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NAVIGATION
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An Interview Between 1up.com and Nomura...
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1UP: The battle system is much deeper than in the first game. Battle formations, party arrangements, diversity of attacks -- it's a much different beast than Kingdom Hearts version 1. What triggered such a vigorous reinvention of the combat?
Tetsuya Nomura: Obviously there was some user feedback that we have to keep in mind, but it wasn't necessarily all of that. It also wasn't necessarily all of everything I had thought to put in and is now suddenly included. It's a good balance of user feedback and some of the things I've always wanted to put into what I'd call my "ideal" game. You can see that the Form Change, for example, in KH1 that was already an idea we had for the original, but due to timing constraints and some other reasons, we couldn't put it in there. So now it's idealized and realized in KH2.
And you know the 'instant command' action where you see the green triangle over an enemy's head [signaling you to press the triangle button] was something I had thought about back in the Final Fantasy VIII days. But we knew that if we were to implement that, the number of motions and options was going to be something we couldn't do because it was so much action, that we couldn't do it in FFVIII. The Form Change that you see in KH2 gives it a different feel because in KH1, simply put, it could have been known as a simple straight-on attack to hit the enemies and that's pretty much it. You'd still have your magic and other moves, but it was basically attacking and moving forward. In KH2 with the Form Change and commands it's going to add a little more selection to the individual player and it's pretty much up to you to build your own strategy, so that's something we wanted to keep in mind going into Kingdom Hearts II.
1UP: The camera is a lot calmer now than it was in KH1, where it was the worst element of that game. Please explain how you cleaned up that aspect of the game for the sequel.
TN: Yeah, that's another thing, as you said, that was pretty obvious from the user feedback, that we wanted to make some improvements to in KH2. But this system we have running at E3 is not the final, final version, so knowing that we've already come this far at this point, we're pretty sure that we're going to be able to implement something that's going to be very attractive to the gamers.
1UP: In previous Kingdom Hearts, all the characters were existing characters that you were able to redesign in your own particular style. But in KH2 you're now reinterpreting "real life" characters like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. How do you approach designing characters who were never cartoons before?
TN: Actually there weren't any sorts of challenges or difficulty; I wasn't really conscious about bringing in real life Disney characters and mixing them up with Kingdom Hearts characters like Sora, Donald and Goofy. We already knew that Sora, Donald and Goofy and the Disney characters would remain the same way as in the previous Kingdom Hearts. And if you can see, take Roger Rabbit for example, there are those types of characters, the Sora and Disney type characters mixed in with the real human characters, even in the Disney world. So we didn't really see it as a huge challenge; all we wanted to do was to make sure the quality of the human-like character was going to be close to or almost exactly the same to what we have been shown in the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean.
In KH1 I think the Nightmare Before Christmas world was one of the unexpected worlds, but we knew that in order to wow our fans we needed to put something in that was more unexpected. So I would think that Pirates of the Caribbean has a bigger impact, and that it's totally unexpected for Sora and his friends to come in touch with real human characters. And I'm just very picky and very detailed, so this time around for the E3 trailer, you only saw a few seconds of the Pirates characters and world where it was kind of dark, so you probably couldn't pick up all the details. But if I showed you something that was more brightly lit, I think you would be even more surprised.
And also, if I can add, most of our staff has worked on Final Fantasy all the way up to FFX. So if you look at FFX and the characters we used in that title, you can probably say we're actually used to recreating more human-like characters than the ones you see in Kingdom Hearts, so for us it's like working on something we've already mastered.
1UP: What sort of changes have you made to the Gummi Ship experience to make it more enjoyable for the players?
