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The long-awaited release of Kingdom Hearts III on other console platforms in 2015 brought a conclusion, of sorts, to a storied legend which started way back in 2002 on PS2. We state of sorts because the notoriously unwieldy story of this series will naturally continue in future games; this Square Enix/ Disney crossover universe has grown over eighteen years to become a gigantic, multi-tentacled, cross-media franchise with more spin-offs, semi-sequels, prequels, inter-quels and ludicrously-named re-releases than you can shake a needlessly big key at.
For fans of the series, tracking the minutiae of its twisting story and working out exactly what titles like Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue even indicate is all part of the fun. For players seeking to dip their toe into the pool of this attractive action-RPG series, however, its difficult to know where to begin. The universe might appear impenetrable to a newbie, however upcoming rhythm game Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories may well work as the best possible introduction to this most labyrinthine of series.
Motivation for how the added third dimension should work in the game came from an existing source. “The initial idea that we got from Nomura-san was based upon the 15th anniversary jukebox website where there was a little Sora encountering the top of a musical rating. Initially, we tried to develop that into it, whichs ultimately the instructions that we went.”
The motivation for the video game originated from this 15th anniversary site which went live back in 2017, which is still available today.Implementing that additional measurement, however, provided new issues. “First of all the video camera was rather hard – it wound up making a great deal of individuals movement ill – so we had to develop a great deal of different models and this video camera aspect and the action aspects are areas that weve fine-tuned a lot as weve gone on.”
Nearly 20 years because the very first game in the series, we questioned how the working relationship with Disney has actually altered over that period. Together with the enjoyment of having Mickey, Donald and all the other cherished characters from your home of Mouse, there need to also come tight restrictions over how theyre used. We asked Tetsuya Nomura if its much easier to get things done or authorized now than it was 20 years ago?
Weve paid a lot of attention to the backgrounds, the characters that are being used to truly restore the memories of the original video games as they were, to capture that initial essence
Tetsuya Nomura and Masanobu Suzui.” I truly hope so,” co-director Masanobu Suzui tells us via interpreter in a recent interview with both him and series director (and Final Fantasy series veteran) Tetsuya Nomura. Suzui-san is the creator of Indieszero, a development studio with ties to Nintendo (most recently teaming up on advancement of Sushi Striker and Dr Kawashimas Brain Training for Nintendo Switch).
” Obviously, at the end of Kingdom Hearts III weve sort of reached the end of a particular story arc within the Kingdom Hearts series, so I believe its a really great opportunity for fans and individuals whove currently played the games to recall over that period, or for new players to actually come in and select that up as a good summary.”
theres a lot more recognition within Disney that Kingdom Hearts is a thing. There were some things that were simpler to do when we werent as well understood
” My general impression is that, for example, overseas (in this case undoubtedly American) companies tend to change individuals– have workers changes– more often than Japanese business,” Nomura says. “So certainly, whenever the person from Disney thats dealing with the Kingdom Hearts series modifications, we see some changes.”
The idea might have been around for a while, but timing is whatever, especially with a franchise this big with numerous projects and celebrations involved.
” At that time, the result was that it wasnt rather the correct time; it would be a little bit hard, so it didnt proceed. Then a bit even more down the road, Disney also came back and said Well, have [ you] thought about doing a rhythm game for Kingdom Hearts? We heard that may have been something in conversation and were quite open to that. And so then Nomura-san reconsidered at things and we decided to go on with it this time around.”
When the green light was provided, updating the fundamental foundation of rhythm-based fights with a fresh Kingdom Hearts spin ended up being the focus. Thats still something that is really central to this video game,” states Suzui. Considering That Kingdom Hearts is a 3D video game, we desired to produce this in a 3D way, so we thought about how we desired to make this and how we wanted to implement it and thats the main modification.”
The game has over 140 tracks, with some Disney classics mixed in with the original Kingdom Hearts tracks. “We selected those 140 tunes actually looking at the Kingdom Hearts series and focusing on the Kingdom Hearts music,” Suzui continues, “so theres not a lot of Disney tunes in there really.
For a series was bafflingly intricate as Kingdom Hearts (narratively-speaking), we imagined that combining story elements into the rhythm experience should have been a challenge. Kairi is Kingdom Hearts IIIs protagonist] This will cover occasions from Kingdom Hearts 1, 2, Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, etc, going on.”
“I think that the gameplay itself– the rhythm video game and the story– are rather interwoven there, quite well stacked on top of each other, if you will. Weve also undoubtedly paid a lot of attention to the backgrounds, the characters that are being used to truly bring back the memories of the original video games as they were, to record that initial essence.
Dealing with a big business entity like Disney indicates that internal policies can vary often, too, which inevitably impacts projects and possibilities. “In the previous years plus, there have clearly been a lot of rule modifications at Disney itself so in the past some things that we werent permitted to do, we are now permitted to do.
