Sad news to report today, as it has been announced that Pat Carroll, the voice of Ursula, has sadly passed away at her home at the age of 95. Pat has indicated that Ursula was one of her favorite roles, reprising the role multiple times after the release of 'The Little Mermaid', including in three Kingdom Hearts games (KH1, KH2, and KH3D). RIP Pat Carroll
View attachment 50828 GameInformer recently got a chance to chat with series director Tetsuya Nomura to discuss Kingdom Hearts IV (and the series in general as well). Topics discussed include the reasoning behind the lack of Final Fantasy cameos recently, expanding on Quadratum's role in KH4, and how Nomura was hesitant at first in allowing Sora to join the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. Check out the interview below:
Updated OP with extended interview containing additional information from Nomura.
View attachment 50820 Following the major reveals last weekend during the Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary event regarding the future of the series, Famitsu conducted an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, who shares some information on 'Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link' and 'Kingdom Hearts IV', such as the confirmation that Reaction Commands will be returning in KH4, hinting that Quadratum may be the "tutorial world" of KH4, and providing a sneak preview for a new gameplay mechanic called "Scrap & Build". Check out the translated interview below (courtesy of KHInsider): An expanded version of the interview will be available in the May 12-19 issue of Weekly Famitsu (which goes on sale April 28th). We'll be sure to update the article with the additional information from Nomura once the expanded interview is available. EDIT: The extended version of the interview has been released (and translated once again by KHInsider), where Nomura provides some additional info, such as confirmation that the Foretellers/Lost Masters are the main villains in KH4, work on KH4 with Unreal Engine 5 has already started, and giving some insight on the setting of Missing Link. Check out the rest of the interview below:
Following the major announcements regarding the future of the series (including the confirmation of Kingdom Hearts 4!!!), the development staff conducted a Q&A session with fans in attendance, providing some interesting pieces of information. Several Twitter users who attended the event posted what was discussed, and KHInsider was able to compile all the answers, which can be viewed below:
During today's 20th anniversary event for the Kingdom Hearts series, some major announcements were made in regards to the future of the series! View attachment 50813 First off, 'Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road' will finally get its long awaited finale this upcoming August for free! View attachment 50814 Secondly, a new game for mobile devices called 'Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link' was announced, and appears to be a sequel to 'Union X[cross]', allowing players to embark on adventures from the realm of Scala ad Caelum into the real world! A closed beta release of the game will be available in 2022 for iOS/Android devices. View attachment 50816 Lastly, the announcement that everyone was most likely waiting for... Kingdom Hearts IV has been officially announced! The trailer shows off Sora's new look in the game, as well as gameplay in Quadrarum where Sora is battling a massive Heartless on his own! While it hasn't been stated which platforms the game will be released, it most likely will be for the PS5/XBOX Series X. Check out the trailer for these three games below: To celebrate the occasion, Tetsuya Nomura provided the following message on Twitter for fans: Lastly, artwork that Nomura was working on for the 20th anniversary event was revealed, and includes Sora in his new KH4 look (credit to @tm_bonist for getting a photo of the artwork): View attachment 50817
On this day twenty years ago, the Kingdom Hearts series was officially born with the release of the original Kingdom Hearts game in Japan! Series director Tetsuya Nomura took the opportunity to post a message on Twitter, giving us a preview of artwork he is currently preparing for the upcoming 20th anniversary event scheduled on April 10th: The tweet translates to the following (credit to @RyujiBlades for the translation):
I get that. I just didn't know if the huge drama leading up to SwSh's release may have convinced them to better prepare for that in some way. One can dream... But like you said, that doesn't seem to be the case. And with that, my enthusiasm to buy a Switch and the next mainline Pokemon game remains dampened.
Although I skipped SwSh because of the while National Dex fiasco, this looks more interesting quite honestly. Loving the open world look of the game and the Spanish influence. Sprigatito looks so adorable and is giving me major Fennekin vibes (will be going with that starter if I ever get the game). And I can't not see KH Donald whenever I see Quaxley While I doubt it'll happen, I am still hoping that they find a way to satisfy those of us who want the national dex in some format (whether on initial release or with future patching).
An event commemorating the Kingdom Hearts series' 20th anniversary has finally been announced, scheduled to take place in Tokyo on April 10th! The event will have a mini-concert, a Q&A session with the development team, an exhibition, and other unannounced surprises! A video of the event will made available for all to view at a later date.
Square-Enix announced earlier today that cloud versions of 'Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX', 'Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue', and Kingdom Hearts III' (with the ReMind DLC) will all be released next month on February 10th! These titles can be purchased individually or by purchasing an all-in-one package called the Integrum Masterpiece. Additionally, those who either purchase the Integrum Masterpiece or 'Kingdom Hearts III' individually will get an exclusive keyblade in 'Kingdom Hearts III' called the Advent Red Keyblade:
Joined when I was 20, and now I'm 30. Damn, I feel old...
View attachment 50742 One of the announcements made last week as part of the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary celebration was the release of the entire series on the Nintendo Switch via cloud versions. While many would've preferred a native copy of these ports, series producer Ichiro Hazama is aware of this, as he discussed the possibility with Nintendo Life. Check out the short interview below:
Following the exciting reveal of Sora's addition to 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate', Square-Enix revealed plans for the 20th anniversary of the series: As the above video shows: Cloud versions of 'Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 HD ReMix', 'Kingsom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue', and 'Kingdom Hearts III' (with the ReMind DLC included) are coming soon to the Nintendo Switch! Multiple merchandise to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series! The rest of the 'Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road' story (up to the ending!) will be released this winter in one go! A Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary Event will be taking place! More details to come at a later date.
