Game Informer

In 2004, Square Enix released Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the GBA. The title capitalized on the frenzy surrounding the original Kingdom Hearts title, and was heralded for its innovative battle system and impressive handheld graphics. Now, four years later, Chain of Memories will hit retail shelves once again, this time for the PlayStation 2.

So how does the port stack up? Does it offer anything other than cosmetic advancements? Read on to find out Full Article

IGN

Although the game isn’t hitting retail until next month, I spent some time with a preview build in order to see what sort of experiences gamers can expect when it finally makes it stateside. Re: Chain of Memories is a fascinating blend of the traditional Kingdom Hearts formula with surprisingly complex card battle mechanics, which I’ll explain shortly. But for those of you who’ve never played the original Chain of Memories (maybe even some of you who have), this remake is definitely not to be missed … Full Article

So it’s getting closer, many stores are already doing preorders. So stay tune as we will be bringing much more info to you guys the minute we get it.

As always the anticipated titles revolve around a mixture of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts games but as of writing one of the big let downs has to be the unavailability of playable versions of Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest XI.

For Kingdom Hearts fans last year at TGS 2007 we saw the announcement of three new handheld titles making the year to date an exciting time for the franchise. This year doesn’t look to disappoint either with Square Enix following up with playable demos for both Kingdom Hearts : 358/2 days (Nintendo DS) and Kingdom Hearts : Birth By Sleep (Sony PSP). Unfortunately Kingdom Hearts : Coded (Mobile) will be a video only affair this time round, but two out of three can’t be bad.

With regards to rumours surrounding a PS3 exclusive Kingdom Hearts 3 title (i.e. the real sequel to Kingdom Hearts 2) we can only hope that something official will be announced at the event. With so many titles about to be released for the handheld platforms a full console sequel would certainly be the icing on the cake.

For a full listing of the games at the show see below or if you’re handy with your Japanese check out Square Enix’s official TGS 2008 site which has full details and some cool screenshots of the games being showcased in October.

Playable

- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
- Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road
- Dragon Quest Battle Road
- Final Fantasy IV The After
- Dissidia Final Fantasy
- Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon
- Valkyrie Profile
- Pingu’s WakuWaku Carnival
- Chocobo Tales: The Witch, The Girl, and the 5 Heroes
- Itadaki Street Mobile
- GanGan Mobile
- GanMoba Comics
- Kids Corner
- Snoopy DS

Not Playable (Videos Only)

- Kingdom Hearts Coded
- Final Fantasy XI
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII
- Final Fantasy Agito XIII
- The 3rd Birthday
- The Last Remnant
- Chrono Trigger
- Dragon Quest IX
- Star Ocean: The Last Hope 
- Infinite Undiscovery
- Song Summoner
- Ellark

As expected the event focused heavily on both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts but other titles such as Sigma Harmonics and The 3rd Birthday (Parasite Eve III) were also there.

So lets take a look at the release dates for the Kingdom Hearts games which despite being tentative are still a good indication of when these games might be available for release.

The dates mentioned are of course for Japan only so when and whether these games will be released outside of Japan still remains a mystery. In fact whether Coded will even be released in the West seems quite doubtful as unlike Japan where mobile gaming is quite popular, the west is still very far behind. 

For more information and articles surrounding the event be sure to check out some of the other sites such as IGN, GameSpot and KHInsider which have more details on the actual games, stories and trailers that were presented at the event. We’ll keep you posted on any major updates.

With the success of the Wii companies like Nintendo have already shown the importance of catering for the family casuals and Square Enix seems to be following suit.

Today they announced their new brand known as Pure Dreams which will initially launch two games for the Nintendo DS, Snoopy DS: Lets Go Meet Snoopy & His Friends and Pingus Wonderful Carnival.

Both games are currently set to be released in Japan only, whether the Pure Dreams brand of games will be released outside of Asia remains to be seen, no doubt they would do well in the western markets but as always we’ll have to wait and see.

As expected Square Enix’s top selling game was Dragon Quest IV which sold 1,052,827 copies positioning it as the 9th most sold game of 2007. In 15th place was Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker which sold in excess of 825,065 copies, followed closely by Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII which sold 735,939 copies (18th place) helping Square Enix to three top selling titles in the top 20.

Despite some solid results in the upper quarter of the Japanese charts I have to say not all titles performed as well. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings only sold 524,009 copies which was a lot lower than Square expected. Despite some dismal sales for Revenant Wings the series was not completely let down as Final Fantasy IV which was re-released for the Nintendo DS during 2007 gave the series a well deserved boost landing a little over 447,087 sales in a matter of months. 

Other titles of note include Final Fantasy CC: Ring of Fates with netted 389,845 copies landing yet another game for Square Enix in the Top 100. Overall not a great 2007 run for the Final Fantasy series but not too bad either. 

Moving on we see in 46th place one of the most wanted titles in Europe and North America, Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ selling some 337,091 copies, followed closely by Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for the Sony PSP which sold 301,796 copies. Lastly Square Enix’s worst preforming game in the top 100 was yet another Final Fantasy title namely, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift which sold 287,871 copies putting it in 58th place (not bad I guess).

Overall the Japanese market is always unpredictable but Square Enix would have been quite dissapointed with their sales standings for the Final Fantasy series which usually take the charts by storm. Lets hope 2008 will be a little more uplifting for this extremely popular series. Overall very well done to our favourite company Square Enix and lets hope for more success later this year.

As you can see from the scans, the focus gauge looks a lot like the Kingdom Hearts 2 drive gauge and seems to represent a speciality for each of the main characters Terra, Ven, and Aqua. 

Once filled it allows the launch of massive attacks and finishing moves for the character in question. Now despite the scans carrying Sora, we have to remember that this is a prequel to the original Kingdom Hearts. So yes it will probably carry the usual mix of Disney characters but the visibility of Sora is probably for cut scenes only.

At this point there’s not much else we can gather but we’ll keep you posted as new information comes in. On a closing note don’t forget to check out the rest of the scans for the other two Kingdom Hearts games, KH 358/2 days and KH Coded (see below).