SQUARE ENIX will hold “KINGDOM HEARTS 20th ANNIVERSARY EVENT” in Tokyo, Japan on April 10, 2022. This event is to commemorate the launch of the same company “Kingdom Hearts(キングダムハーツ)” series to celebrate the twentieth anniversary, just as previously reported, published “Kingdom Hearts 4″ and “kingdom hearts lost link(Temporary translation, キングダムハーツミッシングリンク, KINGDOM HEARTS Missing-Link)” (iOS / Android) and other new works, and the development team lineup came to the stage to give a testimonial. The following will bring you a report of the event.
The art paintings displayed at the venue, the central part is painted with Sora (ソラ) of the past, and the algebra of the works of the past is compared with the fingers.
Only the first animated film produced for Disney’s briefing will be released at the venue
At the beginning of the event, a segment with “Kingdom Hearts” series game director Tetsuya Nomura as the theme of the film. In the film Director Nomura’s comments on “kingdom hearts 3” said: “Although this work is not the end of the series, but because it really feels like the end, it makes people completely empty, it can be said that the syndrome is completely burnt out, but I have done everything I need to do, so I don’t regret it.”
For the first work in the series “Kingdom Hearts“, which means that because the popularity was not very high at the time, I might do whatever I wanted, but the series has become more and more widely known in the past 20 years, so now it can’t be as messy as before. It’s just that when developing a game, for “”Kingdom Hearts“What kind of game is it?” The belief has remained unchanged for 20 years, saying that it “is treated more strictly than all other works.”
At the same time, it also disclosed that Disney will conduct “Kingdom Hearts” The animation film produced during the planning briefing, Director Nomura said that he usually does not make a film of this level before deciding whether the game should be officially developed, but because “it is the first time I have made it myself, and I have to We have to get the approval of Disney, that’s why we prepare so carefully.” He also said that although it had been decided that the game name would have the word “Kingdom”, as well as elements such as the game world view and game structure, there was no complete case for the story.
Regarding the appearance of the protagonist of the game, in order to match the Disney style, I wanted to use a demihuman style. As for the later change to pure human, Director Nomura said, “Fortunately, there have been changes. If it were not human, the story would not be what it is now.” In addition, from the early stage of the project, there was a special emphasis on the content of the sea. This is because Director Nomura is a child who grew up by the sea.
The game type will choose an action role-playing game because I want to make a role-playing game that allows players to move freely. Special attention was paid during development to make it easy for people who are not good at action games, including Director Nomura, to enjoy the game.
At this time, Director Nomura also publicly stated that because he can do whatever he wants, he doesn’t really like the too fantastical worldview. But on the other hand, it’s boring to follow reality directly, so I want to provide players with a sense of excitement that is a little bit different from reality.
entire”Kingdom Hearts” series, is to describe the “inner connection”, and “anyone can become the protagonist” two points. Although in “kingdom hearts 3” in which Sora disappeared, but Director Nomura said, “In fact, the heart is still connected.”
Next, the publicKingdom Hearts” series uses the chamber music (piano quintet) arrangement version of the piece, and the pieces performed are “Dearly Beloved”, “Sola”, “Vector to the Heavens”, “Nachtflügel” and “Link to All”.
After the performance, the composer Yoko Shimomura, who was in charge of the selection and arrangement this time, took the stage and said, “Because I hope to create a repertoire suitable for the 20th anniversary of the series, I chose the chamber music arrangement that was used for the first time in the series.” , and in terms of song selection, we also choose songs from each series as evenly as possible, selecting songs that are absolutely impossible not to choose, or songs that are loved by many fans.
Mr. Shimomura also looked back on the past 20 years and revealed on the stage, “Although there are many happy and sad things at the same time, it is great to have the opportunity to see all the supporters directly like this.” .
In the talk show unit of the development team, director Nomura and “Kingdom Hearts》Jian Yilang, general manager of the brand, took the stage. The first topic is regarding the aforementioned title film, because Director Nomura first came into contact with Disney in 1997, which means that the briefing film that was broadcast was a film made twenty-five years ago. In addition, this video is only limited to the public at the venue, and it is not intended to be released directly to the public.
The next topic is regardingKingdom Hearts” series of works, there are now 13 games including derivative works, and the cumulative sales volume has reached 35 million sets. One of the best-selling titles through September 2021 iskingdom hearts 3, has sold 6.7 million units. General Manager Jian said, “The best-selling work, which means that the most people have come into contact with the series from this work, is of course very happy for us.”
At this time, the smart phone game software “Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross] Dark Road’s latest promotional video, which is scheduled to be released in August with the “Dark Road” update. With this update, players can enjoy “Dark Road” game content offline until the end. In addition, the story has been greatly enhanced, and Director Nomura said, “Most of the things players care regarding will be answered.”
