Darn you, Psx, I was about ready to post this! Oh, well, I'll do it at the BumbleKing forums!

Possible remake/port of Kingdom Hearts:Coded in the works. This is likely one of the two rumoured new games that Nomura was working on and the one that would be released sometime this year. The July issue of Game Informer quotes him as saying that this new game would be revealed at E3 and it was something they worked on "for the western fans". If it is indeed a remake, the only question is on what system it'll land on... since he also mentioned that HD consoles, iPhone and Wii were not being developed for at this time. That really only leaves PSP and DS.

If it comes to PSP, it gives Square-Enix the perfect excuse to repackage it with the international BBS and release it as another Final Mix+ in Japan.

Whew! Bout time we got coded over here!

Edit: It's official, Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, is going to be on the DS and will be shown at E3!

It's probably a better fit on the DS, anyway.

5 more days... 5 more days...

I would buy Coded on the DS, so this is a good thing, and plus they could easily get a lot of import sales from the Japanese audience who prefer the English voice cast on their Kingdom Hearts anyway.

So does this mean we can finally say goodbye to the filler and get to the damn KH3 flavored sammich yet?

So what is Coded about? Other than being filler...

So does this mean we can finally say goodbye to the filler and get to the damn KH3 flavored sammich yet?

No sammich until Nomura's done cooking the Versus XIII turducken.

So what is Coded about? Other than being filler...

Developer: Square Enix Co., Ltd./h.a.n.d. Inc.

Jiminy Cricket is looking over the journal he used to document his first adventure with Sora when he discovers a mysterious message. He didn't write it – so how on earth did it get there? King Mickey is determined to find out, so he and his friends decide to digitize the journal and delve into its deepest secrets. Inside this "datascape" dwells a second Sora who is about to embark on a grand adventure of his very own.

Basically it's an excuse to go over the events of the first game to more closely tie them to both KHII and Birth By Sleep, and to help set up the next sequel.

BbS E3 English Trailer (obviously spoilerific, though technically it's the same trailer from about a year ago but dubbed... and one important key difference: a look at the new secret boss.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I'm going to FREAK OUT HOLY !++% HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!111?

As I said about the Sonic Colors trailer, awesome! Well, I guess we know who Mark Hamill is voicing now and it's clearly not Terra. BTW, what's not possible, Psx, I didn't see nothing out of the ordinary in the video?

Oh christ, Spock. That is awesome.

What the... Kingdom Hearts 3DS? New game? Remake?

E3 2010: Kingdom Hearts 3D First Look

Sora, Riku, and Kairi make their 3D debut.

June 15, 2010

by Jack DeVries

Here at E3 2010 there's like a hojillion 3DS titles. Most of them are new titles, though a few seem to be 3D ports of older games. On the third party side, Square Enix was showing off a video for Kingdom Hearts 3D. Sora's back, beyotches!

So it was just a trailer so it's hard to tell, but I think this might be a port of the original PS2 game, or at least a reimagining of it. The trailer starts off with Sora and Riku sitting out by the starfruit tree on Destiny Islands. Then Riku disappears in a swirling flash of light. Sora calls after him and runs around the island (the game switches to gameplay here).

Sora runs through the island a bit, showing off the locale. It looks exactly like it did in the PS2 game. The thing that makes me think it's not a port is that Sora already has the glide ability, which he uses to soar around the island a bit.

The game cuts again and shows Riku waking up Traverse Town (the main hub world of the PS2 game). He goes into a courtyard and is surrounded by a bunch of Heartless. Then he looks up and stuff gets crazy.

The sky starts raining Soras.

No seriously. A dozen unconscious Soras slowly float down from the sky like a cute boy meteor shower.

One of the Soras lands and busts out his Keyblade. The game switches back to gameplay mode here and shows Sora bashing the Heartless. After all the Heartless are defeated a huge soldier Heartless boss rises from the ground. Before Sora can battle him he snaps awake, back on Destiny Islands, sitting with Kairi by the starfruit tree. The camera pans up to the night sky and shows the title screen, Kingdom Hearts 3D.

Graphically it looks amazing, though it's hard to tell if this is totally legit, or if even the gameplay is really a cutscene. The island, and even Traverse Town look good in 3D, and the possibilities for the game are promising (the Gummi ship levels could finally be cool in 3D).

lol @ that description I need to see this trailer.

Yeah, I don't know what they're up to with this one, but if they've got the Osaka team working on this then bring it on.

