Now let me ask you something, if you were to walk up to most Kingdom Hearts fans and ask them if Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is one of the best games on PSP ? The answer for most I’m guessing would probably be a massive Yes! On top of that having been tipped earlier this summer by most publications as one of the PSP’s most anticipated games it’s refreshing to see the game live up to its expectations in the eyes of its fans.

Well it’s not just the fans that are ranting and raving about the game. Another large site namely ElectricPig.co.uk has gone one step further and actually slapped Birth by Sleep into the number 1 position on their Best PSP Games list beating out other big titles such as Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and LittleBigPlanet.

In their words they’ve said about Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

“We love: Varied combat and simple, fun gameplay, plus a well executed narrative, We hate: Some of the earlier worlds are a little on the easy side, Verdict: If you love RPGs you’ll be sure to feel the same way about Birth By Sleep.”

You can discuss this topic over at our forums here

Source: ElectricPig.co.uk

Official Press Release

“LOS ANGELES (May 17, 2010) — Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep will be available at North American retailers on September 7, 2010. KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep brings to life unexplored worlds from everyone’s favorite Disney stories, and will be appearing exclusively on the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

A prequel to the mega-hit series, this pivotal installment takes players back to the beginnings of the KINGDOM HEARTS saga, long before Sora was chosen by his Keyblade. Players will explore iconic Disney worlds in a unique gaming experience that unfolds through the perspectives of three different main characters: Terra, Ventus and Aqua. Their journeys will take them through Sleeping Beauty’s Enchanted Dominion, the Dwarf Woodlands from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Deep Space from Lilo & Stitch. Additionally, KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep includes four all-new multiplayer modes that allow players to enjoy the action with their friends.

KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep is being brought to life through voice talents including Mark Hamill, Willa Holland, Jesse McCartney, Leonard Nimoy and James Woods. With an enhanced and action-packed battle system accompanied by stellar performances from pop-culture icons, KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep continues to push the franchise forward.

In celebration of the game’s launch, Square Enix and Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC are introducing a limited edition KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep PSP Entertainment Pack, which brings together the stunning visuals of KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep and the robust portable gaming experience only possible on the PSP system. Available in North America, this GameStop exclusive bundle will include a “Mystic Silver” PSP-3000 system, KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep on UMD® (Universal Media Disc), a movie (title to be announced; movie content will not be related to KINGDOM HEARTS series.) as well as a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo™.

“The entire development team is extremely happy to announce the North American release date for KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep,” said Tetsuya Nomura, director of the KINGDOM HEARTS series. “We hate to keep fans waiting, but we’ve added some brand-new features for the North American version, so even those who have been following the Japanese version are sure to find a few surprises. In addition, we’ve put together an outstanding voice cast. We can’t wait for everyone to experience this game!”
With more than 14 million copies shipped worldwide, KINGDOM HEARTS is one of the most beloved video game series. Discover the origins of its captivating story on September 7, with KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep.”

New Screenshots!

KH Insider has compiled a great gallery of photos from the game, including many new ones, so thank you, thank you to them and we’ll share a few here.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Arrives to the US and UK

The United States release to the PSP will be Tuesday, September 7, 2010. The game drops into stores in the United Kingdom just three days later on Friday, September 10, 2010. Birth By Sleep will be available in English for the US and English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German for the UK.

Trailers!

Along with these highly, highly anticipated dates, the American and European websites have trailers for the game in different languages, so the lovin’ that Kingdom Hearts not only deserves but desires from us, can now be shared across what was once language barriers!

Rejoice Everyone

How excited are you, on a scale of one to ten? So excited you just had an accident? Totally pumped but remaining sane? Freaking out because you still don’t have a PSP? Unsure how you feel about another game without Sora as the protagonist? Share with us!

You’re Killing us, Square!

Let’s hope it’s official! I’m sick of waiting, I’m sure you all are, too. What am I saying, I still don’t own a PSP! Horrible!

