New images & info from 358/2 Days HD Remix

Misty · Jan 27, 2013

Hey everybody! We've got a nice bit of news this weekend, it seems--Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix has been confirmed for localization, and we've got a look at the upcoming box art. The game drops in Japan on March 14th, still no dates for the rest of the world but we'll keep you updated.

In the meantime, we've got some nice new screens from the HD remaster of KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days. Unfortunately the game will not be playable, but the HD remix will feature a three hour cutscene movie to recap the game's events.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Video Volume Included in Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- Around 3 Hours in Length!

Today we are singling out one of the three works included in the Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- compilation,Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: the heart-wrenching story of Roxas, intimately connected to series' protagonist Sora, and his friends reworked in HD quality!

(2013-01-25)

The heart-wrenching story of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days now in HD!

Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- (hereon KH 1.5), a compilation of three titles from the series remastered in HD. One such included title is the story of KH 358/2 Days (Three-Five-Eight Over Two), originally released on the Nintendo DS, put into a work of video of around two hours and fifty minutes. Today we will announce the points of difference from the original version and some of the scenes! At the end we also have a development staff comment and a mini interview to report.

Changes from the Original Version of 358/2 Days

~Cutscenes from the original now in high resolution

~Voicing recorded and HD quality videos created for originally non-voiced scenes

~Able to enjoy specific scenes (days) through chapter select function

~"Roxas' Diary" available from the beginning, "Secret Reports" all available after viewing video

~Additional "Character Index" in which you are able to view detailed descriptions of characters

~Obtain a custom PS3 theme after viewing all content

~Trophy support (acquired through viewing content)

Development Staff Comment and Mini Interview!

We are happy to report an interview with KH 358/2 Days Cutscene Director Masaru Oka and a comment from the man behind the sound effects, electric guitar and more, Sound Designer Yuki Hirose!

Interview With KH 358/2 Days Cutscene Director Masaru Oka

--What sort of work did you cover for the HD remake?

Oka: As Days was only included in theatre, in order to convey the main story with just video, we selected and recreated around 100 scenes from the original. The production environment for the recreated cutscenes was very different to that of the existing cutscenes, but we adjusted the graphics as much as we could in order for them to not feel out of place in the sequence of videos.

--What would you especially like players to see?

Oka: I believe that together with the rich facial expressions, the addition of voicing to the new cutscenes in this title will have you sensing subtle expressions of emotion that would have been difficult to convey through only text. Perhaps even old scenes can give you fresh surprises, such as what sort of emotion was meant by a '...' line. In this title's theatre, several scenes are sequenced into one chapter, and to match this the BGM was also configured to chapter units. There are also scenes with different BGM set-up to the previous one. I would love for you to enjoy the theatre-only presentation of this title. Also, the scenes that had been presented as different videos on two screens have not lost one half of the video, they have been edited to be complete on one screen. Please see for yourself in the title how we have united them. There are about two hours and fifty minutes in total in the theatre. If you are going to watch it all from the beginning, you should sit back and enjoy it to your heart's content.

--In addition, could you please tell us of any incidents that left a profound impression on you?

Oka: To help with this HD remake, I re-watched cutscenes from past productions KH1, Re:Chain of Memoriesand Days. It awoke memories from the time I'd worked on them, and work ended up feeling quite nostalgic. I mean, KH1 was ten years ago! I did not imagine that I would participate in the KH series so often and for so long. It's been ten years since then. I'd like to go on making Kingdom Hearts titles for all of you to love for the next ten years and on into the future.

Comment from Sound Designer Yuki Hirose

As this is the first title of the series on the Playstation 3, we gave 5.1ch surround sound support to the real-time sections of KH1 and KH Re:Chain of Memories. Also, for Days, we recorded voicing to accompany the story cutscenes added huge-scale. Your heart should squeeze at Xion's cuteness. On the music front, under the supervision of Yoko Shimomura, we rearranged all sorts of tracks with replaced live instruments. Please look forward to the sound born anew. Lastly... to all you good kids, don't go eating ice cream in such high places, okay (laughs).

For details check Weekly Famitsu, 7th Feb 2013 Issue (On Sale 24th Jan 2013)
Click to expand...

Sources: 4Gamer.net, translations by goldpanner
Thanks to forum member libregkd for tipping me off!

super_rocker_90 · Jan 27, 2013

hmmm interesting i guess we will receive 3 diffrent themes from each game, now this would be hard to choose to make it as your main theme ! lol XD

libregkd · Jan 27, 2013

...