After many requests for his addition into the crossover fighting game 'Super Smah Bros. Ultimate' for the Nintendo Switch, Sora has finally been revealed as the game's final DLC character! In addition to his inclusion, a new stage will also be added to the game based on Hollow Bastion from KH1, and can transform into a Station of Awakening! While Sora's default look is based on his KH1 appearance, he will also have alternate looks based on his KH2, KH3D, KH3, Valor Form, Wisdom Form, Ultimate Form, and Timeless River appearances. He will be available for purchase on October 18 for $5.99! Check out the reveal trailer below:
I've never played rhythm games before, so MoM was a first for me, and I loved it! I was actually able to get a 30$ discount on it when it released (thank you Best Buy rewards ). Despite me wanting many more tracks to be included (Hundred Acre Wood, Port Royal/Caribbean, Symphony of Sorcery, "Face my Fears", different variations of existing themes, as well as tracks from Union X, 0.2 BBS, and KH3), I think the selection was still great and have spent a good amount of time going through them.
Square-Enix today released a patch (Version 1.0.0.7) for the PC version of 'Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 HD ReMix' via the Epic Games Store, with the size of the patch being roughly 8 GB. As for the contents of this patch, Square-Enix support indicates that the patch fixes a bug in 'Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix', improving stability.
I really wish I didn’t have to write what I’m about to say, but here I am… While working on a new post, I've been trying to brainstorm and think of what to write. But as I stared at my screen, I just couldn't write anything. I was thinking that maybe it was a bad case of writer's block. As I thought more and more about it, I realized it was more than just a simple case of writer's block. I came to the conclusion that I have finally reached the point where I just couldn't continue RPing any longer. I think it's something I've been thinking for a while but didn’t want to admit, and sitting here and typing this feels like the final step to a journey I started way back in 2013. I love this RP. I've spent a bit more than a quarter of my life on it. It's hard to think how my life during the past eight years may have been different if I never took part in Mario’s High School Days. I've poured so much into the RP, constantly brainstorming plots while also getting ideas from shows, movies, and games I am into. It hasn't always been a healthy relationship though... I think I was too close to the RP, too involved. I let it consume me. I didn't think about or do anything else. Working on just one post at a time would take me days, sometimes more than a week to complete, because there were so many things to take into account. I had to think of what each character would say, how would they react, and whether their actions were logical based on their history and personality. And I would always have to circle back to past posts constantly to make sure nothing I was posting was conflicting with things that were established in the RP already. My commitment to the RP made having time for playing video games and watching shows/movies pretty scarce. But I wouldn't trade my experiences in HSD for the world, and I don't know what I would be without this RP. I joined as a very novice RPer, not sure what I was doing at first, just wanting to have fun having characters I like interacting with other characters I like or am not even familiar with. And I'm leaving, with a firm grasp on who I am and who I want to be. It's just time. Time for me to go. I just don't have the time for this RP anymore. I work full-time and have been mainly on my own ever since my co-worker retired months ago (and I just got a promotion yesterday, meaning even more responsibility for me). I’m in a serious relationship and am focusing on trying to get engaged to my girlfriend within several months. Point being, I just don't have time to commit to this RP anymore. But it may be also the fact that I'm growing up and have more important commitments in my life. And because of that, I am going to have to prioritize. I wish I could reserve time for this RP because I truly do love it, I love the stories I've brought to life in it, and I love seeing all the possible character interactions. But I have to face facts. These are things that just aren't feasible anymore. I feel I have to come out and say that there are just other things in my life now that take precedent, other things I want to pursue. And it's time to finally make this decision. Not going to lie, this was not an easy decision for me at all. I kept going back and forth whether this was the right decision or not. I wanted to see through the stories of all these amazing characters and give them all a proper ending. I had ideas for new characters I wanted to reserve and bring into HSD. I wanted to write some additional side stories that contribute to the HSD canon. I had already planned out the remaining stories for MHSD 2, and had ideas for a third (and final) RP that would finally conclude the overarching story that started since 2013. But I have to accept the fact that, given how things were moving along, getting to that point was going to take so many more years to reach, and just wasn't feasible. I do feel terrible that many questions I've left open across the story may never get answered. Perhaps one day I can write up an outline detailing my plans right towards the finishing point. Maybe one day in the future if I feel like it, I can continue writing the story to the end and post it online for whoever may want to read it. To those of you reading this, there's plenty I'd like to say, and maybe I'll get a chance to say something. But I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for sticking with HSD all these years and continuing to participate, for exchanging ideas for plots, for putting up with me when I reach out and offer comments on certain posts. It's been a joy working with you all. If you want to reach out to me, it may be best to do it over a PM here on KHV. I'm not sure if I'll even be logging into Skype for a while. It's been amazing.
With only one day to go before the release of the Kingdom Hearts series on PC, Square-Enix surprised fans early today with a brand new update (Version 1.04) to 'Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory': As mentioned in the tweet above, besides some bug fixes, one of the game's cutscenes was apparently updated to include a new scene. You can check out the updated cutscene below:
