Huh, good to know.

Good to know, now not all worried about DDD in 2.8, happy with my game Kimi

I knew the intention of 0.2 was to give a taste of KHIII, not to gather feedback, but it nice to know for sure know. It is little sad that DDD won`t be getting new stuff, but it is really nice to play it with a proper controller this time around. Can`t wait to get my hands on this collection. Really curios to see who the traitor among the Foretellers is.

Also, you have probably seen this already, but KH:X had an really nice trailer in Japan:
[video=youtube;TLJCrvVKlHc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJCrvVKlHc[/video]

Nomura`s cat a.k.a Chirity can be seen in the beginning. :D

DREAM DROP DISTANCE [LIST] [*]Nomura describes Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD as more than a simple port, and is more along the lines of a "remake". [*]This is because of the change from dual screens on 3DS to one screen on Playstation 4. [*]Nomura re-confirms that because of this they are unable to add in any brand-new elements and as such the game will remain primarily the same. However the gameplay of Dream Drop Distance is being reworked for the Playstation 4. [/LIST]

Oh dear God I hope they patch it up really well, added content would have been nice but I could care less about that if they actually fix the gameplay. :D
Nothing new with BBS it sounds like but that's fine, really looking forward to that as well

edit - maybe they were just talking about the dual screen stuff after all...

So Aqua, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, and Yen Sid will probably be the only ones seen.
Ya know, Sora should probably hear Mickey's story too, being it's important to the plot and all, but then again he's instantly lost at any and all explanations.
No matter how simple:
Mickey: Oh, this isn't the real Ansem. This is his evil apprentice who stole the real Ansem's identity.
Sora: I don't understand! This is all too confusing!

Even when they're not being weird, Japan has great commercials.

Remake, huh? If that's the case, then there's no reason that any of the gameplay issues that exist in the original DDD should be in 2.8. Kinda sad that there won't be any new content, but hey, we've got Chi and Fragmentary Passage to make up for that.

I'm a little sad 0.2 will be so short, but I kindof expected as much, and it solidifies the meaning of "prologue" along with DDD. Still extremely happy we will be able to explore Castle of Dreams in what I can only imagine as a hauntingly beautiful level.

I'm also glad Nomura has gone out of his way to let us know the process feels more like a remake since they are working so hard to rework this for the PS4. I know we've been told there won't be any additional content, but I love the 3D and portable aspects of the Nintendo version, and without anything new it will be hard for me to view the PS4 remaster as the definitive version, personally. Ready to experience the difference on the console though.

Now that I think about it, I may love DDD more than now. I hate it mostly because of the controls, but with it getting to the PS4, maybe they will be better? (definitely)

I wish it was a few hours to complete.

Well anyway,castle of dreams was pretty small in BBS so looking forward to seeing how much bigger they can make it.

Well, not getting cut off during boss fights would be nice :/ I mean, seriously. Would it have been that much trouble to freeze the Drop clock during boss fights?!

0.2 is going to be a few hours? Good enough for me. We already know Square's definition of a few hours from the KH2 prologue.

I can count all the new information on 0 hands.

That's like freezing the mana bar or gauges, its an annoying mechanic that is integral to the game. Also Drop Me Not.

Drop Me Not, yeah. Absent is totally right btw, post seconded.

Yay, December 19th! That's not too far away.

Also, I'm totally fine with 0.2 just involving Aqua/Riku/Kairi/Mickey/Yen Sid. They need the extra love.

[FONT=verdana]@Dr_Mario64 Nomura has said in interviews that part of the reason for the drop gauge was to give a sense of challenge to the game again. Mainly in that he felt too many fans had found a way to cheese their way through past games (by simply leveling up a lot if they were stuck somewhere, and then just butchering said enemies when they became OP), that he wanted to eliminate that some in DDD, if at all possible.