TN: As far as the Gummi Ship is concerned for KH2, it's powered up a lot. I can definitely say we have gone without using any part of it from KH1. We've actually pretty much trashed everything that we created in KH1 and created a completely new system. A few things are that it's improved in the speed and battle, in how you're going to battle using the Gummi Ship. I think the tempo of the entire game during battles in the story of Kingdom Hearts is pretty fast-paced, so we've kind of blended in the speed of the Gummi Ship to match the tempo of the story in the battles that you can actually feel in the game. The concept is not based on a shooting game, but I feel like it's closer to a Disney theme park ride, where it's more like you're going to not transport yourself from one place to another, but it actually gives you a sense of feeling that there's some sort of story being accomplished. Not necessarily advancing the Kingdom Hearts story, but the Gummi Ship itself is going to have a little more 'story' each time to add to why you are using the Gummi Ship and How you are transporting yourself from one place to another. So all in itself the Gummi Ship has its own little world-like atmosphere.
In KH1 you didn't get that sense because the primary use was only to put yourself from place A to B; it was mainly a transportation system. And the enemies you're going to be fighting in KH2 are designed differently than in KH1. Now the ships itself are built differently and you're going to see some more mech-looking enemies. So that's completely new too. And the variety of attacks you can do to the enemies is completely different. Same with the camera angles which you just mentioned. The user feedback on the Gummi Ship was not very well received on the original, so we completely upgraded and improved the Gummi Ship system.
1UP: Have you ever considered using the Gummi Ships that the users design in the real-time cutscenes? You know, like maybe the ship comes in to land somewhere and players can see the exact ship they've designed?
TN: I don't know; maybe we haven't reached that point where we can do that in development, but the Gummi Ship itself adds a little more story each time you take it. So in this way it's already giving you a sense of dramatic feeling, maybe in a small way or a cute way, but it's still there. And then when you're on the Gummi Ship it's going to have its own sort of camera work, which is automatic. You're going to feel like you're moving along this invisible rail. So within that you're going to get this sense that you're already in an event in itself, so hopefully that will satisfy players.
1UP: How would you describe Kingdom Hearts II's plot versus KH1s? Would you say it's more fully-realized, more epic in scale, more sentimental, etc.?
TN: With KH1 there was a conscious effort to not make the entire world too difficult. But then obviously if we went too simple just because it's Disney, that wouldn't be a very good Square-Enix-like game. That doesn't really represent what we're known for. So obviously there was a pretty deep and good base foundation storyline there, but I think in KH1 what we did was we only tried to bring out some of the deep elements up to the surface. Whereas in KH2, we're going to bring even more to the surface, where you're going deeper and deeper into the storyline. And the theme of the Kingdom Hearts story, which is 'the heart,' is hopefully going to bring out light at the end too. So at the same time you're going in deeper to the story, hopefully that will bridge the gap between dark and light, which I think is basically both sides of having a heart. A heart will have darkness but it will always have light too. And the existence of "Nobodies" in KH2 is going to seem like it makes the story a little bit complicated, but we intended to make it that way. They actually play a pretty big role in KH2.
1UP: Kingdom Hearts came out around three years ago, and its original audience has grown proportionately. 12 year-olds are now 15, 15 year-olds are now 18. Would you say KH2 has matured with its fans?
TN: Yeah, hopefully it's going at the same rate, but maybe a little bit more on our part, so maybe we're a little more advanced.
1UP: Kingdom Hears: Chain of Memories was something of an afterthought in that it wasn't originally conceived as part of the story's continuity. In hindsight, having gone through the development process of COM, would you say there was a side effect in developing that game that benefits KH2?
TN: There actually is one thing that came out of it. Well, there are actually many things, but one notable exception, a bigger one, was that we were able to make some new characters in Chain of Memories. So to continue them in KH2, we can have their existence be a little bit larger, and deeper. There are some episodes in KH2 for example that maybe wouldn't have existed if it weren't those newly introduced characters.
1UP: I know you delighted in defying expectations in the original Kingdom Hearts, i.e. everyone thought it was going to be a kids game because of the Disney connection, but it was a really tough game. Have you set out to reinforce that notion this time around or have you scaled it back a little to make it less difficult for younger players?
