News ► Dark Horse to publish Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III

[Oracle Spockanort]

Dark Horse Books is set to publish Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III, the first-ever English-language translation of a Kingdom Hearts Ultimania in the west. It will release on June 15th, 2021 for $44.99 USD.

This upcoming Ultimania, originally called the Kingdom Hearts Series Memorial Ultimania in Japan, released back in 2014 as a recap for fans during the development of Kingdom Hearts III, featuring tons of artwork, renders, character bios, world synopses, and summaries for each game.

With over 250 pages of content and a beautiful hardcover binding, this book will be the perfect addition to any Kingdom Hearts' fan's collection. 

A gorgeous oversized hardcover collecting Kingdom Hearts art and trivia, leading up to the events of the most current entry in the beloved saga!

Enter the magical worlds of Disney as featured in the hit game series! This tome meticulously showcases each of Kingdom Hearts' unique worlds, characters, and equipment, encompassing all the games predating Kingdom Hearts III. Explore character profiles from icons like King Mickey and Goofy, to modern favorites like Tron or Captain Jack Sparrow. Study detailed summaries of each games story, along with rare concept designs and storyboards! No stone is left unturned in this grand overview, which includes content from: 

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix 
Kingdom Hearts Coded
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance 
Kingdom Hearts Unchained X

Dark Horse Books, Square Enix, and Disney present Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III. This original English translation of the Japanese fan favorite reference guide is sure to capture the imaginations of Disney fans and gamers everywhere!

Follow Kingdom Hearts Insider on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross], Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory, and all things Kingdom Hearts and The World Ends With You!

Source: Wario64 via Twitter 

 

[NoWay]

Nice! I need this

 

[2 quid is good]

Oh wow, I saw the tweet but assumed it might be an unofficial product like some of those French ones, either way I'm incredibly ready to see this hit some book stores over here, hopefully before Christmas so I can get a discount

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Oh wow, I saw the tweet but assumed it might be an unofficial product like some of those French ones, either way I'm incredibly ready to see this hit some book stores over here, hopefully before Christmas so I can get a discount

It doesn't release until next year in June and I imagine it'll come out overseas as well! Maybe a purchase for next Christmas?

 

[Xagzan]

Well I'll be, never thought we'd see the day.

 

[2 quid is good]

It doesn't release until next year in June and I imagine it'll come out overseas as well! Maybe a purchase for next Christmas?

Ahhhh that would be a great gift to myself, I love buying these encyclopaedia type books

 

[bambii (aka foreteller)]

I own this in Japanese, can’t read it but lots of great art spreads in here! I’ll definitely buy it again lol

 

[KeybladeMasterJr]

[parsehtml]<p>Dark Horse Books is set to publish <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506725236/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=ultimania&amp;qid=1605275390&amp;rnid=2941120011&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1"><em>Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III</em></a>, the first-ever English-language translation of a <em>Kingdom Hearts Ultimania</em> in the west. It will release on <em>June 15th, 2021</em> for <strong>$44.99 USD</strong>.</p>
<p>This upcoming Ultimania, originally called the <a href="https://www.khinsider.com/news/KINGDOM-HEARTS-Series-Memorial-Ultimania-Releasing-on-October-2-3528">Kingdom Hearts Series Memorial Ultimania</a> in Japan, released back in 2014 as a recap for fans during the development of <em>Kingdom Hearts III</em>, featuring tons of artwork, renders, character bios, world synopses, and summaries for each game.</p>
<p>With over 250 pages of content and a beautiful hardcover binding, this book will be the perfect addition to any Kingdom Hearts' fan's collection.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.khinsider.com/2020%20Uploads/11/KH%20Ultimania%20The%20Story%20Before%20KH3.jpg"><img src="https://images.khinsider.com/2020%20Uploads/11/KH%20Ultimania%20The%20Story%20Before%20KH3.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="424" /></a></p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>A gorgeous oversized hardcover collecting&nbsp;<span>Kingdom Hearts</span>&nbsp;art and trivia, leading up to the events of the most current entry in the beloved saga!</strong><br /><br /><span>Enter the magical worlds of Disney as featured in the hit game series! This tome meticulously showcases each of&nbsp;</span><span>Kingdom Hearts</span><span>' unique worlds, characters, and equipment, encompassing all the games predating</span><span>&nbsp;Kingdom Hearts III</span><span>. Explore character profiles from icons like King Mickey and Goofy, to modern favorites like Tron or Captain Jack Sparrow. Study detailed summaries of each games story, along with rare concept designs and storyboards! No stone is left unturned in this grand overview, which includes content from:&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts Final Mix</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix&nbsp;</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts Coded</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance&nbsp;</span><br /><span>Kingdom Hearts Unchained X</span><br /><br /><span>Dark Horse Books, Square Enix, and Disney present&nbsp;</span><span>Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III</span><span>. This original English translation of the Japanese fan favorite reference guide is sure to capture the imaginations of Disney fans and gamers everywhere!</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>Follow Kingdom Hearts Insider on&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/KingdomHeartsInsider">Facebook</a><span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/khinsider">Twitter</a><span>&nbsp;for the latest updates on&nbsp;</span><em>Kingdom Hearts Union&nbsp;&chi; [Cross], Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory,</em><em>&nbsp;</em><span>and all things&nbsp;</span><em>Kingdom Hearts&nbsp;</em><span>and&nbsp;</span><em>The World Ends With You</em><span>!</span></p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1327246527492890625?s=20">Wario64</a> via Twitter&nbsp;</p>[/parsehtml]

