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Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Preview
Written by Chris Goldberg on Monday, October 15, 2007
We take a first look at the Kingdom Hearts franchise's debut PSP release...
Lately, it seems SquareEnix is basically a Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy company. It's not that they don't occasionally try with other things, it's just that they have so many Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest titles in the works that it's almost ludicrous. So in an odd way, it's sorta refreshing when they come back to Kingdom Hearts... even if it can't totally escape the Final Fantasy touch. While many people expected Kingdom Hearts III would be announced at TGS, what was announced were a trio of handheld titles that are specifically catered to the strengths of each.
In the PSP game, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep focuses on those events we saw in the bonus trailer following Kingdom Hearts 2. In the trailer for the the game, we see keyblade wielder Master Xehanort - the old man from the Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix+ bonus trailer - and two young males, one named Ven and one Terra. Terra is also a keyblade master and some seriously foreboding things are going on. It features these characters and their stories, each presumably helping to explain the various mysteries behind the Kingdom Hearts games and likely hinting at what to expect from the third. The game hopes to answer some of these questions using a single player adventure approach much like the PS2 games, although it is unclear what specific innovations the PSP game will bring in this regard.
Although not many worlds were revealed yet, Olympus Coliseum was shown and a land resembling that of Sleeping Beauty was also unveiled. The trailer finishes up with various scenes, including Mickey summong his keyblade again, and Terra looking out at a beach at what is presumably Sora and Riku. There's no doubt that there were more questions than answers with the brief revelations of the Birth By Sleep trailer, so there is plenty to look forward to in the coming months.