Excited to hear about the Castle of Dreams stuff! I wonder just what the world will be like, whilst it's stuck in the RoD like that. Honestly, I get the feeling that this might be what the next Saga's about somehow (like, perhaps Xehanort wins, everything falls to darkness this time--like the Tome of Prophecy says--and then you play in the worlds trapped in the darkness next time around), but we'll see.

A bit disappointed to hear that there's no new stuff for 3D, and that they didn't mention Back Cover much here, but that's fine. And I can respect that they didn't add stuff to DDD in that they had to remake a lot of it. In fact, I'm kind of excited to play that now. [strike]And I kind of hate DDD, so I didn't think this would happen for me. Kudos to them, then.[/strike]

One thing I'm confused about is that... apparently Sora's not going to be in 0.2? If so, that's weird, because I thought the initial summary for it made it sound like the information from Mickey and Yen Sid was getting told to him and him alone. Did they change their minds on that or something? [strike]I am, however, glad to hear that Kairi will be involved in things for once. That's a good sign, I hope.[/strike]

Off topic: OMG. I love that Unchained commercial so much. So much better than some of the similar Lightning Returns ones that they had. OMG:) ...If only I could truly play Unchained and feel a part of the game like that... Someday, maybe?[/FONT]

Good to have some more news! Looking forward to playing KH 2.8!

And I hope when they show a trailer at Jump Fest that we may get a hint of a release date for it!

so BBS 0.2 gone be few hours basically like kh2 roxas adventure in twilight town right?

Well, nothing yet indicates Sora being there. This takes place right after the DDD Secret Ending. At that point in time, Sora was back in the Realm of Sleep and we saw Riku bring Kairi into the room where Yen Sid and Mickey were talking. Plus they're the only ones in the picture.


Depends on which game he's basing world time off ;)

Yeah... so that's why I'm thinking that Sora isn't in this, then. But then I wonder how/why the original summary for 0.2 talked about Sora and Mickey being the pair the conversation was about.

Either SE changed their mind (perhaps realizing that Sora is supposed to be in the RoS at that time), or maybe Sora will "secretly" be in the game?

I'm not putting too much munny on that last thought, personally, but then again... this is "the entire multi-verse resolves around Sora" series. So you never know, I guess. LOL.

The original summaries don't mention Sora being there.

1)· KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –A completely new playable episode that links to the story of KINGDOM HEARTS III, taking place after the storyline of KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep played from the perspective of Aqua.

2) KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –
[...]Immediately after KH3D, as Sora prepares for the final battle, the King confesses a lot of things that were kept secret. It is the subsequent story of one person named Aqua left behind in the Realm of Darkness that is finally told.

I get there might have been confusion with the second one but it only says Sora is preparing for the final battle, not actual confirmation that he was there and everything we've seen since then only confirms this.

I'm fine with nothing being added to Dream Drop Distance. I enjoyed the adventure, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it more in HD with PS4-geared controls.

Unchained trailer made me smile. I really like how they incorporated an actual person to give players a feeling they're an actual a part of the game. Still waiting for release information, but I'll be a good boy and wait to see what JF'16 holds.

0.2 just has me shaking in my seat. I must experience the Aqua experience!

Sora, missing out on a huge and probably vital exposition dump? Unthinkable... seriously, I can't say that I'm surprised.

Yeah, that "

as Sora prepares for the final battle, the King confesses a lot of things that were kept secret" part did confuse me, I think. But now that you point it out, I can tell that the two statements aren't meant to be linked and that Sora was never confirmed to be present at all:)

Honestly, it doesn't do much for me to have Sora know anything about Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He's selfless, yeah, but he's not going to be interesting at all unless he's given a more personal reason to want to fight Xehanort himself.

I just want to say that while it is a little frustrating that Sora isn't learning about this, since E3 2013 we've known that the task of getting Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness has been Riku and Mickey's task (And now Kairi's as well).

