Kingdom Hearts

Head In The Clouds: Flying In Video Games

There’s something fantastical about flying in a video game. We can easily run, jump and swim in real life. Flight is more exotic. But we do fantasize about it. Where do you think the term “flights of fancy” comes from? Nowhere is the realization of flight grander or more satisfying than in video games. When…

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Wakes Up To Japanese Release Date

PSP role-playing-game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep has been dated for Japan. The game will be released on January 9 and priced at ¥6,090 (US$67). Birth By Sleep is an action RPG set ten years before the first Kingdom Hearts game. Be sure to check out our impressions on the game.

Looks Like A New Game Mode For Birth By Sleep

I was jealous when I heard Stephen Totilo played Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep at the Tokyo Game Show. But even if he saw it first, it looks like he didn’t see everything. Apparently there’s a board game-type of mode in Birth By Sleep that breaks up the hack ‘n’ slash monotony many non-KH fans…

Week Of Disney: When A Games Journalist Moonlights

GamesRadar is doing Disney theme week to celebrate the upcoming release of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and yours truly was lucky enough to participate. So if you ever wonder what I do when I’m not blogging my little heart out for Kotaku, go check out this massive feature I put together on the history of…

Tokyo’s Video Game Toys And Final Fantasy Jewelry, Of Course

The Tokyo Game Show hasn’t started here in Japan yet, so half of your Kotaku team has been left with time to visit toy stores. We found a horde of video game toys and at least one other curious thing. All photos from Kiddy Land, a toy store in Tokyo’s Harajuku district.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Manga Kicks Off

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days isn’t due out in North America for another two months or so, but maybe the manga will tide you over ’til then. The July issue of Shounen Gangan features an eight-page preview chapter of the manga which basically re-hashes all the names and some of the neuroses of Organization XIII‘s members.…

Kingdom Hearts Conceived With Chainsaws

That’s how Square Enix designer Tetsuya Nomura first pitched the game’s weapon to Disney. Square Enix wanted to make a game starring Mickey Mouse, he tells Japanese game mag Famitsu, and Disney wanted a game starring Donald Duck. “Meanwhile,” he says with a laugh, “I wanted neither.” What did Nomura want? “The first weapon I…

Tetsuya Nomura On Kingdom Hearts 3

One new Kingdom Hearts game, KH 358/2 Days, has been released in Japan. Two more Square-Enix-meets-Disney mash-ups are forthcoming: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PSP and Kingdom Hearts: Coded for cell phones. But where is the one everyone is waiting for, Kingdom Hearts 3? Kingdom Hearts designer Tetsuya Nomura says he already has…

Halo+ Kingdom Hearts + Metroid

Welcome to Toybox! We’ve decided to centralise most of our toy/action figure/adult collectible news into a single feature, which we’ll be running every week or two. This week, we’ve got Kingdom Hearts, a stunning custom Metroid statue and a Halo Mongoose. Halo Mongoose Due out in October, the Mongoose is built to accommodate McFarlane’s line…

Video Games Live Has Its Own MP3 Player

The Video Games Live concert tour kicks their merchandising up a notch with this new VGL-branded VIVO MP3 player, loaded with unreleased recordings from Kingdom Hearts, Halo, and more. The 2GB MP3 player is now available for sale at the Video Games Live online store, and will also be making appearances at the merchandising tables…

Anyone For Lifetime Final Fantasy Sales Figures?

As part of a corporate strategy meeting, Square Enix yesterday revealed the lifetime, worldwide sales figures for three of their biggest franchises. And no, they don’t mean The World Ends With You. The three biggest (at least in terms of units sold) are Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, and when you combine every…

A DSi Fit For Mickey Mouse And Square Enix

Game maker Square Enix has announced a Japanese release date for its upcoming action role-playing DS titleKINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days: May 30. KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days is the latest entry in the Disney-meets-Square-Enix series of RPGs. A special KINGDOM HEARTS DSi (pictured) will also go on sale when 358/2 launches.

Voice acting in video games

Voice acting in video games makes for popular feature fodder – check out these two articles on vocal talent behind video games if you don’t believe me. First up is “Characters you never knew had the same voiceover” from GamesRadar. Charlie Barrat lays out 21 examples of voice actors doubling up dubbing duties. Most of…