Kingdom Hearts

How Fans’ Lives Changed During The Long Wait For Kingdom Hearts III

Some got married. Some came out. Some simply got older and began looking differently at the world and the game series they loved. Devoted Kingdom Hearts fans waited 13 years for the big sequel to 2006’s Kingdom Hearts II, and in that time, their lives took some dramatic turns. Jaime bonded over the original 2002…

The download sales and shipped copies of Kingdom Hearts III have crossed the five million number since its release late last month. According to Square Enix, the game has set a new sales record for the series, with KHIII being the fastest-selling entry in the series.

The Best Gummi Ships Players Have Made So Far In Kingdom Hearts III

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when you give someone a chance to customize anything in a video game, they will try to make a dick. Players have made the requisite penis out of their Gummi Ships in Kingdom Hearts III, and thankfully a lot of other, varied creations. Gummi Ships are basically the…

The Sheer Joy Of Kingdom Hearts

Is Kingdom Hearts brilliant or incomprehensible? Hackneyed or joyful? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we decide that the answer is… all of the above! First we talk about the many games we’ve been playing, including Resident Evil 2, Wargroove, Bloodborne, and Destiny 2. Then we take a deep dive into Kingdom Hearts (34:01), debating whether the…

Kingdom Hearts 3 Starts Off With A Great Self-Aware Joke

Kingdom Hearts 2 launched for PS2 in 2006, so fans have been waiting 13 years for Kingdom Hearts 3, which came out this week. It appears that the developers couldn’t resist getting in a little joke at the expense of everyone who’s been wading through spinoff after spinoff since then. Last night I started Kingdom…

GameStop Is Cancelling Kingdom Hearts 3 PlayStation 4 Pro Orders

Players are saying that their pre-orders for a limited edition, Kingdom Hearts 3-themed PlayStation 4 Pro console are being cancelled by GameStop, and they’re not happy. In honor of the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3, Sony is released a limited edition version of the PlayStation 4 Pro, emblazoned with characters from the series; the special PS4…

Kingdom Hearts III Warns Users About Making ‘Commercial’ Livestreams And Music Streams

Some video game creators are cool with people livestreaming any part of their game, others not so much. People who start playing Kingdom Hearts 3 will find a message notifying them that the companies behind the game are applying some limitations. The game’s title screen includes an unusual button prompt labeled “before you stream.” Pressing…

Japan Celebrates Kingdom Hearts III‘s Launch With Excellent Fan Art

Today in Japan, it finally happened. Kingdom Hearts III went on sale in Japan. What better way to celebrate that than with lovely fan art? On Twitter, Japanese fans have been posting their celebratory art and writing omedetou (おめでとう) or “congrats,” among other well-wishes Here are some of the standouts: Expect the game to be…

Kingdom Hearts’ Multiverse Paved The Way For Everything Else

With the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 almost upon us, I wondered how much the entertainment landscape has changed since the series first showed up on the scene. In today’s media, nearly every franchise has started to build their own vast universes, just like the Kingdom Hearts franchise did 17 years ago. Tim and I chatted…

What We Love (So Far) About Kingdom Hearts 3

Tim Rogers and I have had Kingdom Hearts 3 for only one full day, and we played as much as we could. Here’s what we think so far. We try not to spoil anything major, but of course, we can’t spoil anything that happened beyond the first ten hours or so. Enjoy! Maddy Myers: Are…

Tetsuya Nomura Explains How To Unlock Kingdom Hearts III‘s Secret Movie

When Kingdom Hearts III leaked, creator Tetsuya Nomura said the biggest spoilers in the game were the game’s secret movie and epilogue. Earlier this month, Kotaku reported on how players can watch the epilogue, but the details for the secret movie were vague. In a newly published Famitsu interview, Nomura explained how the secret movie…

Japan Getting Kingdom Hearts Themed Hotel Rooms 

Starting this March, the Disney Ambassador Hotel at the Tokyo Disney Resort is rolling out special Kingdom Hearts themed rooms. And yes, you can open the door with a Keyblade shaped key. The rooms are limited to three adults and come with two regular sized beds and one trundle bed. Prices are from 46,100 yen…

Kingdom Hearts III‘s Epilogue Will Be Patched In After Launch

The much-anticipated Kingdom Hearts III comes out on January 29, and if you plan to play it, I sure hope you have a home internet connection. Because the epilogue will be added via patch the next day. On Twitter this morning, publisher Square Enix laid out the update schedule for Kingdom Hearts III’s launch week,…

Kingdom Hearts Is Weirdly Similar To Twin Peaks

What I love about both Twin Peaks and Kingdom Hearts is that they simply trust me with a massive amount of knowledge

Kingdom Hearts III Leaks Six Weeks Before Release

Copies of Kingdom Hearts III are out in the wild, more than a month before the release of the highly anticipated role-playing game. It’s not clear exactly how the game leaked, but director Tetsuya Nomura told fans this weekend to watch out for spoilers, promising that the epilogue and final movie “are planned to be…

Square-Enix has released the “Opening Movie Trailer”for Kingdom Hearts III I guess that this is the thing that plays if you let the main menu idle too long? I’m going to be honest, this trailer is really good. And that song!

Chinese Game Site Censors Winnie The Pooh in Kingdom Hearts III

When Chinese game site A9VG recently covered Kingdom Hearts III, it decided to remove one thing: Winnie the Pooh. Below is a screenshot of the A9VG coverage that was posted on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. According to Buzz Plus, to get around censors, it seems, the site decided to edit out Pooh bear. What…

Utada Hikaru And Skrillex Team Up For Kingdom Hearts III Music

Originally, Skrillex was going to remix Hikaru Utada’s Kingdom Hearts III theme, “Don’t Think Twice.” However, that developed into a new, original collaboration. The resulting track is called “Face My Fears.” The Skrillex collaboration, which was produced along with Poo Bear of Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean? fame, will be released on January 18,…

First Look At Kingdom Hearts: VR Experience 

Want to swing a Keyblade around in VR? You can. However, Kingdom Hearts: VR Experience is less a game and more of an experience. Hence the title! Players can soak up music and visuals from different Kingdom Hearts, watch various scenes, and meet different characters. You can wield a Keyblade, yes, but this isn’t a…

Eminem’s New Album Samples Kingdom Hearts [Update: No It Doesn’t]

Eminem’s surprise album drop over the weekend contains an even bigger surprise for JRPG fans: one of the tracks samples Square’s Kingdom Hearts throughout. UPDATE: Actually, it doesn’t. UPDATE 7pm, Sep 4: The album’s producer Illaproducer originally told Rolling Stone that the track sampled was Simple & Clean by Utada Hikaru, the intro song to…