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[duckroll]

What's this?

This is a Japanese only full price re-release of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep on the PSP, with English voice acting, all the extra additions in the western release of the game, and many more goodies for fans in Japan. It will never be released outside of Japan, and the only ways for non-Japanese literate fans of the series to see the extra content is to either import blindly, or watch crap on Youtube.


...Why?

Because Lord Nomura-sama is a Japanese knight of the holiest order of Nipponism, and he has no interest in entertaining unwashed gaijins who do not bask in the glory of his beloved nation empire. Or maybe it's because Square Enix USA is simply too cheap to localize the extra content since they might be unable to charge full price for it in the US under SCEA guidelines. Reports are conflicting.


So what's new?

These are the new features in Final Mix:

Added in the US release:
- Critical Mode difficulty setting
- Sticker Album
- Pete D-Link
- Neverland Command Board
- New Rumble Racing track
- Extra songs for Rhythmic Ice minigame
- New optional boss, the Mysterious Man
- New multiplayer-centric Friendship commands, Unison Rush and Voltage Stack
- Improved facial models for young Sora/Riku/Kairi cutscenes

Only available in Final Mix
- Trophy Bonuses, earning Trophies will now allow importing of rewards when you start a new game
- Rhythm Mixer command style
- New Illusion commands, allows the player to transform into various Unversed enemy types
- Bilingual Theater Mode, when viewing cutscenes unlocked in theater mode the option for Japanese or English voice is available
- Optional challenge Missions are now available in various places in the different worlds
- Three new optional bosses added to Mirage Arena, Monstro, Armor of the Master, and No Heart
- Brand new Secret Episode added, the events of the Secret Ending in Birth by Sleep is now a fully playable extra episode which can be unlocked, it will contain material not found in the original as players control Aqua in the World of Darkness, all cutscenes in this episode are voiced in Japanese only


You know, this is lame as hell...

Whatever, I don't care what you think. Hold on while I light another candle in my Lord Nomura-sama alter... Yeah I don't think anyone cares about your opinion here, go complain elsewhere.


So are there screens of this awesome re-release?

Sure.

What about videos? I want MOAR!

Okay.

TGS 2010 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1rmfe7uOGA
Jump Festa 2011 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTBJpnXFTnY


So how much is this piece of shit and when is it coming out?

20th Jan 2011, 6090yen. Retail UMD release only. No PSN release. No lube.


Sounds painful. Is Nomura doing anything to sweeten the deal?

Yes. All first-press copies of the game will include a PSN code for a character costume in Dissidia012: Cloud in his KH design. YUM!

 

[faridmon]

:lol :lol :lol

Great OP, I like how you contradict yourself everutime you start you a new information section. Well, I am gonna lurk here and read the impressions, thats as far as I can go.

Wait, Englis voice acting? does that mean the menu can be in English as well?

 

[Foffy]

Wait, Englis voice acting? does that mean the menu can be in English as well?

Nope.

 

[Resilient]

:lol :lol :lol

Great OP, I like how you contradict yourself everutime you start you a new information section. Well, I am gonna lurk here and read the impressions, thats as far as I can go.

Wait, Englis voice acting? does that mean the menu can be in English as well?

Sadly, nope. All the menus are in Japanese. You can wing your way through it if you know a little bit of katakana, and ability/item guides tend to come out online after a little while helping translate a bit. Strictly Japanese except for the cut scenes. So totally worth it though. All hail Lord Nomura-sama...

 

[duckroll]

The best thing about all the bosses being Mirage Arena is that it means I can get on Adhoc Party and actually beat the bosses with other high level Japanese players. :lol

 

[Resilient]

Hopefully going to plow my way through re:coded, and then devote a lot (A LOT) of my time to really leveling up in this with a buddy, and taking on the bosses in Mirage together. Funny that when the thought of Kingdom Hearts multiplayer was revealed I laughed at it, and now I can't get enough

 

[Peff]

Hm, I think I'll wait a while before importing, it'a bit expensive considering half of the new stuff was in the western version. Looking forward to the Secret Episode though. Also loved how there was no space at all left and they managed to include the Japanese VA too :lol

 

[BigBadShamoo]

Nice.

 

[faridmon]

ah damn, Don't know any Japanese so that'll be my excuse.

