We promised you news about KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 ReMIX from Famitsu, and so you shall have them! As expected, this time the focus lies on the KINGDOM HEARTS Re: Chain of Memories section of the HD Remaster. They've updated with 18 new screenshots, check them out below and in our KHHD gallery:

Thanks to forum member Sephiroth0812 for the heads up!

Edit: Thanks to Zephyr for the translations!

KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories is also remade in HD.



Three games from the beginning of the KINGDOM HEARTS series are remastered in HD into one volume, KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5 ReMIX-. In KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories, the main protagonists are Sora and his close friend Riku, which takes place after the events of KINGDOM HEARTS.



Also, the original version of KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories was KINGDOM HEARTS Chain of Memories released for the Game Boy Advance 2004. In 2007, it was fully remade for the PS2 and included alongside KINGDOM HEARTS II FINAL MIX+. The name of title became KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories. In KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5 ReMIX-, the PS2 versions will be remastered in HD.



Changes from the PS2 version

• The overall image quality of the user interface has been enhanced

• Trophy capabilities

• You can obtain a PS3 custom theme when you clear the game

After the events of KINGDOM HEARTS, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, the three of them found themselves in foot of Castle Oblivion. Another that occurs alongside the story is KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days which has been remade into HD footage. There are members of Organization XIII that also appear in KINGDOM HEARTS II.



Inside the castle, Sora will be given special cards to traverse through Disney worlds you’ve previously visited in KINGDOM HEARTS. Sora and his friends explore each of those worlds, persevering against the Graceful Assassin of the Organization, as they reach for the top of the castle’s floor.



If you finish the game with Sora, you’ll be able to play as Riku who has arrived around the same time Sora arrived in the castle. Riku explores the castle through 12 floors underground. It turns out there is also another plot for him.



You’ll be offered “map cards” depending on your progress and you’ll proceed through the worlds through a series of small rooms.



Depending on the type of card you use, you have a decision to change the characteristics of the room like the enemies sleeping.



In battle, you’ll be using a deck of cards with friends you’ve previously befriended. When you select cards from your deck, they bring out different techniques for Sora.



You can perform sleights combining three cards and summoning allies.



For Riku, his deck for each world is fixed which differs from Sora’s. Another major feature is that you can trigger D mode, which consumes the gauge in the upper left screen. In D mode, Riku will be greatly enhanced.





Comments from the developers and mini interviews!



Here is a mini interview of Takeshi Fujimoto who was in charge of increasing the texture resolution as well as comments posted by Koji Hamada who remastered the event scenes.



Art Director: Interview with Takeshi Fujimoto



- Getting into HD, what kinds of things were you responsible for?

Fujimoto: I made high resolution textures for the backgrounds. It is clearly visible in LCD and plasma TVs. I got the impression the texture resolution wasn’t good enough therefore, I reviewed all of the backgrounds, identifying where blurriness is concerned, and redrew them considering the time frame.



- Where in particular do you want players to see those changes?

Fujimoto: You can normally play the game and you don’t need to look thoroughly to see it. A lot of distant backgrounds are fixed when moving. Please check it out if you like.



- In addition to that, please tell us what would be a memorable event?

Fujimoto: In the earlier stages of KINGDOM HEARTS, there are stained glass floors of the princesses. I had retouched it into higher resolution; high enough for it to be used in print media. However, its actual memory is beyond in size so I had no choice but to compress the texture size. Since I was very used to seeing the actual size, I felt unsatisfied with the compressed texture. Various people have said before it was good. It has also been said, “It’s not good enough?” I did everything what I could. Finally, thank to Sumio, I wouldn’t have been able to put those textures if it weren’t for him.



Comments from the Animation Director, Koji Hamada.



I worked on the animations for KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days. The animation has become very closely intact with KINGDOM HEARTS and KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories. They are very close to the ones 10 years ago. I want you to see these how lively these animation are. For the cutscenes of KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days, it was fun doing the first half, although the process became a little more painful for the second half. You’ll see how good these animations are from these three characters. Some events are of them sitting. Some that are emotional and lighthearted are expressed.



Company: Square Enix

Platform: PS3

Release Date: March 14, 2013

Price: 6980 yen [tax included]

Genre: RPG

Notable Directors: Tetsuya Nomura, Co-Director Tai Yasue, Producer Rie Nishi