Re: Kingdom Hearts III

Series director Tetsuya Nomura talks KINGDOM HEARTS III

Nomura: [Kingdom Hearts III's main story concludes Xehanort's arc, and it picks up] "immediately after the events of Dream Drop Distance."

Nomura: "The process of the wielders coming together will be the main storyline, but one of the highlights of the climax is going to be who is part of the seven lights and thirteen darkness when they get to the final battle. Would it be as everyone expected, or will there be unexpected members added to the mix? That is something to look forward to."

Nomura: "All Keyblades transform, and in many different ways. Through the series, various other skilled Keyblade wielders had transformed their weapon; it may serve as a hint to see what they transformed their Keyblades into, in order to understand the different ways in which they changed their form."

Nomura: [The special Keyblade moves seen in the trailer are not tied to the Keyblade abilities, but instead to the enemy you're up against.] "When the appropriate attack becomes available, the player can activate it."

Nomura: [Kingdom Hearts III] "will be a summation of everything accumulated up to this point, in terms of both story and game mechanics. I'm sure that those who've followed the series up to now are very eager to see what's next, but I think it's also important to create wonder and awe, much like when the first game in the series came out."

Nomura: "The end also means a new beginning, and I'm certain that as this story arc ends, players will be able to look forward -- carrying this excitement -- for something new and different, never-before-seen in the series."

Source: KH13

Haley Joel Osment comments on KINGDOM HEARTS III

KINGDOM HEARTS III news (probably) coming at E3 2014

Yosuke Matsuda, president and CEO of Square Enix, has talked with Nikkei Trendy today and shared some information about the future of the company. When asked about 2014, Matsuda had this to say about KINGDOM HEARTS III:

There’s remarkable confidence in Final Fantasy XV and and Kingdom Hearts 3. [I] can’t talk details at the moment, [but I think] SE will be able to share more in the future, like at E3.

Source: KH13

KINGDOM HEARTS III may appear at E3 and TGS along with other events

KINGDOM HEARTS series producer, Shinji Hashimoto has recently teased in a Q&A at Thailand Comicon Event in Siam Paragon, Bangkok on May 10, 2014 that KINGDOM HEARTS III may appear at E3 2014, Tokyo Game Show 2014 among other events.

We would like to keep it secret. It just only a few months from now. I'm pretty sure you will be surprised.*
Actually it is not only in June, there will be many events from now on such as San Diego Comicon, Tokyo Game Show, and others.
We might tell you what is our plans, but it's better you see by yourself at Tokyo. (laugh)

Source: KH13

New KINGDOM HEARTS III teaser trailer (shown in HD 2.5 ReMIX trailer from E3)

Kingdom Hearts III Co-Director Teases What's To Come

How are things going on Kingdom Hearts III?

We've been working full throttle. It's moving along. We structured our team in a way that development of 2.5 doesn't impede Kingdom Hearts III. I'm actually very excited about Kingdom Hearts III.

What are you most excited for?

The technology and creative stuff. There's a lot of stuff we have never ever done before. There's a lot that's the same, but there's a lot that's changed. We're moving from a totally different console to [a new] console. The technology has evolved; it's very new and everyone is doing a lot of research. And look-wise, it looks amazing as well. We've shown you some of the trailers and teasers. There are a lot of Disney-themed attractions, so that's exciting as well. It's very exciting for me and I want to tell you more about it, but I really can't at this moment.

I know some fans were disappointed, they were hoping for some sort of trailer or teaser for Kingdom Hearts III during E3...

I understand that, but this year, it was the year of 2.5 for us. When we were first planning out Kingdom Hearts III, we wanted 1.5 and 2.5 out in a timely fashion, so everyone would really get an understanding of the story. And so we really wanted to push 2.5. Making teasers and trailers really does require a lot of work, and we just wanted to get the development moving along quickly on Kingdom Hearts III, so this year we really focused on 2.5.

When can fans anticipate more information on Kingdom Hearts III? Are you going to wait until next E3?

We are planning. We're coming up with ideas for game shows and etc. I can't really say which ones at this moment.

The last trailer we saw showed off Disney attractions as part of Sora's special attacks. Has anything been expanded off that since then?

For the rides, we want it to be very varied. For anything in Kingdom Hearts, there's a lot. For those attractions, we want different types, many types, so we're thinking about that.

Were you paying attention to fans' feedback from that trailer, specifically about the attractions?