Meilin Lee · Jan 27, 2013

It's nice to know that even the voiced scenes from the original DS game will look better as well

Explode · Jan 27, 2013

I'm liking the way this is turning out. Glad to see that scene with Xigbar in Agrabah made the cut.

What I'm most curious about is how they'll handle, or avoid, the scenes from the first couple days where the members who went to Castle Oblivion take Roxes to Twilight Town. They're kind of tutorial-ish, but they also have some good conversations that are semi-important. Also wondering about the Beast's Castle mission where Xion can't use the Keyblade. I'm thinking about these two parts in particular because showing them would probably mean updating textures for a lot of locations that could otherwise wait until the next HD collection.

Anyway I'm glad it's closer to 3 hours than 2. A lot happens in this game, so that gives them some breathing room.

Meilin Lee · Jan 27, 2013

iwantedtoexplode said: ↑

They're kind of tutorial-ish, but they also have some good conversations that are semi-important.
Click to expand...

I think they'll only include the important dialogue (like how Zexion talks about Kingdom Hearts). Speaking of which, I'll try to contact Vincent Corazza (VA of Zexion) in the next few days to see if he recorded lines yet (although I'm not sure if Square-Enix is more stricter this time after what happened with Jesse's tweets, so he may not be able to say...)

Truly Mad Moves · Jan 27, 2013

Oh, man, oh man... you know what I'm hoping? I'm hoping that Alyson Stoner plays Xion. Here, and for the rest of the series. Even if Hayden Panettiere is available to play Kairi, Alyson should be Xion anyway. Anyone else want to start up a "Hayden is Kairi, Alyson is Xion" petition?

Meilin Lee · Jan 28, 2013

Truly Mad Moves said: ↑

I'm hoping that Alyson Stoner plays Xion.
Click to expand...

Well, this was on her official website recently:

Considering the only video game other than KH she voiced for was some Phineas and Ferb game, I think you can guess who this "familiar character" is. But take it with a grain of salt for now.

Madoka · Jan 28, 2013

Those images look amazing! :O I can't wait until the release! :D

Serenacake · Jan 28, 2013

3 hour movie? Hmm not sure how I feel about this, but I am certainly excited for this. I can't wait for a release date so I can preorder it ;n;

Airi Ban · Jan 28, 2013

I must buy this game. I hope they have hedgehog sized ps3 controllers.

Railos · Jan 28, 2013

Those pictures look awesome. :D I love how much better it looks than the DS version. Now, I really want this game.

ShibuyaGato · Jan 28, 2013

Man do I love Square right about now.

The trophy support is a nice touch (though getting a trophy just for viewing everything does seem a bit odd/tedious) and those scenes look far better than they've ever been. Thank you Libre.

Iskandar · Jan 28, 2013

I'm going to get directions to the Square Enix NA branch and go hug the building, and take a picture as proof, because this will be so much greatness it can't be contained. Now excuse me while I go have a fanboy moment

Misty · Jan 28, 2013

Naoto Shirogane said: ↑

The trophy support is a nice touch (though getting a trophy just for viewing everything does seem a bit odd/tedious) and those scenes look far better than they've ever been. Thank you Libre.
Click to expand...

It is weird but from the way things are going, this is probably my sole hope for a Platinum trophy. Assuming they offer platinum for each individual game and not the entire collection, that is...

ShibuyaGato · Jan 28, 2013

Misty said: ↑

It is weird but from the way things are going, this is probably my sole hope for a Platinum trophy. Assuming they offer platinum for each individual game and not the entire collection, that is...
Click to expand...

It would be really odd if they did the latter since it's a collection. Still, where they'd fit that trophy is beyond me.

libregkd · Jan 28, 2013

...

Misty · Jan 28, 2013

libregkd said: ↑

What could happen is that there is a platinum for both KH1 and CoM while Days wouldn't have one (sort of like in the Sly collection the 3 games each had their own Plat and the minigames included on the disc had their own trophy list but didn't have a Plat.)

KH1 and CoM will for sure have separate platinums though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I figure it might be something like this, having a platinum just for watching videos is just too ridiculous, especially for Nomura's first incursion into trophies.

libregkd · Jan 28, 2013

...

Misty · Jan 28, 2013

libregkd said: ↑

So you'd atleast get your first 100%?

But I've seen more ridiculous trophies, such as the trophy list for using the alarm clock app on the Vita lol.
Click to expand...

>: why don't we leave my pitiful skills out of this

It just saddens me, on the whole the trophies I've seen have been fair but Platinum should mean something.

Log in or Sign up

New images & info from 358/2 Days HD Remix

Misty gimme kiss

Premium

Comments