Endless appreciation and thanks must be given to KH Insider, who translated this.

Plot Mysteries Interview

In this title, where our eyes are apt to be drawn to points that elucidate the mysteries of the past, it is by no means easy to grasp the full details of the story. As usual, we’ve gone after Mr. Nomura with the questions from the game that have been simmering away. (Interviewer: Yuuko Oono)

– Considering the conversation between Sora and Ventus in the ending of the Last Episode, is this saying that the “just-born heart” that Ventus connects with in the opening is Sora’s?

Nomura: Yes. At first we supposed that it could be Sora before he was born, but because of opinions from overseas that “the heart doesn’t exist until after birth”, we discarded that portrayal.

– Ventus awakens with Sora’s help, but at first his eyes are blank, and when he first meets Terra and Aqua he falls asleep under their barrage of questions.

Nomura: At that time, although Ventus has awakened, his heart is not fully formed. The imagery is the same as the first week after Roxas entered the organization in “KH Days”, when he was spacing out.

– This time we saw a “rite of succession” – is that a required condition for becoming a Keyblade user?

Nomura: That’s essentially correct. In terms of the rite itself, the successee just has to make the successor grasp their Keyblade – if this rite is performed by a Keyblade Master, and if they have suitable power, the Keyblade will choose that person as a Keyblade user, and appear before them. Terra, Ventus, all have passed this rite. Sora is the only exception.

– The Keyblade succession can only be performed by a Keyblade Master, but we see Terra performing this rite with Riku – does this mean we can consider Terra a Keyblade Master?

Nomura: No. Terra was not awarded that title by his Master Eraqus, so no matter how Master Xehanort flatters him he is not a Keyblade Master. But that’s just a matter of whether or not he’s achieved the official title. Even Eraqus recognized that Terra possessed suitable power to be a Master, which is why he was able to perform the rite for Riku.

–In Aqua’s chapter, on the Destiny Islands, was Aqua originally intending to perform the Keyblade rite for Sora or Riku?

Nomura: Yes. When Aqua met Sora and Riku, she was on the point of realizing that she may end up having to fight Terra. At that point she was going to perform the rite of succession for Sora, but realized that Terra had already performed the rite for Riku. Not wanting Sora and Riku to end up fighting like she and Terra in the future, she didn’t perform the rite for Sora. This is the meaning behind her murmurs that “One must not get too close to a chosen one,” and “I must not make them walk the same path.” When she tells Sora he must save Riku if he ends up walking the wrong path, she’s projecting her own thoughts onto Sora.

– By the time of “KHI”, have Sora, Riku and Kairi forgotten about Terra and Aqua?

Nomura: That’s right. In “KHI” Kairi herself says that she’s lost all her previous memories, that she “doesn’t remember anything before coming to the Destiny Islands”, and it would be pretty easy for Sora to forget. After all, I think for a child of 4 or 5 years old to remember a person they met only once and exchanged just a few words with would be quite unnatural. Only Riku, who was told by Terra “Don’t tell anything of today to anyone,” may simply be keeping quiet.

– If Terra wasn’t the one who stole Aurora’s heart in his chapter, who actually did steal it?

Nomura: It was Master Xehanort and Maleficent. In “KHI” it was shown that beings of darkness like Maleficent and the Heartless are able to steal people’s hearts. The theory is that Terra, who has light residing in his heart, is not a being of darkness and therefore didn’t steal Aurora’s heart.

– Who is the hero “similar to Terra” that Zack aspires to be like?

Nomura: As in the original game, it’s Sephiroth. In “KHI FM” and “KHII” Sephiroth was portrayed as a being of darkness, but at the time of “KH BbS” we don’t know whether or not he was a being of darkness.

– What’s the meaning behind the several puzzling images in Terra’s chapter where we cross over into his mind?