[FONT=Arial]"[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Believing light and darkness must remain in balance, Master Xehanort seeks to spark war against the tyranny of light to restore equilibrium. In an effort to undermine Xehanort's plot, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for seven guardians of light and the Key to Return Hearts, while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders. KINGDOM HEARTS III features a mature Sora as the main protagonist who sets forth on an adventure with Mickey, Donald and Goofy through new and legendary Disney worlds. KINGDOM HEARTS III will make full use of next generation console technologies to showcase a stunning universe packed full of worlds based on Disney properties."[/FONT]

So it does make sense why Sora wouldn't be told this information.

True, though while he doesn't need to be there for the explanation, at the very least he should be told the gist of it and what Riku and Mickey will be doing and why, instead of being left out of the loop as he skips merrily across Disney worlds.

Which could actually be done just with Sora returning to Mysterious Tower at the end of 0.2 and they start giving him the short version as it fades to black. Then we know he knows and that's that.

Granted my feelings on no Sora has to do with, well, him skipping merrily across Disney worlds without being told anything. But as I said on the first page, even the smallest of explanations hurt his little brain, so I'm conflicted on if I even want Sora in 2.0 or not.

More personal? Xehanort (and by extension, his axe-crazy offshoots Ansem and Xemnas)...

- is directly responsible for the Heartless outbreak, and thus the destruction of many worlds, including Destiny Islands.

- influenced Riku, turning him into the jackass everyone hated back then before hijacking him completely.

- tried to kill Kairi almost as soon as she woke up in Hollow Bastion.

- is the reason why Organization XIII, and thus all the problems they created, exist. (Those Roxas memories that Sora got in DDD only adds to this.)

- has a total disregard for hearts, bonds, and other people's lives, and it leaves Sora shaken and furious. And Sora wasn't even aware of what had happened to TAV when he went on that "Reasons You Suck" rant.

- most recently tried to drown Sora's heart in darkness so that he could hijack the kid's body.

- is directly or indirectly responsible for all the major conflict in KH, really.

I'd say it's personal enough already.

I need a release date at the very least because I am saving up for a PS4 and I need one quick, possibly before or on Christmas.

Either way, Sora is going to end up finding out. Wouldn't he need to get to Ventus?

How baller would it be if Square Enix programmed the release date for KHIII into this, and it appeared after completing all the content on the disc? Unless this upcoming game show has any surprises in line, I couldn't think of a better way. What do you guys think?

Huh, never thought about this one. Would actually be kinda cool...

Secretly hoping for Riku/Kairi/Mickey/Aqua bringing Ventus back to Mysterious Tower where Sora goes inside Ven to fix him and it's actually an Inside Out world.


It certainly would be an original way to unveil a release date, I can't think of any other franchise doing that. But KHIII's marketing will be skewed towards the more casual fanbase so any release date will first be announced through a trailer as that would get huge ratings.

Knowing Sora much of it would probably either go over his head anyways or he would want to immediately jog off to the RoD and save Aqua, regardless of any other tasks that might be at hand.



"Searching for previous Keyblade Wielders" can mean anything actually and since Mickey and Yen Sid admitted in the Re: Coded secret ending that they have close to no information about Terra I was more on the impression that it would involve investigations towards Terra's current status and whereabouts.
Giving the task of rescuing Aqua to Riku, Mickey and Kairi completely contradicts the statement of Blank Points that it is Sora's task to save those in torment.

But of course, having that taking place behind the scenes with these other characters would allow KH III to skip the whole saving Aqua-scenario and replace a possible venture to the RoD to save her with some more possibly meaningless Disney-filler.
That would then also be another candidate for a scenario that gets completely ignored in the game (with Riku, Mickey and Kairi just popping up with Aqua mid-way during the game or in the final world just like in KH 2) and just getting fleshed out in the novel.




