Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

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Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

The logo of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
Developer(s) Square Enix
h.a.n.d. Inc.[1]
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Designer(s) Patrick Chen (game producer)
Shinji Hashimoto (executive producer)
Tetsuya Nomura & Tomohiro Hasegawa (game directors)[2][3]
Series Kingdom Hearts
Platform(s) Nintendo DS[4]
Release date JP TBA 2008[5]
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: RP

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (キングダム ハーツ 358/2 Days Kingudamu Hātsu Surī Faibu Eito Deizu ōbā Tsū?, pronounced "Kingdom Hearts Three-Five-Eight Days over Two") is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS with assistance from h.a.n.d. Inc.[6] It is an installment in the best-selling Kingdom Hearts series. The game features Roxas during the time period of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories after Sora entered a deep sleep. This game will explore the time from Roxas's creation until his confrontation with Riku that leads to his placement in the data-based Twilight Town in Kingdom Hearts II. It is said to be in full 3D as a single and multiplayer game. The game was announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show. Currently the title is only confirmed for a Japanese release, though Square Enix has plans for releases in other territories.[2]

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

Four Organization XIII members battling Heartless in Wonderland.
Four Organization XIII members battling Heartless in Wonderland.

The gameplay is similar to the action role-playing game style of the previous games in the series.[7] 358/2 Days will make minimal use of the system's touch screen functionality.[8] The game will feature both single player and multiplayer gameplay.[1][3] The single player mode will be story based focused on Disney worlds from past games, and will progress in days.[6] The two modes will be linked in that character growth will be shared between them.[8]

[edit] Multiplayer

Cooperative multiplayer was one feature on display at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show demonstrating that players can work together, in addition to the traditional use of AI controlled partners.[9][10] This is the second Kingdom Hearts game to feature multiplayer—the first was Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The multiplayer gameplay is separate from the single player story and will be mission-based, which include cooperative and competitive player battles.[8][11] It will allow up to four players to play as one of the thirteen members of Organization XIII, with each member having different weapons and skills.[6] 358/2 Days' multiplayer will also feature a chat system for communication between players, but will differ from PictoChat in that everyone will draw on the same screen.[8]

[edit] Plot

358/2 Days revolves around the untold events of Roxas during his time with Organization XIII and will take place during the year Sora was asleep between the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II.[6][11][12] Game director Tetsuya Nomura has noted the game's prologue will cover the "birth" of Roxas, but the gameplay will start from when he enters the Organization.[13] Roxas' daily duties with the Organization, his doubts of the Organization, and his departure from it will also be included in the story.[14] The initial trailer showed most of the events in Twilight Town.[15] Other worlds, like Wonderland, have also been featured.[16]

[edit] Characters

Like previous Kingdom Hearts titles, 358/2 Days will feature numerous Disney characters.[10] Confirmed characters include Roxas, King Mickey,[2][10] Riku, and the other members of Organization XIII, including a new female member.[3] This new fourteenth member is considered a key character to the game. The reason why the Organization's name remained "Organization XIII" with this member will be explained in the game.[14]

[edit] Development

358/2 Days is being developed by h.a.n.d Inc. with Square Enix employees overseeing the process. The game is directed by Tetsuya Nomura and co-directed by Tomohiro Hasegawa.[6] In 2007, Nomura mentioned he wanted to do a spin-off Kingdom Hearts game on a mobile platform and wanted the game to play slightly different than the other titles already in the series.[17] 358/2 Days was announced alongside Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts coded at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 2007. A trailer was shown in the Square Enix "Closed Mega Theater", a photo-prohibited theater presenting 40 minutes of trailers.[3][18] A new trailer and a playable demo was shown at the 2008 Jump Festa in December 2007.[19][20][21] Both single player and multiplayer demos were featured. The new fourteenth member of Organization XIII was also shown in the new trailer and in the multiplayer demo.[16]

The game's logo uses warm colors as a reference to the sunset in Twilight Town. The title, "358/2 Days", is a code that Nomura has stated the player will understand the meaning of at the very end of the game. The word "day" is attached to the title as a reference to the daily life of Organization XIII. The Nintendo DS was chosen as the system before plans were decided.[14] The development team wants to have gameplay similar to previous Kingdom Hearts titles, but have stated the number of buttons on the Nintendo DS is a problem.[6][14] Some of the DS's functionality, like the stylus, is not being used in order to retain the similar gameplay from previous titles.[8] The team is also looking to incorporate Roxas seeing Sora's memories throughout the game and having different types of gameplay for each world.[6] Though Birth by Sleep was the first of the three new games to begin development, 358/2 Days is expected to be released before it.[8][11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Square Enix (2007-09-20). A New Chapter in the Kingdom Hearts Series Delivers Three Brand-new Titles to the Nintendo DS, PSP, and Mobile Phones. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  2. ^ a b c Boyes, Emma (2007-09-20). TGS '07: Three new Kingdom Hearts games coming. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  3. ^ a b c d Niizumi, Hirohiko (2007-09-20). TGS '07: Square Enix shows all in closed mega-theater. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  4. ^ Kingdom Hearts シリーズ 新プロジェクト (Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  5. ^ IGN Staff (2007-12-20). Nintendo DS 2007 Year in Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g IGN Staff (2007-09-26). Kingdom Hearts DS Update. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  7. ^ Yoon, Andrew (2007-09-20). TGS07: Impressions of Kingdom Hearts: Coded and 358/2 Days. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Gantayat, Anoop (2007-10-02). Nomura Discusses Kingdom Hearts. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
  9. ^ Siegel, Scott (2007-09-20). TGS07: New Kingdom Hearts games coming to DS, PSP, mobile. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  10. ^ a b c Onyett, Charles (2007-09-19). TGS 2007: Three New Kingdom Hearts Titles. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  11. ^ a b c “Photophile - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep”, Game Informer (Cathy Preston) (no. 176): 125, December 2007 
  12. ^ Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  13. ^ Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (Famitsu Interview). Kingdom Hearts Ultimania. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
  14. ^ a b c d Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - Famitsu October 2007: Interview. Kingdom Hearts Ultimania. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  15. ^ Parish, Jeremy (2007-09-19). Previews: Kingdom Hearts DS. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  16. ^ a b Enrico S. (2007-12-22). Jump Festa 2008 - Kingdom Hearts Coded, 258/2 Days, Birth by Sleep details. QJ.net. Content Holdings, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  17. ^ Ransom-Wiley, James (2007-05-04). Next Kingdom Hearts to be portable spin-off, not KHIII. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  18. ^ 『キングダム ハーツ』新プロジェクトも明らかに！ (Japanese). Famitsu (2007-09-20). Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
  19. ^ Anoop Gantayat (2007-12-17). Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts Playable at Jump Festa. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  20. ^ Anoop Gantayat (2007-12-02). Square Enix Unveils Jump Festa Lineup. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  21. ^ 初プレイアブル、初お披露目タイトルが続々！ ジャンプフェスタ2008にゲームメーカーがブースを出展 (Japanese). Famitsu (2007-12-23). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.

[edit] External links

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