EDIT: new screenshots popped up for Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, including an in-battle. 358/2 Days game engine confirmed.

Also the official JP website is live, but sparse. According to the site, expect this in Fall 2010. And for comparison's sake, here's a shot of the battle system from the cellphone version:

The term 'Beggars can't be choosers' comes to mind.

Mmmmkay KH:3D...if this is merely a remake...hate

Coded...meh.

Hmm, KH 3D? Curse you Squenix for wanting me to get a 3DS so soon after I got my DSi!!! However, I have to say seeing a Twilight Thorn in one of the screenshot makes me think it's not a KH remake, but then again, Riku and Sora are in their KH outfits which makes me wonder where it's supposed to me in the KH timeline. Finally, I hope we don't have to wait for about half a year before we find out when Re:coded comes out like we had to with BbS!

To those wondering, KH3D is an all new KH game and not a remake; though, it still does beg the question of why Sora and Riku are in their KH1 clothes.

"Let me tell you about the Matrix, Sora."

EDIT: Famitsu interview with Tetsuya Nomura on Kingdom Hearts 3DS

Kingdom Hearts 3D's development started with Square Enix hearing the general details of the 3DS system from Nintendo. They wanted to make a quick demo. Nomura already had a general framework for some gameplay systems and a story that he felt would match the 3DS's visual expression. Thus began the Kingdom Hearts 3D project.

While the name "Kingdom Hearts 3D" isn't a final name, it does have something to do with the final name. The "3D" in this placeholder title does not stand for "3 Dimension," said Nomura, but is an abbreviation for the game's subtitle.

Famitsu noted that while the game's E3 demo shows Sora and Riku as they appear in the first Kingdom Hearts game, they're presented in some situations that would be impossible for the first game. Replied Nomura to this, "This is because it's not a remake, but a completely original game. This time, Sora and Riku are the two main characters. We're currently in the process of selecting new worlds."

Kingdom Hearts: Deep Dive Dissemination... over three. 😮

EDIT: Someone cammed the Re:Coded E3 Trailer. Until a better version is released this will have to do. It's definitely the 358/2 Days graphic engine, but it looks like the actual battles themselves have been overhauled to resemble Birth By Sleep's gameplay. Considering the praise BbS was getting when it came out in Japan, I'd say that's a VERY good thing. I see they also kept the side-scrolling gameplay segments from the mobile phone version, that should be fun.

New Nomura interview with info on Re:coded and 3D. One of the sadder things, we won't know much about 3D until next year's E3.

Some gameplay footage of Re:Coded can be viewed at the Official Site. You can clearly see how the BbS-style battle system flows. It certainly looks more fun than what 358/2 Days gave us.

It's also giving me a nostalgia chub.

Awesome, also, here's the YouTube version of the video. Makes it a lot better with it being bigger.

Another English BbS trailer has surfaced, this time courtesy of GameSpot.

EDIT (7-20-10):

Square-Enix uploaded the *full* E3 2010 Re:Coded trailer on the official website. But it's in Japanese, so go here for a subbed version. Another trailer may be released in the near future that will reveal some of the new things that are being added to the DS version over its mobile counterpart (we know a "secret movie" is being added, maybe we'll see scenes from that).

Both of those videos are awesome and make me want the games even more. Just a little less than two months til BbS comes out!! Also, I think Nemoy's Master Xehanort is sounding better and more relaxed than in previous videos.

Edit: I just now noticed that if you preorder at specific stores, you get spiffy decals for your PSP that will make it look like the Birth by Sleep PSP from Japan!

Here's a better view of the Re:coded E3 Trailer! You can actually see some of the speech bubbles in the cutscenes and also the commands. Still not great though, but better than the other capture of it.

Gamescom trailer for Birth by Sleep is up! Man, September 7th can't come soon enough!!!

Wow, they really ruined that trailer. Why would they replace Simple and Clean with such an awkward-sounding track?

YES. This is how it should be.

Darn it! I've been ninja'd once again on the new video; oh well just incase anybody wants to know in addition, copy and pasted from BK: "The US website has updated with three new worlds (Coliseum, Mirage Arena, and Mysterious Tower), the rest of the gameplay trailers, and the Gamescom Trailer which is relabeled as the Launch Trailer . . . It also includes 3 wallpapers in the media section. The only trailer left is the "TV Spot."

Anyway, I have to agree that Simple and Clean fits the video like a glove.