Yeah, we are. It was well received. The exact look is not going to be the same as that. We're really working with our engines and everything. I think people were excited, and it felt very Disney. I think that was one of the good points, like creating Disneyland gameplay-wise. I think we'll focus on making different, varied versions of that.

I know we'll be visiting new worlds, but will you still have some of the old, iconic ones in Kingdom Hearts III?

It's going to be a mix. Whenever we come up with worlds for Kingdom Hearts, we want to have them be varied. You don't want the same type of world, so we will have different categories. That will make it feel fresh, like you're having an adventure.

Disney acquired a lot of new licenses and had movies since the last Kingdom Hearts, upping the potential for new worlds, like Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, etc. Are you guys looking into those?

Everyone wants to know. I can't say at this moment, but news will come out about the worlds. There's a lot of Disney content that's new and coming out and we're considering which ones to use, which would be good from a gameplay perspective. This is not an announcement or anything, but personally I enjoyed watching Frozen. It was magical: the stories, the songs, the ice expressions.

Thinking back last year, it was a big moment for Square Enix finally confirming Kingdom Hearts III. Did you watch any of the fan reaction videos?

Yeah. It's crazy! We all watch [the reaction videos]...the development team, the marketing team. That's been a huge boost for morale. Especially the American users...they don't do that in Japan. They're more quiet. We get a lot of our energy from [the fan reactions]. Watching that, I felt like I needed to make Kingdom Hearts III quickly. We were feeling all this pressure, but we're also really excited that everyone's so passionate about it. That reaction? That's why we're making Kingdom Hearts III. That's the main reason. That's most important to us.

Source: gameinformer

interesting stuff thanks for the read! i always get excited when threads like this get bumped by you!

I can't wait for Kingdom Hearts 3!!! It's my most anticipated next gen game overall definitely (not counting anything on the Wii U), hoping to hear some more from the developers from TGS & Gamescom!

Tetsuya Nomura steps down as Final Fantasy XV director to focus on Kingdom Hearts III

If that wasn’t enough news, I’ve got a little something else to share with you. Now I know you guys want us at Square Enix to be more open with you and to keep you updated with all the goings on with our games so I’m going to talk to you a little more about Final Fantasy XV since I’m sure you guys are just as excited about it as I am (which is VERY excited).

The development of Final Fantasy XV is coming along really well and as a result Hajime Tabata (the director of the original Final Fantasy Type-0 and Type-0 HD) has taken over from Tetsuya Nomura as the director of Final Fantasy XV.

Now before you start to freak out, let me explain how this is a good thing. There’s no denying that Tetsuya Nomura has been instrumental to the development of Final Fantasy XV and he’s done an incredible job. His main role as director was working on the original concept for the story and universe and also creating the characters. Now that development of Final Fantasy XV has come so far, Nomura’s work is pretty much all in place so instead of having him keep an eye on the more day to day stuff, we thought it’d be a better idea to pass the reigns over to Hajime Tabata and let Nomura move onto other projects and make games that only he could do, you know, like Kingdom Hearts III.

So now we have Hajime Tabata and the rest of his team working as hard as they can on Final Fantasy XV and making sure it’s the best game it can possibly be and we have Tetsuya Nomura and the Kingdom Hearts III team working as hard as they can to make that the best game that can be. It also means that both games will come out much sooner this way. Instead of waiting until Final Fantasy XV comes out before starting on Kingdom Hearts III, Tetsuya Nomura can now properly begin work on Kingdom Hearts III right now and with Tabata in the director’s chair, Final Fantasy XV won’t suffer either.

Hajime Tabata and his team are a bunch of really talented people and Final Fantasy XV is in good hands for the rest of its development but even if you don’t want to believe me, you can find out for yourself on 20th March 2015 when you can play Final Fantasy XV for yourself along with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.

If you’ve got any other questions or comments then feel free to drop me a line in the comments below. I’m out and about at TGS 2014 and with the time zone difference I probably won’t be able to respond right away or until I’m back in the UK but I promise I will get back to you!

I hope you’ll agree though, it’s a very exciting time to be a Final Fantasy (and Kingdom Hearts) fan right now!

Source: KH13

Read about this yesterday on KHInsider! So happy about the news, means we won't have to wait an infinite amount of years for KH3!!! With everything that was going on, a friend and I were sure it wasn't going to release until 2017 or later, but I'm hoping 2016 is a real possibility now.