Melody of Memories reviews the story and worlds from the whole Kingdom Hearts series, with a rich cast of characters that will include familiar faces even if youve never ever touched a KH game prior to. “With both Kingdom Hearts and Disney characters, theres about 20-something characters in there,” Suzui validates. “There are the main celebrations, which have 3 members, and there are four of those various primary parties that you can alter in between. There are the guest Disney members that will appear in their specific Disney-themed worlds. For those guest characters, when they appear there will be world-specific [details]; for instance, different noises, different symbols, and so on, so you can see that sort of effect on the gameplay.”
” There are three what we would call different styles or various sectors that you would play the rhythm action in;” he tells us. Then, to broaden it out to the modes, separate to those various styles of play youve got the Online Versus mode, youve got Co-op mode, then youve got the Music Select, and then you have the Main World Tour.”
In some methods, it was much easier in the old days when Kingdom Hearts was an unknown quantity, as Nomura-san discusses: “To be truthful, in the early years not numerous individuals at Disney really understood much about Kingdom Hearts. Now its more widely known, theres a lot more acknowledgment within Disney that Kingdom Hearts is a thing.
The video game looks to catch the spirit of the series, which must please franchise fans looking for a dose of the KHs unmatched appeal on Nintendos console. We were interested to discover more about Melody of Memories structure and how it differs from that of Theatrhythm. We ask Suzui-san about the main modes available (consisting of online) and if the game will include similar Event/ Field/ Battle Music Stages.
Tune of Memories was exposed back in June and fans of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy rapidly saw resemblances between this new game and its 3DS forebears. Its not a surprise that theyre comparable, as Suzui-san was the director on that title, too. Given the success of the Kingdom Hearts series over the past eighteen years, we guessed that a rhythm game must have been on the cards for a while.
” The first Theatrhythm came out in 2012 and then, naturally, after that we had the Curtain Call version for iOS and then the Dragon Quest variation that was launched in Japan,” Suzui continues, “so we were clearly busy with all of that advancement. Kingdom Hearts as well has an absolutely wonderful soundtrack– some exceptional music in it– so we were really excited about the possibility of being able to do a rhythm game there. About five years earlier, Hazama-san [manufacturer, Ichiro Hazama] and myself took a proposal to do a Kingdom Hearts rhythm video game to Nomura-san. Yes, so that was about five years back.”
the Switch version of Melody of Memories is getting a special mode: “Free For All mode”
Offered the success of the Kingdom Hearts series over the past eighteen years, we thought that a rhythm game should have been on the cards for a while.
In some ways, it was simpler in the old days when Kingdom Hearts was an unknown quantity, as Nomura-san explains: “To be honest, in the early years not many people at Disney really understood much about Kingdom Hearts. Melody of Memories revisits the narrative and worlds from the entire Kingdom Hearts series, with an abundant cast of characters that will feature familiar faces even if youve never ever touched a KH video game before. “We chose those 140 tunes actually looking at the Kingdom Hearts series and focusing on the Kingdom Hearts music,” Suzui continues, “so theres not a lot of Disney songs in there really.
With time tight in our interview, we completed our conversation by asking Nomura-san how this video games development and schedule has been affected by the unusual events of 2020. Orchestrating all the components of a job that involves both Square Enix and Disney would surely be a challenge at the finest of times, let alone during a global pandemic.
With numerous elements of the game under covers for the time being (including the precise variety of tracks), its reasonable to state that Melody of Memories will provide series veterans a shot of fond memories as it takes them to worlds from the series history and, possibly, uses post-Kingdom Hearts III narrative nuggets.
The video game is launching worldwide in November, so we dont have long to wait to learn. Our primary takeaway from the conversation was that while series fans will like reviewing the music and characters from the series, itll hopefully be a terrific entry point for anyone whos not up to speed on their KH lore; a convenient Previously on Kingdom Hearts … catch-up. Goodness knows that even some die-hard connoisseurs wouldnt mind one of those and, from the looks of things, this is forming up to be the perfect memory jog and love letter to the series up until now
The universe may seem impenetrable to a newcomer, however upcoming rhythm game Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories may well serve as the best possible introduction to this most labyrinthine of series.
With this being the first Kingdom Hearts game to come to Switch, we wondered if the consoles touchscreen or other functions may be used. “Its all going to be button-based controls,” Suzui-san confirms. “Obviously you can remove the Joy-Cons, you can divide the controller up and play the Co-op mode together with those private Joy-Cons. Weve likewise included local play for the Versus mode, so you can play local […] Versus instead of simply online play.” However, the Switch variation of Melody of Memories is getting a special mode: “Free For All mode, where you can have fun with a large number of people on regional communications with the Switch.” More information and information on this Switch-specific mode will be coming quickly.
Our thanks to Suzui-san, Nomura-san, and the group at Square Enix for their time. This interview have been gently edited for clarity and weve edited it considering that publication to amend some in-game terms to their official English equivalents. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories launches in the West on 13th November.
