“Kingdom Hearts 3” is set to be released in 2014, a recent internal leak from Square Enix revealed this vague release date. However the company did confirm that while it was a true internal leak, this release date could not and would not be confirmed. Well after 10 years of waiting, it cant get much worse, which is why while we wait for Square Enix to either confirm the 2014 release date of “Kingdom Hearts 3” or reveal an even more delayed one, we are trying to stay positive. Also known as, scouring the Internet for anything and everything that has to do with “KH3.” In one of more recent “KH 3” search binges, we came across a truly interesting YouTube video called “Did You Know Gaming?” feeling instantly challenged I clicked and watched, and to my surprise it was awesome. The video, which specifically focused the “Kingdom Hearts” franchise, revealed never before seen images, information and exciting trivia.
“Kingdom Hearts” comes from the same developer of Final Fantasy Tetsuya Nomura; he was inspired to work on the now hugely popular game series by Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64. He used the freedom to explore, and expansive game maps and fully 3D environment as a backdrop for his new project, and soon to be most well known project. However his colleagues stated that Mario was already a worldwide hit, meaning duplication would be a failure. After over hearing Square Enix executive Shinji Hashimoto and “Final Fantasy” creator Hiranobu Sakaguchi discuss the possibility of including Mickey Mouse in a video game, Nomura believed that widely known and admired Disney characters were just the figures to carry his Super Mario 64 inspired game to the forefront.
After negotiations began with Disney and Square Enix to produce a collaborative video game, Disney wanted Donald Duck to the protagonist of the game, while Square Enix wanted Mickey Mouse. However, Nomura decided that neither of the two characters would be the protagonist, instead he decided to create an all new character, based off of Disney’s signature style. After Disney and Square Enix relented, Sora was created. Sora’s original design was much different then the Sora we know today in “Kingdom Hearts.” Instead of his iconic “keyblade” sword, Sora was originally set to yield a chain saw style sword, and he even had a tail. Yes, that’s right; Nomura originally created Sora in the style of a lion complete with a tail, semi-furry ears and even elongated finer nails resembling claws. But in the end, Sora was born sporting over-sized yellow shoes, red shorts and white gloves, paying homage to Mickey Mouse.
In addition, “Kingdom Hearts” original storyline and gameplay was going to be much simpler, more in line with Disney. However it was later changed to appeal more towards “Final Fantasy” fans, which was a well-established franchise at this point. More on “Final Fantasy,” the female character Rikku was set to play a major role, however her name was too similar to the character of Riku, who was already set to be the deuterogamist in “Kingdom Hearts.” Therefore Nomura instead replaced her with Yuffie in the first installment, she did make an appearance in “Kingdom Hearts 2” alongside the rest of the gold wings.
Another secret fun fact about “Kingdom Hearts” is its abundance of unused levels, for example Disney Castle, which was featured in early game trailers but later cut. Nomura planned on the level being playable but it did not appear in the final version, however the level is still available for play using cheat codes. Like the Disney Castle, the “Lion King’s” Pride Lands were meant to be included as a level, where Sora would turn into a lion to fight, however this idea too was later scrapped.
Check out the full “Did You Know Gaming?” video below and discover even more “Kingdom Hearts” trivia.
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