Good summary, the entirety of DDD and Sora learning about all the shit Xehanort caused first-hand (and the consequences of these actions affecting him, Riku and Kairi before) by experiencing the pain of his victims served as a motivator for him:

Not again. Did they cause all this pain? --- Just stop it! You treat people's hearts like bottles on a shelf, but they're not!

The "they" in the first sentence certainly means the main Xehanort's while the second his stated in an angry tone.
So Sora certainly is motivated to put a stop to Xehanort's ambitions already.

Well after having both Sora and Riku playable in DDD and creating Aqua to be completely playable in a Playstation 4 game, it really would not be surprising if they included multiple protagonists so all that jazz wouldn't happen off screen. Plus they are making a completely playable Realm of Darkness. I'm certain that it won't be contained to just 2.8.

Re:coded did reveal that they don't know where Terra is, but Xehanort pretty much confirmed to Mickey in DDD that Terra is a part of his squad.
Mickey: "Well, for Keyblade weilders, there's me and Riku and Sora. And my three missing friends, that's six. Then the seventh would be..."
....
Xehanort: "But Sora and another on your list belong to me now."

Since they knew about the whereabouts of Ventus and Aqua, and Mickey would know where that seventh would be (Surely talking about Kairi, since they didn't want to spoil their secret ending) it's not hard to imagine that Mickey would have pieced together that Terra is with Xehanort's squad.

And of course rescuing Aqua from the Realm of Darkness is a milestone event in the KH series, and it's also the first step to freeing Ventus, but from what we can gather from all recent information since 2013, it does not seem likely that rescuing Aqua will be left to Sora. The KH3 description does say that Sora is looking for "seven guardians of light", but at the moment that could just mean Ventus. It could also just be there to try and increase hype. Who knows.

What we do know is that Mickey is telling Kairi and Riku the information he told Yen Sid, which is what happened to Aqua. We know Sora isn't there. Therefore it does not seem like this is Sora's mission. I could be completely wrong on all of this but I'm just going off what we've seen and been told.

If I am wrong though, then I do hope you are right. It would certainly be surprising if the information Mickey has reveals that Aqua is actually in Xehanort's squad and Terra's location is what actually needs to be discovered (but for that to work it contradicts her speaking to Ansem the Wise, as that takes place after KHII)

That's a pretty good point actually.
I am probably just still mentally scarred from the fact how damn awfully KH 2 handled the other characters' parts of the plot by having it happen completely off screen with the focus being nearly always on Sora, Donald and Goofy who actually didn't do anything truly important to the main overaching story in most worlds. (Even the supposed overaching point of searching for Riku and the King was forgotten after less than five minutes had passed in many worlds).

Yea, Xehanort confirmed that he essentially has control of Terra's body as a vessel, however that still leaves Terra's heart at large (which is arguably the most important part of Terra because it holds his main essence as a being).



For Ventus Mickey also only told Yen Sid that he has an idea where his heart might be after the events of Coded. As this was the very first time Mickey got to see how Roxas looks like he could put 2 and 2 together to deduce where Ven's heart might be, yet that still leaves the whereabouts of Ven's body unresolved except if Mickey not only really met and talked with Aqua, but also got the information about Ven's body being there from her.
As far as it stands, except Aqua and maybe Xehanort no one should know where Ven's body is.

It is exactly because it is a milestone and part of the overall "save the tormented"-task why it should not be treated like an afterthought that happens just behind the scenes or his delegated to a short cutscene because following another round of singing "Hakuna Matata" is more important.
That short KH 3 description is certainly kept intentionally vague, but it nonetheless doesn't add up with the presumably established setup so far. "previous Keyblade Wielders" and "seven Guardians of Light" can even be read as the very same thing and from an out-of-universe perspetive this extra "task" for Riku and Mickey can also be seen as just a convenient excuse to have them unavailable as party members for Sora so players are forced to go with just Donald and Goofy.
Sora spent literally the first two main games searching for and trying to reunite with Riku (and Kairi) and yet KH III apparently sets it up for them to go separate ways yet again instead of having them finally tackling problems together as a team.
It meaning just looking for Ventus would also be a pointless "task" as Sora can look for Ventus all he wants he will never actually "find" him because one important part (his heart) is already within him and the other cannot be located at all without Aqua, so it would be more logcial for Sora to go and look for Aqua first.