Next is the introduction of the 20th anniversary commemorative products released by each partner company, including the already released “”Kingdom Hearts》 Tamagotchi ”,“ Ichiban Lottery 《Kingdom Hearts“～20th ANNIVERSARY”, Zoff’s frame “”Kingdom Hearts“collection”, a total of forty-five different commemorative products, including the 20th anniversary watch sold by SuperGroupies, will be launched. At the venue, Samantha Thavasa’s small selection of wallets and accessories will also be released. Special selection styles, etc. commodity.
SQUARE ENIX also has its own 20th anniversary commemorative products, please go to SQUARE ENIX e-STORE for details.special page. In the special exhibition area for the 20th anniversary at the venue, samples of various products were actually displayed.
This time, there will also be a launch of theKingdom Hearts“The symbols of the series are converted into “Japanese-style products” with Japanese-style patterns. Director Nomura said that this is because “there are many great design cases, because all of them want to be used, and this is what happened in the end.”
Moreover””Kingdom Hearts“20th ANNIVERSARY X Edo Kiriko Old Glass”, this is a product created by artisans who have joined the Edo Kiriko collaboration. The price is 77,000 yen for one type. Although it is a lot more expensive than other Edo kiriko glass products, this is because the number of kirikos is also much larger, so it can be said that it is really carefully crafted. In particular, the black glass produced at the request of Director Nomura requires a very high level of technology to complete.
In addition, the “Lighting Keyblade Kingdon Chain”, “”Kingdom Hearts“20th Anniversary Automatic Watch” and “20th Anniversary Quartz Watch”.
“” “” is being held at SQUARE ENIX official store “ARTNIA”Kingdom Hearts“20th ANNIVERSARY CAFE” event time was also announced to be extended, and reservations for the extended period will be accepted from April 15th.
Next is the release of the new smartphone game software “kingdom hearts lost link” promotional video, in “Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross]”The “Multi-layered City Scala ad Caelum (Multi-layered City スカラアドカエルム)” and “Ephimela Statue (エフェメラの Statue)” will appear once more, which seems to be regarding the “Keyblade of the Secret Society (Secret Statue)”. The story of “Association no キーブレード Shii)”. The era setting will be between “Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross]” and “Dark Road”.
The game screen corresponds to two modes of straight take and horizontal take, which can allow up to six players to enjoy the “Kingdom Hearts“style action combat. In addition, you can explore and fight on maps that are connected to the real world, act on your own in the game world, and collect items called “Shards (ピース)” that are installed all over the world for various enhancements. This work is scheduled to hold a closed beta test of the game in 2022.
Director Tetsuya Nomura answers player questions
There is also a section where director Nomura answers questions from players. Some of the questions mentioned below are answered in this way as they will be described in the development of the series, including the new work that will be released on the day.
Who the hell is Demix?
exist”Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross]”, following the player melted the heart of Saiyanote (ゼアノート), has he been in Saiyanote all the time?
exist”kingdom hearts 2“Rick gave the keyblade to Kaili, but where did he get the keyblade?
exist”Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross]”Finally, has Phimeira discovered the true meaning of the player?
When was the scar on Aiza’s face, and by whom?
Master “Sayanote” (マスターゼアノート) should have stronger powers when he was young, so why didn’t he activate it when he was young?
To the question “Who drew the mark of the Invisible (ノーバディ)”, the answer is “Although he is born with it, he does not have it in the human-shaped Invisible.”
As for the question “Did you find any inspiration from Hikaru Utada’s songs?”, the answer is that every time I start thinking regarding the opening animation following the opening theme song is completed, I have always looked for inspiration from it.
Regarding “When did Naminie (ナミネ) and the sage Ansem (アンセム) meet?”, it means that in the XIII agency, Rick and Sora all left the city of oblivion, leaving Naminie alone when. Because I think players will notice it during the game, I deliberately don’t describe it.
“The reason why Rick cut his hair in “Kingdom Hearts 3D” is because many players expressed their desire to cut “Rick’s hair”. And said that there are many places like this that they don’t know what to do, and they will adopt the opinions of players. For example, the resurrection of Roxas and Theon is the same.
To the question “What is the “※” of the world of “※” that the great teacher (マスターオブマスター) intends to make him disappear”, the answer is “hidden word”. Because it is clearly written in the script, people who are sensitive enough should be able to think of it;
“exist”Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross]”, when Phimeira and スクルド were alone, they had already escaped from the data world, but there was still a reason for noise in the air.” In fact, it was to show that both the data world and the real world were on the verge of collapse. The special effects have no special purpose in the story.
“What is the difference between “falling into the darkness and becoming a mindless one (ハートレス) (creating the invisible one)””, it means that the former’s heart has fallen into the darkness, but the heart still remains, while the latter is that the heart has been Get out of the body.
“Malefisi (マレフィセント) knew the reason why the Black Box contained the prophecy book”, although it is not fully explained, but in “Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross]”, there are descriptions that make people think “it should be like this”. If you think this part is confusing, maybe Malefith will have a specific speech regarding it in the future.