Yes Finally lol after 10 years

 

[ShardofTruth]

In different news some of the Japanese Ultimanias are available digitally now:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1326457546907901952

I'm waiting for a consensus on the translation quality before I order the English version. It's still a good choice to start with this one, even though it's already slightly outdated now.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

In different news some of the Japanese Ultimanias are available digitally now:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1326457546907901952

I'm waiting for a consensus on the translation quality before I order the English version. It's still a good choice to start with this one, even though it's already slightly outdated now.

The books are nice but the size is small which is crazy since they are digital :c They should have been bigger

 

[Sakuraba Neku]

Fantastic news. Better late than never!

 

[ShardofTruth]

The books are nice but the size is small which is crazy since they are digital :c They should have been bigger

I couldn't find any info about the file size but you're right, if they are too small then there is really no sense at all in buying the digital versions.

 

[JR199913]

250 pages doesn't seem like much considering it draws content from 8 games. How big were the original Japanese Ultima?

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

250 pages doesn't seem like much considering it draws content from 8 games. How big were the original Japanese Ultima?

This is a 1:1 translation of the Memorial Ultimania which was also 256 pages. It's not every single Ultimania.

But for some background, the earlier ones were about 100-200 pages and they have gotten bigger over the years. KH3's was over 700 pages.

This specific one was only ever 256.

 

[JR199913]

This is a 1:1 translation of the Memorial Ultimania which was also 256 pages. It's not every single Ultimania.

But for some background, the earlier ones were about 100-200 pages and they have gotten bigger over the years. KH3's was over 700 pages.

This specific one was only ever 256.

Ohh, that does put things into perspective, thanks.

I read a few translations of the Memorial Ultimania and it's nice to get a full translation now.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

This is the best Kingdom Hearts announcement made this year, I'm definitely going to buy this.

 

[Ultima Spark]

But for some background, the earlier ones were about 100-200 pages and they have gotten bigger over the years.

I have all except for the first three (KH1/KH1 Revised/CoM) and they're much more than 100–200 pages…KH2 is almost as big as KH3 (735 pages), the others are all 400+ (except Ultimania Alpha, which is a summary of KH1/CoM with some pre-release KH2 info). The bulk of a game Ultimania is mechanics + walkthrough (usually w/maps), the actual plot-related stuff is very small in comparison.

Although it's also worth nothing that game Ultimanias come in A5 size.

Incidentally, I wouldn't count on a game Ultimania coming out any time soon; I suspect this one is being done because it's a glorified art book. Though hopefully it paves the way for the Character Files at some point.

 

[Face My Fears]

All I had to see was hard cover, in English and available in the US to know that I was getting this ASAP!

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I have all except for the first three (KH1/KH1 Revised/CoM) and they're much more than 100–200 pages…KH2 is almost as big as KH3 (735 pages), the others are all 400+ (except Ultimania Alpha, which is a summary of KH1/CoM with some pre-release KH2 info). The bulk of a game Ultimania is mechanics + walkthrough (usually w/maps), the actual plot-related stuff is very small in comparison.

Although it's also worth nothing that game Ultimanias come in A5 size.

Incidentally, I wouldn't count on a game Ultimania coming out any time soon; I suspect this one is being done because it's a glorified art book. Though hopefully it paves the way for the Character Files at some point.

I'm not sure why I thought they were small...Thank you!

 

[SweetYetSalty]

Just when I thought 2021 would be light on the KH news front, not true at all. Time to set some money aside for more Kingdom Hearts goodies. I've always wanted to see the Ultimania, and now it looks like that wish is coming true! You're killing my wallet, Square!