A recent interview with Nomura concerning the upcoming Kingdom Hearts game provided us with the following info:
NEKU:
>Neku’s appearance in Traverse Town was by special means that have to do with his reason for being there. He’ll show up in District 1, etc.
>Beginning in Traverse Town as usual you’ll meet your party member, but since I wanted to put in a fresh character, we put in Neku from The World Ends With You.
>This time Traverse Town is constructed around the reason that Neku and co. have come. He has been separated from his original partner Shiki.
>We’ll go into more detail about Shiki and the others in a follow up report.
>Concerning a sequel to The World Ends With You, there may be something going on.
STORY:
>Nomura drew the illustration featured at the TGS booth in a hurry. He drew the Dream Eaters that would be your companions.
>Nomura drew the new outfits according to how the Osaka team wished. They’re like their older outfits with minor changes.
>They are versions between KH1 and KH2, which become the outfits for this title.
>Riku’s hair grew during the time he was away to show the passage of time, now his hair is cut immediately after that.
>The “World Submerged in Sleep” is a complex story, but there were worlds other than those that Sora restored in KH1, some that were not submerged in darkness. Like the worlds of the princesses and Dumbo’s, etc. In the end of KH1 it was established that some of those worlds were restored, but not all of them. Those that were neither in light nor in darkness, but those that were submerged in sleep.
>Since those worlds are essential asleep, the dreams of those worlds become the setting.
>Sora and Riku will travel to those worlds to awaken them from their sleep.
>When a world is awoken from it’s sleep, it will be restored to it’s original form.
>This title involves taking an exam in order to qualify for the Mark of Mastery, so it’ll also be concerned with events that took place in BBS.
>All the Disney worlds appearing wil be new, and there will be new areas in existing worlds.
>Temporarily taking on their KH1 forms, they’ll enter into the worlds of sleep . Additionally, Yen Sid says that in order to become a Master, the self taught way that they use the Keyblade will be reset and that it is necessary they learn how to use the Keyblade appropriately from the beginning. When they request to take the exam, Sora says he doesn’t need it, but since Riku has been overwhelmed by darkness before he doesn’t have the self-confidence. Also, Sora and Riku will be taking it together.
>The opening of this title will be in Xehanort’s point of view. Additionally, there will be a surprise unlike anything seen before in the last scene.
DREAM EATERS:
>The Dream Eaters do not approach anyone and consume dreams in the World of Sleep where there are no Heartless. If Sora/Riku don’t use the power of the Dream Eaters, they can’t go to the other worlds.
>Their abilities too are related to the Dream Eaters.
>The Dream Eaters were designed not to be traditionally cute, but to have charm that couldn’t be disliked. Wonder Cat was drawn to share that idea.
>The mark of the Dream Eaters started with a heart as the base and the image of tremors. Nightmares have that sort of bad feeling.
>The mark above your own Dream Eaters shows your ownership, it’s also displayed on the map. The boss fights are elaborated in a different direction, where you’ll have to use the map’s characteristics to your advantage. For instance, the floor will break out from under you and the field area will expand. Using the map, you’ll be able to identify your location quickly in that sort of situation.
>The color scheme is new this time; it’s more pastel unlike what we’ve done before. However, you’ll be able to change the colors of your companion Dream Eaters.
>The leveling up of the Dream Eaters is directly related to the growth of Sora and Riku. So far we’ve only seen 2 at a time in battle, but if you give it your all you’ll be able collect all the types.
>Nomura isn’t quite sure off the top of his head, but there are dozens of Dream Eater types.
"REALITY SHIFT":
>The Reality Shift ability in Traverse Town has Sora sink to the bottom screen where he can aim at the enemies. It’s different in each world, and Riku’s ability is different too. In Riku’s Reality Shift you can touch the bottom screen to connect enemies and objects in a line creating chain that Riku will attack following along on the upper screen.
>The way Sora and Riku interact with their companion Dream Eaters is different. Sora can ride atop the Dream Eaters and be thrown off, while they serve as power ups to Riku.
>Like shown in the TGS demo, Sora can have two companions at the same time and use them both to do the Dual Link ability where the two Dream Eaters combine into one big Wonder Cat. Filling up the gauge, you’ll be able to use the Reality Shift and Dual Link abilities successively.
>Since the concept of the game was bold action, this title really makes use of the Free Flow Action ability. Though you have a lot of battle options, with this alone you can do many actions like spinning around and jump kicking depending on the terrain.
Misc:
>Since it’s hard to watch even in 2D because the movements are so intense, in 3D your eyes may become tired after playing for a long time. There is depth in the 3D vision, when Sora jumps out of the screen, it’s almost becomes a burden to one’s eyes. I think it’s probably best to use the 3D vision during cutscenes.
>There will be multiplayer functions, we’ll explain more in a follow up report.