Nomura: Firstly, when he hears the name of the masked boy from Master Xehanort at the mysterious wasteland, and we see an image of Aqua and Ventus defeated, that’s a hint of the future. On the Destiny Islands, when he makes Riku his successor, he has a special view of him and catches a glimpse of his future. However, this isn’t to say that Terra has the ability to see the future – it was a directive nuance intended to portray the future connection between Terra and Riku.

– Was Master Xehanort the one who delivered the final blow to Master Eraqus?

Nomura: Because it was necessary to avoid showing such a cruel scene, it’s difficult to tell from the presentation, but that’s right. Terra saw this happen right in front of his eyes, so when he realized at the Keyblade Graveyard that Master Xehanort intends to harm Ventus and Aqua, this drives him to anger, saying, “Not only my father Eraqus…” As an aside, although he says “my father”, and we see from Eraqus’ words that he thinks of Terra like a son, Terra and Eraqus are not actually father and son. Also, in his final moments Eraqus falls towards Terra – an important meaning is hidden in this scene.

– In a memory scene in Ventus’ chapter, we see Master Xehanort send Neoshadow Heartless after Ventus. But the Heartless only appeared in the world of light at the time Ansem Report 1 from “KHI” was written – were Ansem the Wise’s student Xehanort’s experiments with darkness not his first?

Nomura: As Yen Sid says in “KHII”, the Heartless cannot be separated from the darkness in people’s hearts, and have been around for a long time. Beings of darkness can draw out the darkness in the heart, so Master Xehanort could summon the Neoshadows with his own hands. In the same way, when Xehanort and Ansem the Wise’s students begin to perform the first experiments on the darkness of the heart, artificial Heartless were created in large numbers.

– In this title, the dark influence of the Heartless isn’t breaking down the walls between worlds, so in this period before Gummi Ships, why are Donald and Goofy able to travel to the Mysterious Tower?

Nomura: You can think of it as being thanks to Yen Sid, and also because the Mysterious Tower is a loophole world in the first place, so it comes under slightly different rules than the ones that connect the other worlds. By the way, when Donald and Goofy visit the Mysterious Tower in “KHII”, they say “Isn’t this tower strange!” even though they know it from “KH BbS”. This is because the floors are constructed differently to the previous time they visited, which is strange (laughs).

– Are the Unversed of a similar nature to the Heartless?

Nomura: That’s right. The Heartless are born from the darkness of the heart, and Unversed are born from negative emotions, so you can call them relatives (laughs). To make them fundamentally similar, we made the designs similar. However there’s one difference in that the Heartless are seeking hearts, whereas the Unversed behave according to Vanitas’ will, and emotionally. For example, the Flood portray feelings of irritation.

– In “KHI” when Sora stabs the “Keyblade of people’s hearts” into himself to release his heart and Kairi’s, Sora’s Heartless and Nobody were born. When Master Xehanort and Terra: Xehanort stab themselves with the Keyblade, were his and Terra’s Nobodies not created?

Nomura: That is not yet clear. However I will say that the fixed sentiment that remained just after Master Xehanort stabbed himself with the Keyblade was not a Heartless.

– When Vanitas calls Aqua a “spare”, is he talking about raw materials for making a χ-blade?

Nomura: Yes. She was a “spare” prepared in case Ventus did not survive the fusion process with Vanitas. Aqua was recognized by Eraqus as a legitimate Keyblade Master who viewed light as absolute, and holds a strong heart of light. So if Ventus were to fail she could have been used as material for the χ-blade.

– Comparing the Organization members when they were human to when they were in the Organization, apart from Xehanort, only Isa and Braig have differently-shaped ears and differently-colored eyes – why is this?

Nomura: It’s a question of whether or not they’re deeply connected to Xehanort. In Braig’s case, comparing the scene where he’s injured in his battle with Terra and flares up at Xehanort, his appearance afterwards changes, which hints that something happened with Xehanort in between.

– Roxas, the “Sora + Ventus” Nobody, was able to use a Keyblade. In contrast Xemnas, the “Terra + Master Xehanort” Nobody, wasn’t able to use a Keyblade. Why is this?

