Official Re:Coded Website Gets An Update
Fri, Sep 3rd, 2010, 2:05 pm (EST) by Nick
The Official Japanese Re:Coded site has been updated with some new information on the Olympus Coliseum, a new character profile and three new wallpapers.
Not a big update but Japanese fans may get more out of the Japanese site than our English-only speaking staff, we just like to look at the pictures. But description or not, the new character profile that has been uploaded onto the site may be a bit of a spoiler but fans always have the choice of not to look.
The Olympus Coliseum is a series favourite so it was no surprise that this world was added to the list of destinations in Re:Coded. Sadly, it just seems to feature the same old characters as before, not surprisingle there is Hercules, Hades and Phil but Cloud is a bit of a wildcard. Previous screens of Cloud joining Sora's party are interesting as it could mean that the Coliseum will play a bigger role in the story as opposed to generic arena battles.
Lastly, three new wallpapers have been made available for download from the Re:Coded site, all of which feature the logo and characters from the game. The instructions on how to download them are in Japanese so congratulations to anyone who can figure it out.
Official Kingdom Hearts Twitter Goes Live
Thu, Sep 2nd, 2010, 2:09 pm (EST) by Nick
Tetsuya Nomura, Director of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, had previously stated that Kingdom Hearts would be getting it's own Twitter. Well, unlike his games that take up way too much development time, his promise of keeping fans up-to-date using the social networking site has been kept.
The Kingdom Hearts Twitter page (@_KINGDOMHEARTS) is unfortunately written in Japanese and without a proper translation, the posts are open to interpretation. 'Google Translate' is a useful tool to understand a little more of what is being said but judging from the excerpts below, it may be helpful to wait for a proper translation.
The posts are slightly confusing if anything, but from the first post, the Kingdom Hearts Twitter will keep fans updated about future Kingdom Hearts news. So feel free to go there for the latest KH news, so long as you speak Japanese.
At the time of this story there have been six tweets made so far and can be viewed in our full story.
Square Enix Reveals Their TGS Plans
Wed, Sep 1st, 2010, 11:48 am (EST) by Nick
Square Enix launched a special 'Tokyo Game Show 2010' website today unveiling their games for this year's Tokyo Game Show. Kingdom Hearts fans will be interested to see that Re:Coded will be playable at the event as well as getting a (possibly new) trailer.
The complete line up for the event is as follows:
- Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (DS): Playable & Video
- Front Mission Evolved (PS3/X360/Win): Playable & Video
- Lord of Arcana (PSP): Playable & Video
- Tactics Ogre (PSP): Playable & Video
- The 3rd Birthday (PSP): Playable & Video
- Mind Jack (PS3/X360): Playable & Video
- Final Fantasy Legends (Mobile): Playable & Video
- Call of Duty Black Ops (PS3/X360/Win): Video
- Deus Ex (PS3/X360): Video
- Lara Croft Guardian of Light (PS3/X360): Playable & Video
- Final Fantasy XIV (PS3/Win): Video
- Final Fantasy XI (PS2/X360/Win): Video
Tetsuya Nomura, Director of the Kingdom Hearts series, had recently tweeted "It seems the trailer for the other title occuring with Re:Coded is catching a lot of attention". Fans are hoping that this means that a trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3D will be featured along with Square Enix's other titles during TGS.
Square Enix may be adding more titles to their website up until TGS on the 16th of September so we will keep you informed of any Kingdom Hearts news as it develops.
Animation Director Koji Hamada Blogs About Birth By Sleep
Sat, Aug 28th, 2010, 6:09 pm (EST) by Nick
1UP.com has recently been host to the Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Developer Blog offering up brief insights into the game's features and development. Battle Director Tai Yasue and Art Director Takeshi Fujimoto have already shared their involvement in the game's design but now Koji Hamada, the game's Art Director, has spoken about his.
"An animator's main duty is to breathe life into the characters and gimmicks in the game by giving them movement," Hamada explains. "This includes everything from crafting the motions for the main, Disney and enemy characters (like the Unversed), to objects like jumping platforms and street lamps that shake when they're hit."
Hamada goes on to explain what his goals were for Birth by Sleep and the new Unversed characters that players will be facing off against. The rest of the blog explains the 3-D tool that was used to construct each character's animations and how it actually works.
Leading up to Birth by Sleep's release next month, fans will be excited to learn anything and everything they can about the game before then. Birth by Sleep will be available in North America on the 7th of September and in Europe on the 10th.
Check out the full blog at 1UP.com.
Birth By Sleep Gets A TV Commercial
Fri, Aug 27th, 2010, 12:47 pm (EST) by Nick
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep will be released next month and what better way to let the public know than by giving it its own TV commercial.
The North American commercial features gameplay, cut-scenes and well, not much else, but what do you expect from a 30 second long video? What was a little interesting was the lack of Disney input. Mickey and Captain Hook are clearly seen near the beginning of the commercial but not much after that.
Maybe Square Enix are focusing on the older gamer much more than the average Disney cartoon fan? If this is true then the story will surely be worth the wait. Just in case you miss it, Birth by Sleep will be available on the 7th of September in North America and the 10th for Europe exclusively for the PSP.
Check out the video in the full story.
Famitsu Reveals Weekly Re:Coded Updates
Wed, Aug 25th, 2010, 1:51 pm (EST) by Nick
Famitsu, a Japanese publication, will be doing a weekly feature on Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded up until it's release. Details on the story, features and characters in the game will be the most likely topics to be explained, so we can look forward to some exciting news every week. This week however, it was a mixture of both Riku's appearance in the game and the 'Avatar System' that became the subjects of interest.
Some screenshots of Riku were included in Famitsu's article, but unfortunately not posted online yet, showing Riku appearing alongside Sora and King Mickey in Disney Castle. Apparently, Riku is worried about being stuck in the data world with no way of escape.
If only Riku had an avatar to play with using Re:Coded's 'Avatar System'. This system allows players the ability to collect parts from the game and use them to make their own personal avatar. Once created, players can share their profile with friends using the 'Surechigai System'.
But what is the 'Surechigai System'? It is the game's answer to the lack of a true multiplayer component, it is a Wi-Fi enabled connection that exchanges data with other players as they walk down the street. But not only that, players can also share System Area floors. These floors are 'secret' areas found in the normal game through hidden entrances, these areas contain bug enemies that must be defeated. Every time a player re-visits these areas the layout will change to keep things fresh and exciting.
It has not been made clear what sharing System Area floors actually means, I personally believe that as these areas are found, they are collected so that friends who find areas that others have not can share them. What we do know however, is that if a player receives a floor and clears it, they will have access to some of the owners avatar parts.
Nomura Cryptically Reveals A Possible Re:Coded Trailer
Tue, Aug 24th, 2010, 10:23 am (EST) by Nick
Tetsuya Nomura, Director of the Kingdom Hearts series, has been tweeting up a storm since being ordered by Square Enix to join the social networking site. As well as other titles, Nomura mentioned Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded in a recent tweet about the upcoming Tokyo Games Show.
"We've started preparations for Tokyo Game Show", Nomura tweeted. "Just earlier, I received a confirmation phone call from staff who are in the office." Unfortunately, being the cryptic man that he is, Nomura didn't reveal who the staff were or what the phone call was about.
Square Enix haven't revealed their TGS plans as of yet but Nomura did reveal that he is working on some promotional video editing for Re:Coded. This could mean that a Re:Coded trailer will be revealed at TGS and hopefully Kingdom Hearts 3D will make some sort of appearance too.
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