Kingdom Hearts χ

Kingdom Hearts χ
Developer(s)
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Director(s)
Composer(s) Yoko Shimomura
Series Kingdom Hearts
Platform(s)

Release date(s)

Web browser

  • JP July 18, 2013

Android/iOS

  • JP September 3, 2015
  • NA TBD

HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
PlayStation 4
2016

Mode(s)

Kingdom Hearts χ (キングダム ハーツ キー Kingudamu Hātsu Kī), stylized as Kingdom Hearts χ[chi], is a Japanese role-playing browser game developed by Square Enix and Success Corporation, and published by Square Enix for web browsers as the eighth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series. Gameplay involves players navigating a customized avatar through Disney-inspired worlds fighting enemies, along with taking down bosses in multiplayer matches in competition with other teams. A version of the game for mobile devices, Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ, was released in Japan on September 3, 2015, with a release in North America also planned for a later unspecified date.

Kingdom Hearts χ is a prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series as a whole, taking place before the Keyblade War, the event which established the current organization of the Kingdom Hearts universe. The player assumes the role of a Keyblade wielder who joins one of five factions led by Keyblade Masters fighting for control of the limited Light existing in the world. The game's plot is connected to Kingdom Hearts III, the next main entry in the series. The title refers to the legendary χ-blade, a weapon central to the series' story arc.

The game was designed as a playing experience that newcomers to the series could come to. Its presentation was compared to that of a fairy tale, as depicting the usual style of the series would have been difficult on the platform. Both Tetsuya Nomura and Yoko Shimomura, veterans from the main series, returned as director and composer respectively. Since release, the game has received favorable opinions from players.

Gameplay

A player character fighting a Heartless in Kingdom Hearts χ.

Kingdom Hearts χ is a role-playing video game set in the universe of Kingdom Hearts, where players navigate different Disney-inspired worlds defeating monsters known as the Heartless. Before beginning, players create their own character. Players can customize the gender, hair, keyblade and clothing, and choose accessories themed after both Square Enix and Disney universes present in the Kingdom Hearts series. Story missions are unlocked by the player. After a certain amount of the available content has been completed, new story missions become available. Players navigate their surroundings by dragging their mouse across the screen.[1] The base game is free to play, with optional microtransactions.[2] Your actions use up your AP, which can be replenished by either waiting or by using potions, which can be earned or bought. Rare items such as special cards can also be purchased.[3] Alongside the single-player mode, there is a multiplayer mode where teams of players take on bosses.[4]

Enemies appear on-screen, and can be engaged by clicking on them. Upon defeating an enemy, the player earns experience points and Munny, the in-game currency.[1] The player also earns Fragments, cards based on the characters of the Kingdom Hearts series, imbued with different properties depending on the character, such as physical or elemental strikes. Cards can be merged and levelled up, strengthening the player.[1][2] Players can strengthen their keyblade using materials found in each world, and new keyblades are acquired as the story progresses.[1][4] Unchained shares multiple gameplay features with its browser counterpart, except tailored for a touch screen. The ability to travel between different Disney worlds is also replaced with a stage system.[5]

Setting

Kingdom Hearts χ is set before the legendary Keyblade War, when disputes between Keyblade wielders over the Light that created the world sparked a war between Light and Darkness, triggering a calamity that created the present-day layout of the Kingdom Hearts world.[6] Prior to the war, an unnamed Keyblade Master bestowed a book called the Tome of Prophecy to five of his six apprentices before disappearing. The Tome has the ability to predict and even manifest objects and people from the future. The five apprentices learned to a prophecy foretelling the world falling to Darkness and the Light being destroyed. In order to prevent this, each of the apprentices decided to attempt to prevent the prophecy from coming true. As part of their efforts, they used the Tome to manifest powerful warriors from the future as the Fragments. Each eventually begins hoarding pieces of Light, called Lux, from the monsters known as Heartless, and each creates their own factions themed around their individual animal icon: Ursus, Anguis, Unicornus, Leopardus, and Vulpes. The player character, a newly awakened Keyblade Wielder, chooses to support one of the factions and works to ensure the chosen faction's supremacy.[4][7] The story will lead into the beginning of the Keyblade War.[5]

Development

Kingdom Hearts χ was co-directed by Tetsuya Nomura, one of the series' creators, and Tatsuya Kando, who had previous directed Nintendo DS game The World Ends with You.[7] The game's music is composed by Yoko Shimomura, a regular contributor to the series' music.[8] The game was co-developed by Square Enix and Japanese studio Success Corporation.[9][10] Square Enix handled the planning and design, but due to its newness to the team, development was transferred to Success Corporation, who were experienced with developing browser games. Despite multiplayer elements being included, the game was "fundamentally single-player", as with most other entries in the series.[10]

Due to difficulties transferring the core Kingdom Hearts experience into a browser game, the presentation was created to be more like a fairy tale than the settings encounter by series protagonists Sora and Riku. For this same reason, the team went with mouse-based rather than controller-based gameplay.[4] The team were aiming for a game that had simple controls and flashy battles.[11] The stories of Kingdom Hearts χ and Kingdom Hearts III share a strong connection, and the two stories were written at the same time.[12] Despite this strong link, it was described by Nomura as a title where story was not an emphasis, and that its content was completely separate from the main series, making it accessible for newcomers.[11] The game's title refers to the χ-blade (Keyblade), the original Keyblade and a weapon central to the Kingdom Hearts storyline.[4] During 2014, Nomura stated that the story of Kingdom Hearts χ was on hold while work was focused on Kingdom Hearts III. He also stated that they were exploring ways to allow more fans of the series to experience the game.[12]