The squeeing sound I made at the 7 minute trailer was in a pitch only audible by dogs. I am so excited for this. Purchase of PSP specifically for this game gets closer each day.

Well, Craigo, just so you know, Gamestop does have a Birth by Sleep bundle, and if you preorder, you get some decals that make it look like the JPN BBS PSP! (Well, the US GS website only list the decals with the game, but it makes sense that it would come with the bundle as well and the Canadian site list it with both) Finally, despite what the link says, the instore display says the bundle comes with a voucher for free music.

Edit: Sorry, the link won't work for some reason; I guess GS doesn't allow for direct linking, if that's what I'm doing. *shrug*

So how's everybody enjoying Birth By Sleep? Getting used to the Command System? Having fun with the Command Board mini-game? Think Aqua's VA should have considered that complimentary 3 week voice training class offered by Disney* before jumping in cold turkey? Did you agree with some of the less-than-stellar online reviews from so-called journalists who probably didn't even know you can set the CPU clock speed higher in the Options menu? Let's hear some opinions, peeps.

Oh, btw... they announced a Final Mix. Yeah. We don't know if anything new is going to be added over the additions already present in the NA/EU versions. There will be very little time to add anything big, as it is scheduled to hit Japan this winter. But... you never know.

* Yes, I'm kidding about that. Disney's too cheap to offer more than 2 days prep time.

Undoubtably the quick announcement/release is to avoid Japanese gamers just importing the US UMD version.

Okay, so Megathread. I'm on Terra's game (last of the 3) and have not opened the Command Board even once and I'm not really motivated to do so. Someone explain why I should, or simply confirm my decision was just.

Well, the command board can get frustrating sometimes but it's a good way to level up your commands, and I think I'm figuring out how to win at it. Also, to the best of my knowledge it's the only way you can get Terra's Ragnarok and it is fact that it's the only way you can get Pete's D-Link for all three characters. As far as the VAs, I have no beef on any of them as I think they sound good, though I've only halfway beaten Terra's story and haven't touched the others yet; also, I know of someone at GF forums who thinks Willa's Aqua is perfect, though he maybe a Willa fan. *shrug*

Edit: Played the Ice Cream Beat minigame in DisneyTown and it's ridiculously addictive especially the "It's a Small World" stage. Was gonna take a bath but played it for about an hour before I put it down.

Command Board definitely takes some getting used to, but it can be a little addicting once you know what you need to do to win. As Rayzor said, there are at least 4 Shotlocks (Ragnarok, Lightning Ray, Photon Charge and Meteor Shower) and a D-Link that can be gained from playing the games. The Shotlocks show up as Bonus Panels on each board, and (I think) you have to win the Toon Board or just complete Disney Town in order to unlock Pete in the other board's Special Panels. He'll show up randomly as either Captain Justice or Captain Dark. Win the board and you get the D-Link.

Some of the Shotlocks can also be gained when Command Melding, by chance... but it's pretty rare. Beating the boards opens them up in the Mirage Arena, which can help you raise your Arena Rank. Speaking of which.... Iron Prisoner III and IV? @+!! YOU, YOU CHEAP BASTARDS.

Anyhoo, I guess you should only really bother with it if you've been playing on Standard Mode and want to 100% the game in order to unlock the Secret Ending. As far as progress goes, I've finished Terra and Ven's game, getting ready to end it with Aqua but I'm going around to the worlds and collecting all the ice cream ingredients so I can get the Sweetstack Keyblade (already have it for Terra, I'll get Ven's later).

How is the Sweetstack, Psx? I heard that despite its yummy looks it's quite a powerful Keyblade.

Pretty balanced. What it has over the other keyblades is the 100% critical rate. It's slightly stronger than the unique keyblades you can get for each character near the end of their story modes, but outclassed by some of the hidden keyblades you can gain in the Mirage Arena and from the optional bosses.

It's nice that we now have a name (and somewhat an explanation) for Kairi's unique keyblade in KH2.

Three new videos for Re:coded are up as well as someone translating the controls for it.

The first video makes me think a Kingdom Hearts/dot.hack crossover wouldn't be such a bad thing.

On BBSFM, straight from TGS:

-The trailer played at the Tokyo Game Show features a new armored warrior. (Who could it be?)

-If you purchase Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, you will receive a code to download a costume for Cloud in Dissidia Duodecim 012, that will change his appearance to look like Kingdom Hearts Cloud.