About “In “kingdom hearts 3》, Ria’s keyblade was smashed by Jemnas (ゼムナス), and also left a line like “To you who have lost the keyblade~”, but Ria still used the key later. The reason for the blade” means that it does not mean complete loss, but only “destroyed at the scene and in a state of destruction”. In fact, this line also contains the message that even if Axel (アクセル) gave birth to the keyblade immediately, “it will be destroyed immediately and cannot be used”.
In the eyes of the voice cast and the sound directorKingdom Hearts“series
The event was followed by a review of “Yoshino Irino” who played Sora, Risa Uchida who played Kelly, and Hiroshi Shimizu, the sound director.Kingdom Hearts“A twenty-year-old unit of the series. Since the director of Shimizu is mainly responsible for collecting the character lines and performing them, there will be a variety of “Disney works” that appear on the stage.Kingdom Hearts” series, each work has regarding 100 to 150 characters to be responsible for.
Regarding the first audition, although Shiro Irano can’t remember much, but because Uchida Risa likes the sea very much, she is still very impressed with the scene related to Destiny Island (デスティニーアイランド) in the audition.
The unit played the video testimonials recorded by Mamoru Miyano who played Rick. Mamoru Miyano said “Kingdom Hearts” series, is “to create the work of my current life”, described as “teach me the joy of acting as a voice actor, and what a wonderful thing it is”, “in order to create an opportunity to understand the world” series. It is also mentioned that because of the collaboration with Irino Yuki and Uchida Risa, Rick’s image and position in the story can be clearly grasped. In addition, he also talked regarding Rick’s famous lines “What’s wrong with Sora? Is it over? It’s a shame”, and “I can still be Sora’s friend”, I think these lines can express Rick’s heart very well, he himself Also like it.
The famous lines of Sora and Kelly were also introduced with a video at the venue. Irino Jiro confessed that because of his growth, it was difficult to make the same voice as before, so he was always asked to repeat it when recording, and he also praised his inner voice. Tian Lisha’s voice has not changed.
In addition, the famous lines of the king, Donald Duck (ドナルド), Goofy dog (グーフィー) and other main characters were also introduced. After seeing the film, Director Shimizu said that he was in the face of “Kingdom Hearts” series works and Disney, these two characters from completely different cultures are quite distressed regarding how to match.
He also said that although he tried to be objective in his recording work, when Keiji Fujiwara, who played Axel, recorded the line “No matter how many times you run away, I will always bring you back!” Very impressed to hear.
At the end of the event, director Nomura, general manager Ma, and co-producer Tai Yasang took the stage, and released a series of the latest orthodox works “Kingdom Hearts 4″. Director Nomura said that all the promotional films were made using real-time computing films, revealing that when he first saw the forest scene, he thought it was a film shot in the field. An Jiang said that the film was made using Unreal Engine 4, but following a review, it was decided that the actual game would be developed using Unreal Engine 5, so the character descriptions and details would be improved.
Director Nomura mentioned that Sora looks more like a real person, saying “this is a unique way of expressing that world”, and mentioned that the same Sora will appear in the game as before.
In addition, because the story of “Dark Seekers (ダークシーカー)” has ended in the previous work, this work will have a new “Lost Master (Rosトマスター)” story, so the title design of the game will also be changed. . It’s just that in the next period of time, there will be no moreKingdom Hearts 4″ sequel.
and also publicly stated thatKingdom Hearts 4″ and “kingdom hearts lost link“The two promotional videos are both narrated by the same voice actor, and they also say “I hope everyone can guess which character this is”, which further promotes players’ expectations. Incidentally, it seems that it is not Blaine (ブレイン).
At the end of the event, the video recorded by Hikaru Utada was played. In addition to blessing the 20th anniversary of the series, he also mentioned that because he does not play role-playing games very much, so far he has not contacted “Kingdom Hearts” series itself, but when the child grows to an age where he is interested in games, he will want to play with him.
Then the “Kingdom Hearts“The original brand general manager Shinji Hashimoto took the stage. After receiving the bouquet prepared by the development team, the general manager Hashimoto left “”Kingdom Hearts“The world will continue to expand in the future, and please continue to advise.”
In the end, the two general managers of Irino Yuki and Ma, on behalf of all the performers on stage today, once once more celebrated “Kingdom Hearts” series celebrates its twentieth anniversary, and thanks to all the guests. Director Nomura also said, “We have a lot of things going on under the water at the moment.”kingdom hearts lost link” has been in production for a long time, “Kingdom Hearts 4″ should also be an amazing work. I hope to see you all once more in the next 25th anniversary commemoration”, marking the end of the event.
The art setting picture mentioned at the beginning of the report was posted once more at the exit of the venue. Under the part that was originally covered by the 20th anniversary commemorative pattern was “Kingdom Hearts 4 Sora
20th Anniversary Special Exhibition “MEMORIES OPEN LOCKER”
A special exhibition area was set up at the venue to display variousKingdom Hearts” series of historical objects. Specifically, scripts, peripheral goods, dolls, records, original paintings, etc., are also designed to allow guests to open the drawers or doors before they can see the display items.