When going by these recent comments from Nomura it really seems that way and that after all that build-up it isn't really Sora's task after all to save all of the tormented who called out to him in Blank Points, with both Aqua and Ansem the Wise being scratched from the list, although I certainly do not really understand the in-universe logic behind it as stated above.

Aqua being unwillingly on Xehanort's team would surely be a twist ala Nomura, but I don't really see how that could reasonably work, not only because of the Ansem the Wise conversation after KH 2, but also especially since Aqua is probably the one person who gave Xehanort as a whole the biggest "piss off"-treatment after Sora, and unlike the latter she does not shelter multiple hurting hearts inside herself that could be used against her in order to break her heart.
Or as she said to Hades:

The darkness doesn't interest me!

Personally, I think Riku and Mickey are going to be at the center of whatever the Lost Masters plot is. You can't really have a war with half a dozen Keyblade wielders.

You totally ninja'd me, Tinny. LOL. I was going to say that I feel like Riku and Mikcey are going after the Lost Masters (probably the Foretellers from Chi, and maybe even Ephemera and some of those others), too:)

I mean, there's still a chance that Sora's trying to help RXN--and Riku, Mickey, and Kairi are going to get Aqua out of the RoD--and they'll all meet half-way to go get Ven, or something, but the first idea seems the most logical to me.

I'm not going to lie, though... The second route would be cool for a number of reasons. A) because it would maybe allow for SRK to travel together some (finally), and perhaps even give you the choice to pick your party (or maybe we could just have MDG and RK all in our party! How awesome would that be?!), b) because Kairi--if it does happen--helping the person who gave her the power to wield would be a nice touch, and c) it would just be nice to have everyone together like that, I think. The story and characters of KH have been too segregated lately, and in this final chapter--that really is about everyone--I think they all deserve to finish what they started together. At least in some fashion, anyway.

...Also, I really feel like Sora needs to hear this explanation somehow and some way. Give him a shorter or simplified version, that's fine, but not telling Sora important things will only hinder him (again) and lead to him falling into more traps, I think. Seriously. I can't figure why the idea of not telling Sora about things--like the whole Aqua and Ventus plot, which are no doubt going to be central to his story--would even cross someone's mind. And no, "Oh, Sora's not here yet, so I might as well tell these guys first, and for some reason never get around to telling Sora until it's too late. Lawl," is not an excuse.

But then again, Mickey and Yen Side are kind of shady as heck at this point, and Naminé is now delivering messages in the most roundabout way possible, so who really even knows what might happen and why?

Edit: By the way, BlackOsprey, I really like the post you made about how the fight against Xehanort is already personal for Sora. Honestly, I feel like people do devalue a lot that the guy's already gone through because of Xehanort, so major kudos to you there for making that:)

That's a really good point. The entire aim of the main games (and most of the side games) has literally been
- Reunite with Riku and Kairi, or save one (or both) of them
- Defeat the big bad/stop the heartless

Having been separated since KH1 and only reuniting at small points you'd imagine that they'd want to spend more time together but in an effort to keep things "classic KH" I'm almost sure we'll get stuck with Donald and Goofy again. Some kind of flimsy "we all have parts to play and we'll get together in the end" justification (like in KH2). Then again if they go this way I'd almost hope for a BBS/DDD style scenario switch, if only so that we finally get to play as Kairi and get a glimpse of what Riku/Kairi/Aqua/Mickey are up to, instead of them showing up at the end a la KH2.

Sora really does need to know about TAV, and one can only hope that he'll be clued in at the end of 0.2, or told near the beginning of KH3.