🙁

Tried out the Command Board and was happy to have earned a fully leveled Ragnarok on my first try. This gave me the edge against the final boss (who I cannot name, not because of spoilers, but because it would require an entire damn paragraph to explain who he is, because names do not work with this guy) and I just finished Terra's story.

Now to try Mirage Arena and get that last report.

Final Boss works well enough.

Mirage Arena... if you haven't already mastered the Magnega/Thunderga combo, now's the time. You'll blow through the rounds in less than half the time it'll normally take.

I mastered that combo in the Hades arena in KH2, Magnega is like the best spell.

Unfortunately I'm using Terra who I beefed up as a strength only powerhouse. But Aqua's my favorite and she has both spells mapped already.

I just found out the PSP cannot go online without a PS3. I shut off the game in sheer rage and may take a few days to get back to it. I was looking forward to levelling up with friends.

I just found out the PSP cannot go online without a PS3. I shut off the game in sheer rage and may take a few days to get back to it. I was looking forward to levelling up with friends.

Not PSP's fault Square-Enix flat-out refuses to take advantage of Infrastructure mode. 🙁

EDIT: Final Episode cleared. Only thing left to do is finish the Arena, fight the uber-bosses and see the secret epilogue.

Beat the final story myself, and am kind of putzing about now. There's too much to 100% it all and no clear guage on what 100%ing is. Also I'm kind of miffed that I level grinded Aqua to make her strong enough for the final boss, and then it didn't carry over to her solo save. So I don't even know what I'm doing anymore.

I'm looking at my other unplayed PSP games and asking myself if I should just try play BbS again on Proud when I've finished those. Lunar says "maybe", Metal Gear says "Yes." Crisis Core says "Eh, you're half-way through me already" and Final Fantasy IX says "Damn it, Craig, we've been doing this tango for three years, just PLAY me already".

Woo! After beating the Arena's final Rank 30 fight and gaining Ultima Weapon I went and took down the 1st optional boss "Vanitas Remnant" with Ven the other day (after losing about 20 times). Damn, pushing Level 50 and he can still drain your HP in two or three strikes. The Once More and Second Chance abilities are crucial (hell, I got all of Ven's abilities maxed before even attempting this guy). Also, Dodge Roll will be your savior. You're invincible whilst you roll so you can dodge (almost) infinitely long as you keep mashing square (something I was completely unaware of until recently, I've always had Thunder Roll equipped). And you have to bring Potions into the fight because it'll heal if you use spells to cure yourself. Even with one health bar it's difficult to damage him, and Shotlocks are useless. But I managed to sneak a win with Strike Raid and Tornado. Nice keyblade, too bad it's in black-and-white.

Tried "Mysterious Figure" right after. Almost cracked the PSP in two, that cheap bastard. Ugh, I'll try again later.

Anyhoo, time marches on and Square-Enix updated the official Re:Coded site with the TGS trailer. Someone already went and subtitled it. It spoils the mystery Org member's identity, so be warned. It figures they wouldn't hold back who it was, as the original Coded has long since been available for months. But for anyone outside Japan, it'll come as a bit of a spoiler so there you go.

(EDIT 9-21-10)

Nomura's Famitsu interview: some new info about KHBBSFM and KHRe:C revealed.

Birth By Sleep Final Mix

- looks like the Secret Epilogue will be unlocked even from the Beginner difficulty level.

Re:Coded

- will have a trophy system like BBS, 30 "achievements" in all.

- you only need 20 to unlock the game's secret movie.

Nomura also states that KH:3D will come after Re:Coded in the series timeline, for whatever that's worth.

In other news, I managed to beat Vanitas Remnant with Terra now. Once I do it with Aqua I'll start working on MF some more.

(EDIT 9-25-10)

New info available for Re:Coded regarding gameplay has surfaced. There's also some light story spoilers, so thread carefully. I'll summarize the gameplay parts:

- The "Command Matrix" has a similar function to the Command Meld from BbS, it allows you to take two leveled-up commands and fuse them to receive a new one.

- "Status Matrix" is like the Panel system in 358/2 Days, you place chips on a grid to complete circuits, powering up Sora in the process.

- After clearing a world, you can go back and select new options: "Free Quest", which grants you access to new dungeons and quests, "Episode Replay" where you can experience the story bits of that world again, and "Score Attack" where you can refight the boss and try for a high score.