TN: In Japan as you may know, we released Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, and that actually had a difficulty level option. While KH2 may not have the same kind of option, since Final Mix development took place before we moved on to KH2, we may take that experience and implement it somehow. But we can't reveal exactly what it's going to be. |
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E3 2005: Kingdom Hearts of the Caribbean?
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May 16, 2005 - A surprise character slips into the second Disney/Square collaboration.
Avast, ye Kingdom Hearts fans! At Square Enix's E3 conference this morning, one of the surprises in the unveiling was that Jack Sparrow, the drunken mess of a pirate from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, would be in the upcoming KH sequel.
It was not announced whether Johnny Depp would reprise his role for the videogame character, but we'll have more and more info on Kingdom Hearts from the show floor
Cool, eh? |
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^ This site manager's salvation
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Kingdom Hearts 2 Not Until 2006? S-E President Speaks
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Though his responses were vague, Square-Enix president Yoichi Wada spoke on the plans Square-Enix had for 2005/2006 which led to the discussion on the timeframe of release for Kingdom Hearts 2. Below is an excerpt from IGN.com.. "..Unfortunately, Wada is vague in comments on the release of Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts II, stating only that their Japanese and worldwide releases will occur between this year and next year. This seems to suggest that at least one of the two titles won't make it out in the states in time for Christmas.." Interesting thing to note here is how Wada says worldwide for the release of Kingdom Hearts 2, rather than a few month delay for the game to hit Europe, or the States.
AHHHHHHHH!!!! I can't believe it!  |
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I have a new site! (It's pretty new, though)
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Check it out ^!
This will in no way affect this site, which will continue on as it is. |
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News on Kingdom Hearts : Mobile...
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The following is GameSpot.com's review for Kingdom Hearts on the mobile phone. Note that this game doesn't involve any making from Square Enix's part.
You can't always find solace in your dreams, as Sora discovers in this platforming adventure for the LG VX8000. Kingdom Hearts traps our young friend and his enormous clown shoes in his slumber, where the ne'er-do-well crone Maleficent pits him against shadowy figures and rudimentary jumping puzzles. There is only one level currently available, which makes it a brief action game with awkward controls that manages to channel only a little of the Kingdom Hearts magic.
Donald, Goofy, Sora, and Jiminy Cricket were traveling across the universe when they decided to grab some shut-eye, and so they put the Gummi ship on autopilot. In their sleep, a strange creature crept undetected to the vessel and subsumed the dreams of Sora, who then wakes up alone on an island. It's actually called Swashbuckler's Island, but there are no swashbucklers to be found here--just a parrot, who says that it's probably a good idea to look around and gather stuff to make a raft so you can shove off. The island itself looks fairly bland, minus an inexplicable lava pit and a strange altar among the high rocks.
Sora can pull off a number of moves aside from the necessary running and jumping. He can climb trees and ladders, grasp the edges of platforms and pull himself up, use his keyblade to slide down zip lines, and lift and throw objects. He controls like a tank, though, with one button making him move forward, one making him move backward, and two more buttons turning him left or right, which can make positioning for some of your jumps tricky. Additionally, the camera follows Sora when he's moving but not when he's sitting still, so when you have to stop and line him up for an activity, you'll also have to shift forward or back a bit to get the camera in the right spot. This can make even simple jumps tedious to pull off, so the actual platforming component is the least appealing among your various abilities.
The Heartless, which are the shadow creatures, make an appearance on the island as well, and you'll have to whip out your keyblade to defeat them. Three good hits dispatch them for good, earning you some "munny" and eventually leveling Sora and increasing his health. At the very end of your adventuring, you'll also get the magic spell "blizzard," though it's unclear how the spell comes to bear in combat (if it does), as you only have the opportunity to use it once before the game is complete.
You'll need to find all the pieces for your raft, along with four gems to set at the altar, although these are fairly easy to get to even if they're not just out lying around. After you leave the island, the game ends. The game is being released in downloadable episodes, and only the first area is currently available. It'll take you maybe 20 minutes to a half hour to gather what you need and then set off for the next world, where matters trail off and leave you hanging.
