For the first time in the long-running Kingdom Hearts franchises history, the Square Enix and Disney crossover title will see a mainline title opt for DLC over a “Final Mix” definitive version of the game. The news comes following a recent interview between Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura and Famitsu magazine, where Nomura had more than a few details to share about the upcoming 2019 title. Let’s take a look at the full list of details below:
- The reason it was delayed a bit outside of its 2018 release is a result of continued adjustments with parties involved. This was not due to needing more development time.
- The Frozen world takes place during the same time as the movie, and the scene we saw will be developed the same way. It’ll also have “Let It Go.”
- Anna and Elsa don’t join your party, but Marshmallow will lend his powers.
- The Pirates of the Caribbean world is set in the third film (At World’s End). Details on the second movie will be available in a synopsis.
- The Ratatouille part is a mini-game. When you succeed the mini-game, you can create meals that increases your status. You’ll collect cooking ingredients for this across various worlds.
- The dance scene on the tower in the Tangled world is also a mini-game in the style of a rhythm game. Most of the mini-games were proposed by staff.
- A secret movie is already in the works, but isn’t finalized yet.
- Square Enix is preparing something to follow the story of the Kingdom Hearts series. There’s a five-part episode series (available in Japanese) narrated by Chirithy to do just that.
- These videos have been made available after E3, but Square Enix is considering adding it as part of Kingdom Hearts III.
- Since Kingdom Hearts III has great volume, there’s the concern that there might not be enough space for it. In order to shorten some of the loading times, Square Enix is working on making some cutscenes into movies, but the volume is much more than expected.
- On that note, switching between Japanese and English voiceovers has proven difficult.
- The Final Mix versions that has added content in the past isn’t being considered this time around. There are plans for updates through DLC, so we’ll get new content like that instead of through a Final Mix.
- As for the DLC, Nomura believes they’ll be in the form of simple downloads rather than the form of a Season Pass.
There’s a lot to take in here, but perhaps most important is the final two keynotes. Tetsuya Nomura’s detailing that Kingdom Hearts III will not be receiving a Final Mix comes in both fully expected and as a bit of a shock at the same time. Furthermore, the announcement that the game will not be seeing a Season Pass is another interesting move, instead opting for individual pieces of downloadable content. Coming in just six months before the game’s release on January 29, 2019, we’re definitely curious to see what else comes forward.
Square Enix’s upcoming Kingdom Hearts III is slated to release in Japan on January 27, 2019, and internationally on January 29, 2019. Until that much-awaited date, however, you can check our full archives for further news on the title, here.
Source: Siliconera