- There's a separate mode called "Tag Mode" that exists outside the main game, and is connected to the "Avatars" you can put together (those doll-like things). In Tag mode, you can create your own unique dungeon levels or "Floors" using "Floor Codes"... rearrange the codes and the "Floor" changes. You can even set a "trial" for beating your Floor. Along with your Avatar, you can share your Floors with other players through Tag Mode. If the other player clears your trial, he earns Avatar parts as a reward. These Floors are collected together in your game and become an "Avatar System Area", a massive dungeon that can be 100 levels in total. Clearing the stages gets progressively harder, but you earn SP when you do, which you can redeem for items, commands and other goodies for use in the main game.

- As you continue to use Tag Mode, your own Avatars' "Happiness Level" rises, which has an effect on Sora in the main game... raising his luck and increasing item drops from defeated enemies (does that mean no Lucky Strike?).

- It seems your Avatar Menu can be infected by a random virus. When this happens, the Happy Level of your Avatar(s) drops to 0. To clear the infection, you have to go the infected "Floor" and clear out the enemies, whose strengths will be boosted by the virus.

(EDIT 9-28-10)

The Birth By Sleep Final Mix TGS trailer is finally online. Don't view it if you haven't completed the game, as it may spoil a thing or two.

we can't win haha. i thought mysterious figure is what everyone in japan would be jealous of. do i see a new secret boss?

GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I'm a command, two medals and a Mysterious Figure away from finishing Aqua for good. Venitas just fell to my keyblade and now I weild his like a true BAMF. But alas, Iron Imprisoner IV is too strong for me. The bastard doesn't let up long enough for me to kill and is not predictable like Evil Sora.

I must 100% one of these three losers. I MUST.

Iron Prisoner IV falls to manic cartwheelin', Seeker Mines/Mine Squares and the occasional Shotlock blast. If you can take Uber-Vanitas then IP4 should be a cakewalk.

I was able to beat Mysterious Figure w/ Ven by abusing Thunder Surge, Dodge Roll and incredible luck. There also may be some truth to the online rumors that its AI will drop from nigh impossible to just fairly impossible by turning off non-essential abilities as well. Couldn't hurt.

Just so you're aware, you only need to fill each characters' Report to 100% to unlock 'Blank Points', the secret epilogue if you're playing Standard. The Trinity Archives isn't a factor, and neither are the uber-bosses Vanitas and MF.

EDIT 10-6-10

Looks like Square-Enix has officially announced Re:Coded's NA and EU release dates: January 11th and 14th, respectively. Meanwhile, Japan's getting it tomorrow. A 2 month wait seems reasonable, considering how long we waited for BbS to come over.

Heck, forget about coming over, it took them six months from the JPN release of BBS before we ever got our release dates! Anyway, here's the NA Re:coded site; as usual, nothing really there as of yet but it does have some nice new screenshots!

Sister-in-Law has my copy (and PSP) now, so I'll have to wait on 100%ing Ven and Terra. But I did manage with Aqua. Seems the things I did not do were kill the Jellyfish Heartless in Deepspace and kill Lingering Spirit.

Yes. He's in the Main Characters section of the blog. No uber-Van, no 100%.

In the words of Ghost Nappa "...have fun with that."

Yes. He's in the Main Characters section of the blog. No uber-Van, no 100%.

Character section had a Mickey symbol before I beat him and gained his entry. "Uber-Van" isn't a prerequisite.

New info on Kingdom Hearts 3D!!! Apparently, Sora and Riku being in KH1 attire was not a demo thing but is essential to the story; also, its gameplay will reflect some of the gameplay changes that will appear in KH3. Speaking of KH3, Nomura teased that the story of KH3D may actually lead into KH3's story!!!!

The plan is to use all new Disney worlds this time.

Sure bet.

Long shot.

lol nope

One more boss added to Birth By Sleep: Final Mix. "NO HEART"? Quick, someone get the Care Bears on the line!

A secret of the game that only he knew -

"Xehanort's name has two meanings. When you spell it in Roman alphabets and rearrange them without the 'X', they'll spell 'No Heart' and 'Another'. These meanings are connected to the secret movie."

This quote was made after KHII's release in the official Ultimania guide. It was originally referring to Terranort (as we know him now) but can also be attributed to Master Xehanort and, apparently, this new boss who bears a striking resemblance to the Armored Xemnas boss from the end of KHII. Except for the Keyblade that clearly belongs to MX.