What little you see of the game does look good, though. Sora himself is very detailed and animated well. The precious few other characters you see are all enemies that aren't as well defined. The island itself has only a few areas and is pretty plain. Aside from the aforementioned lava room and altar, the island is all beach, rocks, and water. The 3D environments are very decent, and it would have been nice if there were a larger variety of them. There's very little music in the game, except for a few short notes for "something bad just happened" and "hey, you found something good." The menu music is the nicest, and it is most similar to the console Kingdom Hearts' menu music. A few scattered sound effects round the package out, but they are serviceable and not particularly noteworthy.
There's a foundation for adventure here, but there just isn't very much content to look at and play with. Once you've manhandled Sora around the island and cleared it, you're through, and there's no advantage to replaying the area again unless you're horrifically bored and are miles away from any sort of entertainment. What little there is to this game promises to be an interesting total product. However, since there's just one level available and not much to see, those who have a desperate need to get their platforming on should consider holding off until more modules for the game are complete.
Final Rating: 6.2 (Fair)
Other ratings..
Gameplay - 6/10
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 6/10
Value - 4/10
Tilt - 7/10 |
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The latest issue of multi-format magazine, Dorimaga, features an interview with Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura. Below are few notes on what Nomura said regarding Kingdom Hearts 2:
- The game is already twice as big as the first, and will likely come on 2 single-layer DVDs rather than 1 dual-layer disc.
- Many new Disney characters have been added as well as new worlds.
- Sora's motions have all been recaptured to reflect how much he has matured since the first game.
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2 Disks! *Blaise is speechless* |
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New Info! Hands-On With KH2!
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Square Enix Shows Kingdom Hearts 2
IGN defeated by twelve year old girl in Chain of Memories face off.
By Anoop Gantayat
December 20, 2004 - Dragon Quest VIII is already out in Japan, serving as the surprising first release in Square Enix's trio of killer RPGs that also includes Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts 2. So which of the remaining two will see release first?
All signs point to Kingdom Hearts 2. Square Enix demonstrated a playable version of the game at the recent Jump Festa Japanese comic/game show and listed the game as a Spring 2005 release -- the first time we've heard a specific release period for the game.
IGN was on hand at the event hall just outside of Tokyo to give Kingdom Hearts II a spin (following the requisite hour-long wait, of course). The demo allowed players to select between the "Beast's Castle" (Beauty and the Beast) and "Olympus Coliseum" (Hercules) areas of the game for a twenty minute session featuring lots of fighting and story telling. Sora had just one Drive Transform in the demo, turning him into a red-colored version of his alternate self and taking out enemies with greater ferocity.
Of course, this sounds a whole lot like the demo that we tried back in late August, minus the "Cave of Wonders" area that our demo included. It also sounds a whole lot like the version of the game Square Enix had on display at the Tokyo Game Show. We're not entirely sure if the Jump demo was actually based off a newer build of the game or not.
Don't take this to mean that we weren't impressed with what we saw, though. The version of the game we played in August already had the looks of a product approaching completion, with awesome animation for the characters and magical lighting effects. As impressive as the original Kingdom Hearts was, part II looks like it's going to be so much more special (a good thing considering Square Enix has been working on it for some two and a half years now).
The Japanese version will, in case you were expecting otherwise, have Japanese voices, so even if that version comes out first, you'll probably want to wait for the US release. Hearing Donald spray Japanese is as strange now as it was three years ago.
In addition to Kingdom Hearts II, Square Enix also had a place in its booth for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, allowing gamers to bring in their GBA system and copies of the game with clear files to try out multiplayer battles against other players. The winners of these battles were given an awesome prize: left over goodie bags from the Kingdom Heats II premier party from earlier this year. Losers were given a Kingdom Heats fan. IGN walked home with a fan, victim to a girl who couldn't have been more than twelve years old but knew how to use her Cloud in combination with her Simba.
