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At the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, three new installments in the series were announced. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, focusing on Roxas, will be released for the Nintendo DS, while Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, focusing on new characters Terra, Ven, and Aqua, will be released on the PlayStation Portable. Another game, Kingdom Hearts coded, will be released to mobile phones. Currently the titles are only confirmed for a Japanese release, though Square Enix has plans for releases in other territories. Nomura has stated that the three new titles are not the final titles in the series and they will have a connection to a future game.



Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
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Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

The logo of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.
Developer(s) Square Enix
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Designer(s) Shinji Hashimoto (executive producer)
Patrick Chen (game producer)
Yoichi Yoshimoto (co-producer)
Tetsuya Nomura (game director)
Tai Yasue (co-director)
Daisuke Watanabe (scenario writer)
Series Kingdom Hearts
Platform(s) PlayStation Portable
Release date JP TBA

Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) CERO: RP

Media Universal Media Disc
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable. It is an installment in the best-selling Kingdom Hearts series that focuses on Terra, Ven, and Aqua, characters briefly featured in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. Many previously unexplained elements from the original Kingdom Hearts trilogy are present. The game was announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show. Currently the title is only confirmed for a Japanese release, though Square has plans for releases in other territories.

Gameplay

Terra battling an enemyBirth by Sleep is a single player action role-playing game which features melee combat. The game is believed to have a gameplay similar to the style of the previous games in the series,particularly to Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories in that card decks will be used. The game will be divided into three scenarios, with each scenario having different styles of gameplay based on the personalities and abilities of the three main characters; Terra, Aqua and Ven. Game director Tetsuya Nomura has mentioned players can play from any of the three scenarios and possibly stop mid-way through one scenario to begin another. The developers plan to add multiplayer components and a new character growth system.


Plot
Birth by Sleep is a prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series, taking place ten years before the events of the original game and focusing on the story of Keyblade masters before the series' main protagonist Sora. Nomura has stated though there are three scenarios, there is not one singularly important scenario or character, but the main theme is Ven's identity.The story was speculated early on to be connected to the unlockable trailers at the end of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. Nomura has since confirmed a connection to the trailers. The story revolves around three Keyblade apprentices in search of a missing Keyblade master, Master Xehanort, and his apprentice. Their disappearance foreshadows a great disaster. The game will take place in various Disney-themed worlds, both new and old, and will reflect the time difference between this game and the previous Kingdom Hearts games; for example, a young Hercules in the Coliseum.


Characters
Like previous Kingdom Hearts titles, Birth by Sleep will feature numerous Disney characters. In addition to original characters Terra, Aqua and Ven, confirmed characters include King Mickey, Donald Duck, Goofy, young Sora and Riku, Hercules, Maleficent, Yen Sid, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Master Xehanort and his apprentice. The game will also introduce a new type of enemy different from the Heartless and Nobodies.


Development
Created for the PlayStation Portable, Birth by Sleep is being directed by Tetsuya Nomura and co-directed by Tai Yasue. In 2007, Nomura mentioned he wanted to do a spin-off Kingdom Hearts game on a mobile platform and wanted the game to play slightly different than other titles in the series. Birth by Sleep is named after the unlockable trailer at the end of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. It was announced alongside Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts coded at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 2007. A trailer was shown in the Square Enix Closed Mega Theater, a photo-prohibited theater presenting 40 minutes of trailers. A new trailer was shown at the 2008 Jump Festa in December 2007.

Birth by Sleep is being developed by the same team as Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, and will use the same graphical engine as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Development of the game began before the release of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+. The plot was completed, but development was halted due to development of Re:Chain of Memories. The development team plans to make use of the PSP functions and is considering either co-operative or competitive multiplayer gameplay. Of the three new games announced, Birth by Sleep was the first one to begin development, though Nomura speculates it will be the last one released.