided, but we can’t tell you right now.

Interviewer: Is the battle system the same in this game as it was in other games? I’m curious because there is no command menu there.

Nomura: The actions of the characters and the controls are different from the past games. This is because of the screen size, however there is no need to worry. For now there is no command menu, but we may decide to add one.

Interviewer: If there is no command menu, would it be because each action is added to a different button for the DS?

Nomura: Yes, but how the controls feel is different. The method is still being thought on.

Interviewer: Will there be a function where you can use the stylus, with the lower screen?

Nomura: For now, there is no function where you can use the DS Touch Screen. If we do that, the entire feeling of Kingdom Hearts may be ruined. The top screen will mostly be used for the story telling, when the lower screen isn't available. However, there will be some points where both screens will be used. Who knows, maybe later on we'll have a surprise for ourselves, and for our audience!

About Multiplayer Mode

Nomura: Here’s an interesting feature. Whenever you complete a mission, the Organization Member's chair will rise. Also the lowest ranking member's chair will lower more. *Laughs* I wonder what will happen if you lose with Xemnas? *Laughs* (Note: This highly suggests that Xemnas will be playable.) The strength and game play of certain members have also been altered. Such as: Xigbar's attacks have a high range, but he has slow reloading time. Lexaeus has slow movement, but very high attack power. There is still one mysterious character though.

Interviewer: Is it Zexion?

Nomura: Yes, because he uses a book as a weapon. We’re aiming to have Zexion absorb other enemies attacks, and use their own attacks against them.

Kingdom Hearts: Coded (Mobile Phone)

You can only go into Debug mode, in the data world, when meeting a certain standard. This system is one of the main viewpoints of Kingdom Hearts Coded.

Interviewer: How will this continue after the KH2 Story?

Nomura: What Sora and Co. are doing in the 'real' world will not be shown. This is because the story continues in the Data world. There are many mysteries that will be answered in this game, and there may be key points that will be important to the future of the series. The phone that this game will come out on, is not released yet. But this means when it is released, there will be many possibilities with this game in the future.