Unchained was decided upon while the original game was still in development. Nomura initially planned to release both titles simultaneously, with each being updated individually. However development was focused on Kingdom Hearts χ, halting development on Unchained. The original plan was to make the game a simpler version of its browser counterpart, but with the increasing specs of mobile devices, the workload increased, contributing to the halt to development. As mobile devices employ a different control set-up to web browsers, Unchained could not work simply as a port of Kingdom Hearts χ. Its title "Unchained" signified the gameplay and story of Kingdom Hearts χ being released into a mobile format. One of the functions included was to make it a more casual experience than Kingdom Hearts χ, with battles being shorter and potentially easier.[5]

Release

The game was first announced at Tokyo Game Show 2012 alongside Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix under the tentative title Kingdom Hearts for PC Browsers.[6] Its official title was announced in February the following year. To promote the game, codes for special items and in-game currency were included with first-print copies of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix.[9] A closed beta for the title began on March 22, 2013, with Beta recruitment beginning on March 13. The test was available for users who had a Yahoo Japan ID, and included in-game items and currency as a starting gift.[13] An open beta test began on July 9 of the same year.[14] The game's official service began on July 18.[15] Since the original release, the game has received constant updates to its story missions, providing additional content to players.[7] A localization for western territories was being prepared, with Disney Interactive as the game's publisher. These plans needed to be changed when Playdom, a social game network developer owned by Disney Interactive, was closed down, preventing Kingdom Hearts χ from being published as planned. Despite this, there are still plans for a localization using another company as Square Enix does not have a browser network in western territories.[16] A western release of Unchained χ is planned, with western playtests being used to improve the experience prior to release.[5]

Reception

By September 2013, 200,000 users were announced to have enrolled for the game.[17] During the 2013 WebMoney Awards, Kingdom Hearts χ was among the games voted into the "Best Rookie of the Year Good Games" category, with most voters praising the game for being accessible to series newcomers, and fun to play.[18] Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku was generally positive, saying that despite it being similar to other Japanese browser games and using a micro-transaction system, it was "an enjoyable little time waster."[3]

Back Cover

In September 2015, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, for release in 2016. The collection features Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, set to tell the tale of the Foretellers and reveal new parts of the series' history in HD cinematics. The collection also features an HD remaster of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep–A Fragmentary Passage, a new part of the story taking place after the events of the original Birth by Sleep, told from the perspective of Aqua.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ヘルプ：初心者向けガイド ― KINGDOM HEARTS χ[chi]". Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] website. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  2. 1 2 Yip, Spencer (2013-03-13). "Kingdom Hearts X[chi] Is Kind Of Like Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories". Silcionera. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  3. 1 2 Eisenbeis, Richard (2013-10-21). "Kingdom Hearts χ Is More Than I Expected from a Browser Game". Kotaku. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "スクエニChan!: 第75回　（2013年3月14日配信）". Square Enix Channel. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2015-04-25. Translation
  5. 1 2 3 4 あなたの手の中に、『KH』の世界が法がる [The world of "KH" expands into your hands]. Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese) (Enterbrain) (1380): 30–35. 2015-05-15.
  6. 1 2 Nobu (2012-09-20). "［TGS 2012］10周年を迎えるKINGDOM HEARTS。HD版が楽しめるPS3タイトル「HD 1.5 ReMIX-」と，シリーズ初のPCブラウザ向けタイトルが発表に". 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  7. 1 2 3 "Kingdom Hearts Mysteries - Episode Four: The Foretellers' Prophecy". GameTrailers. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  8. ↑ "イトケンライブ再び！ 伊藤賢治さん、光田康典さん、下村陽子さん出演のスクウェア・エニックスステージをレポート 【TGS2013】". Dengeki Online. 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  9. 1 2 Yip, Spencer (2013-02-19). "Kingdom Hearts X[chi] Is Coming To PC, Made By Operation Darkness Developer". Siliconera. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  10. 1 2 "『キングダム ハーツ』シリーズのディレクター野村哲也氏にインタビュー！ ゼアノートが敵となる"Dark Seeker編"はいよいよクライマックスへ". Dengeki Online. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2015-04-25. Translation
  11. 1 2 "『キングダム ハーツ -HD 1.5 リミックス-』HDでよりキレイになった画面写真と野村哲也氏のインタビューをお届け". Famitsu. 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2015-04-25. Translation
  12. 1 2 Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese) (Enterbrain, Inc.) (1347): 84–89. 2014-09-25.
  13. ↑ "『KINGDOM HEARTS χ [chi]』Yahoo!ゲームにてクローズドβテスト参加者募集中". Square Enix Blog. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  14. ↑ Yip, Spencer (2013-07-09). "Kingdom Hearts X[chi] Is Now In Open Beta". Siliconera. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  15. ↑ Gueed (2013-07-18). "「キングダム ハーツ」シリーズ初のブラウザゲーム「KINGDOM HEARTS χ[chi]」の正式サービスが本日スタート". 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  16. ↑ Yip, Spencer (2014-06-16). "Why Kingdom Hearts X[chi] Hasn't Been Released In The West Yet?". Siliconera. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  17. ↑ "『キングダム ハーツ χ [キー] 』登録者数が20万人を突破、レベル上限も開放！". Famitsu. 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  18. ↑ "【WebMoney Award 2013】-Rookie of the Year BEST GAMES- KINGDOM HEARTS X[chi]". WebMoney. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  19. ↑ Wallace, Kimberly (September 15, 2015). "[Update] Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Revealed For PS4". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved September 15, 2015.

External links

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