Nomura: I’d rather that point remain a mystery. It’s possible that he intentionally wasn’t using one.

– In “KHI”, the robed man, Ansem the Wise’s apprentice Xehanort’s Heartless (the body of Xehanort’s Heartless before he inhabited Riku’s body), appeared on the Destiny Islands. Is this because it was Master Xehanort’s home world?

Nomura: That may be one reason, but if he somehow had some of Terra’s memories, we can consider that it might be because he had laid eyes on Riku previously. In terms of the elements of Terra and Master Xehanort, I think the questions of how their power is related and divided, as well as who has whose memories and heart, will become a key to the story after this one.

– Is that to say that there’s a possibility that within Xehanort’s Heartless, the darkness that sleeps in Riku’s heart, there might remain something of Terra…?

Nomura: That’s also a riddle connected to the next story, so everyone please use your imagination.

Birth By Sleep Photos

Beware, this news may be a spoiler if you’d rather not know what enemy will be showing up in Birth By Sleep! Thanks to KH Insider’s forum members, the following news has been somewhat confirmed.

The Story Begins

Richard Epcar, who has voiced Xehanort, including his Heartless, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, in the following Kingdom Hearts games, Kingdom Hearts II and its final mix, Re: Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days, will be returning yet again to voice Xehanort in Birth By Sleep.

The Wonders of the Internet

The reason why I mentioned this news was somewhat confirmed is because a Kingdom Hearts fan had asked Richard, via Facebook, if the ‘small voice acting’ he had done for Birth By Sleep, after a released cut scene, had been for Xehanort. Richard’s response was, and I quote, “alright, you got me.”

What’s in Store?

Okay guys, you’ve all had some good ideas, thoughts and discussions about the Birth By Sleep game. What are your opinions, now knowing that Xehanort will be showing up?

North American Quote

“LOS ANGELES (March 16, 2010) — Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that KINGDOM HEARTS Birth By Sleep will be released in North America this Summer. Coming exclusively to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, the game is a prequel that reveals the untold origins of the popular KINGDOM HEARTS franchise.”

PAL Territories Too!

Let’s not forget about European fans, though. One day after the confirmation for North America, Square Enix announced that Birth By Sleep will be in Europe, a relief I’m sure to thousands of fellow fans.

European Quote

“London (17th March 2010) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories and Disney Interactive Studios, today announces KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep will be released across PAL territories summer 2010, exclusively for the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system.”

Square Enix Is Rolling

With all of the websites being released for the new territories, it seems like Square is quickly approaching the most important news: A final release date!

If you look at the film credits in confusion, seeing Tate Donovan listed as the voice of Hercules, Josh was cast specifically as Hercules when he was teenager and since Birth By Sleep takes place in the past, it only makes pleasant sense that they would ask Josh to take on the job and not Tate, who was part of the Kingdom Hearts cast for adult Hercules!

Other Roles

Josh Keaton has also done voice acting for the super popular Metal Gear Solid series, where he was cast as Ocelot in Snake Eater, Portable Ops and Guns of the Patriots. He has also done acting work for three Spider-Man video games, Naturo: Clash of Ninja 2, and was the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the recent cartoon, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

The Works Begins

Wonderful news! English voice acting is underway and like the magic of the other Kingdom Hearts games, they are sticking with a cast of voices we all grew up with while watching Disney films.

Is It Being Translated?

According to Kingdom Hearts Insider, we just may get to play an English release of Coded! Posted Saturday, February 20, 2010, a fan had e-mailed Eddie Carroll, voice of Jiminy Cricket, asking if he would once again provide his voice for the new Kingdom Hearts game. Eddie’s response was yes, he would be taking up the role of Jiminy once more, however, Birth By Sleep, next in line for release in the West, does not star Jiminy Cricket.

The Countdown

Another piece of speculation for the community is as follows, Kingdom Hearts Insider has reported the newest, presumed date of release for Birth By Sleep which will either be in June or August of this year!