Elsewhere in the Square Enix booth, IGN was given a chance to view a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts II. Set, once again, to an orchestral version of Utada Hikaru's "Hikari" theme song from the original, the new trailer combined old and new footage and featured characters such as Abu, Aladdin, Mulan and Jack Skellington. Midway through the trailer, we spotted what appeared to be a new version of the Gummi Ship shooting sequences from the original, with faster and more exciting shooting this time around.
Square Enix seems to be taking its time to make sure Kingdom Hearts II is a worthy sequel to 2002's hit debut. A spring Japanese release means just a couple of months before we can head back to the hybrid world mixing Final Fantasy and Disney. Stay tuned for more! |
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I discovered some KH-CoM info,which directly ties in to KH2:
* Thanks to andrel2006 for the following:
During the game as it is known, Diz appears as Ansem several times excepting for the scene after the Lexeius battle. Diz is what you could call a kind of impartial guide to Riku. He presents choices in front of Riku and lets him decide for himself. Such as at the beginning, Riku was caught in a void between light and darkness. Diz presented these choices: sleep forever in the void and never worry again, or awaken and suffer reality. Riku chose to wake up. In Twilight Town, Diz sent Riku to Namine who promised to seal the darkness in Riku's heart(Ansem) but in exchange, he would forget about everything that happened in the Castle, Riku declined, and went off to face Ansem head-on (might I note that this Ansem was a thousand times harder than in KH1!).
Ansem also made appearances, both symbolized and physically manifested by the darkness in Riku's heart. The whole point behind RR is Riku's struggles with himself. The Order is trying to pit his conscience against him so that he works for them (Zexion, Lexeius, Vixen mostly) as Marucia, Axel and Larxene attempted to make Sora their lackey. Sora is a hero of the Light, while Riku is the hero of the Darkness. At the end of the game, instead of trying to extinguish the darkness from his heart, Riku fights it and uses it to destroy Ansem, though not for good.
Even Mickey's role is quite confusing. Mickey acts as another guide for Riku, appearing as a sphere of light periodically throughout the game. Only until after Destiny Islands does Mickey find a way to appear physically in Castle Oblivion. Strangely, the King never uses his Keyblade, kinda odd huh?
The end of Sora's story: easily explained, Namine offers Sora the chance to restore his original memories in exchange for forgetting everything that happened in the Castle. Why? Namine distorts memories in a person's mind by altering the lines that connect them, or something to that effect (I don't remember exactly what's said...), so to restore his memories, the lines made within the Castle have to be redrawn, making him forget what he did in CO. He decides that, though he will forget everything about Namine, as long as they promise to be friends, they still will be, for the premise of the game is that promises, whether true, false, or forgotten, always remain made.
Riku's ending: as Riku cuts down Ansem, darkness engulfs him but the King comes to his rescue. The King expresses his wish to continue traveling with Riku, and they leave the Castle. The pair walk down the road Sora was on at the beginning of the game, and meet Diz at the crossroads.
Riku asks: 'What are you going to make me decide now?'
Diz: 'On one hand, the road to light.' 'On the other, the road to darkness.'
Mickey: 'Which one Riku?'
Riku: 'I'll take the road in between.'
Diz: 'Turning you back to the light, and preparing to battle the darkness... you choose the road of twilight?'
Riku: 'No, of dawn.'
It's not a translation error, I just forget exactly what they say, and Ansem is not a boss I can just beat handily.
So, premise set up for Riku's side of KH2, he chooses to go the path between light and dark, battling darkness hoping for light. It's never mentioned whether or not Mickey and Riku joined the Order though.
The above should shed some light between the Twilight Town issue. *
Amazing!!! This lays an amazing tale out for KH2!!!
More Soon! |
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My second affilliation! |
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My Pal's Site (Be sure to go and tell her I (Blaise) sent you) :
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KHS - 2004 - Nov.10 - (Blaise038)
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