I really hope after Aqua and Ven are saved(Which is i hope isn't close at the end) everyone pretty much stays together for the rest of the game.I'm so tired of everyone being separated.

Is it so hard to ask for a big group of your friends going to most of the worlds together.I actually think it would be amazing to have a party system similar to star ocean 5 for later parts of the game.

Especially since the major point of what they're doing in KHIII is to try and get whoever the Guardians of Light are together.

Edit: I actually kind of hope Nomura takes a leaf out of this fanfiction's http://archiveofourown.org/works/4636179 book, and has some moment where the King wants some sort of team building exercise to happen between everyone, as they're supposed to save the world together, yet realizing they hardly know each other or how to fight together. (Even if other things this story does--such as pairing SRK all together, having them "makeout all the time", as Ven puts it, and having them have cell phones and wanting to ditch MDG at the end--are questionable.)

While that may also be reasonable, there is quite something off except if Yen Sid wants to wage war too.
As far as we know the main goal is to prevent another full war from breaking out (the inevitable, destinied clash between the 7 and 13 is NOT the war itself, it can serve as the starting point for another war though) so Yen Sid tasking Riku and Mickey to basically get even more Keyblade Wielders is just playing into Xehanort's hands by basically gearing up for war by building an army.

Not to mention that the "Lost Masters", which are arguably the Foretellers, were the ones who were responsible for starting the first war so that may also play right into Xehanort's cards.



Yes, and the first main aim has been fulfilled by the end of KH 2 and was arguably replaced with "rescue the tormented ones (aka TAV, Ansem the Wise, Naminé, Xion and Roxas, all those who called out to Sora)" while the second is still in place since Xehanort just constantly refuses to stay down.

That's what I am suspecting at least. Riku, Mickey and most likely Kairi as well are intentionally swept aside to force "just" Sora, Donald and Goofy into effect.
It does not even need a BBS/DDD-like "scenario switch" at all though as long as these characters are not kept out of focus for the entire game until the last world like they did in KH 2 where everything that did not concern the events happening around SDG took place completely behind the scenes.
DDD already did a sort of mixed variant to cover other characters by having cutscenes (like Lea waking up, speaking with Ienzo, Mickey & co in Disney Castle etc) between worlds showing what other characters are up to.

I agree, despite Sora not being the brightest in understanding more complex scenarios, he should certainly not being left out of the loop in such a total fashion.
This would be totally irresponsible of both Yen Sid and Mickey (the latter already not looking so good in that regard anyways because he didn't really inform Sora about what he learned in Coded in detail), especially when considering Sora's overall importance to their side.



Amen.
I've been hoping for a true party system and actual freedom to choose your party members for years already.

Having such a big cast and not really allow the player to use it is also a flaw in the KH series in my eyes.

If the clash is unavoidable, as Yen Sid says in the Secret Ending, then the next best thing is to find any potential Keyblade Wielder that may be summoned by the clash and convince them either not to fight, or to stand with the Guardians of Light.

Not to mention that the "Lost Masters", which are arguably the Foretellers, were the ones who were responsible for starting the first war so that may also play right into Xehanort's cards.

*shakes angrily* Then there's merit in finding them or more about them in order to subvert it by finding out what they did wrong.

Wow. I do still want the game, but not for $60... I'm okay with paying full price for an actual game. But not for a game that won't even last me a week... I'm just excited that the scenes from 3d will finally be clear enough to see on a tv!

No... they have to all at least wait until 2.8 has already released. I've never seen them have 2 games with a release date at the same time.

I don't think that's what he meant by that. They wouldn't release 2.8 and III on the same date. Decis was suggesting that SE could hide the release date in 2.8 itself, and you could view it after you completed Fragmentary Passage, DDD HD, and watched the Chi movie.

ha.

i sae this on the GI website the day before we posted about it but i thought it was old news.

my bad.

It's probably not going to cost that much.

you read my mind if inside out in the game which i hope it is