 

[xero273]

yay now I will have 3 copies of BBS. All hail Nomura

 

[badcrumble]

Oh god *weeps hopelessly*

 

[duckroll]

Hm, I think I'll wait a while before importing, it'a bit expensive considering half of the new stuff was in the western version. Looking forward to the Secret Episode though. Also loved how there was no space at all left and they managed to include the Japanese VA too :lol

"Lord Nomura-sama looked upon the poor fans weeping at the memory constrains of the UMD format, and in his great mercy and benevolence he said 'Let there be space!', and lo there was."

- duckroll 1:14

 

[Urban Scholar]

I wonder what the requirements for the extra armored dude fights will be? Should be interesting to say the least.

 

[duckroll]

I wonder what the requirements for the extra armored dude fights will be? Should be interesting to say the least.

Considering they're all Mirage Arena fights, I doubt the requirements will be very high. The main aim of this Final Mix seems to be adding a lot of bonus content specifically for the multiplayer part of the game, encouraging fans to play together either competitively (Illusion commands should add a bit a variety to deathmatch games) or cooperatively (the new bosses have TONS of HP, which would make them annoying to fight in SP, but seems balanced for more intense MP battles with 2 friends by your side).

Nomura also mentioned that the requirements for the Secret Episode will not be very tough this time round, because he wants everyone to be able to experience it, since it has gameplay.

 

[Princess Skittles]

Eh, there's not enough new over the US version to worry about importing this time, in my opinion.

I am slightly curious on the trophy bonuses and challenge missions, though.

 

[badcrumble]

I suspect that an easier version of either Armor of the Master or No Heart will appear in the Secret Episode.

And yeah, the 'trophy bonuses' thing sounds really cool and I hope it makes it into future KH games.

 

[duckroll]

Here's what we know about the Trophy Bonuses and the Battle Missions:

The Munni Trophy gives you 1000 Munnies, and the Time Trophy gives you Stopga and Slow commands. When you start a New Game, there's an option for you to load in the bonuses from an existing save.

The Battle Missions are Unversed icons found in the worlds similar to how you activate the Vanitas Sentiment fight in the original game. When you choose to engage in one, there's a time limit or some other challenge where you face against enemies and at the end of it you get ranked and rewarded.

 

[badcrumble]

God, Birth By Sleep is like a textbook example of truly addictive ARPG game design. There's constantly stuff to do, you're constantly leveling up something or other, if you somehow get bored of that there's an awesome constantly-available minigame to take your mind off it, and now there's a pseudo-NG+ feature to encourage you to start all over again after beating it with all three characters. Seriously, hats off to the Osaka KH group. I'm honestly not expecting FF Versus XIII or KH3 to be as good as Birth By Sleep or KH 3DS at this rate - not that they'll suck, but this team is just so fucking good.

 

[Peff]

That's a pretty interesting concept even if the rewards are so-so (although then again those are the easiest trophies in the game), it might lead to harder difficulty levels in future games since these bonuses can be used to offset that. The Osaka team is making KH gameplay more interesting, so I hope their work isn't ignored when Versus is finished! I'm sure Lord Nomura-sama will have mercy

 

[duckroll]

I'm honestly not expecting FF Versus XIII or KH3 to be as good as Birth By Sleep or KH 3DS at this rate - not that they'll suck, but this team is just so fucking good.

Unless KH3D is... キングダムハーツIII - デスティニー[運命篇]

 

[badcrumble]

Unless KH3D is... キングダムハーツIII - デスティニー[運命篇]

Don't taunt me with my inability to read Japanese, duckroll. Not now. Not in this thread.

 

[Bebpo]

Good thread. Too bad you can't import your save data from normal BBS. I'll be skipping the game because I have no interest in replaying the title from the very start again.

 

[Niblet]

Damnit SE. Always. Someone put up a video walkthrough of the extra chapter and new secret ending. I refuse to double dip this time, but I must know.

 

[Princess Skittles]

God, Birth By Sleep is like a textbook example of truly addictive ARPG game design. There's constantly stuff to do, you're constantly leveling up something or other, if you somehow get bored of that there's an awesome constantly-available minigame to take your mind off it, and now there's a pseudo-NG+ feature to encourage you to start all over again after beating it with all three characters. Seriously, hats off to the Osaka KH group. I'm honestly not expecting FF Versus XIII or KH3 to be as good as Birth By Sleep or KH 3DS at this rate - not that they'll suck, but this team is just so fucking good.

I don't know, while you're right, the requirements for all the Mirage Arena items needed to get a 100% Item Collection are downright obnoxious.

Plus, needing to do ALL of the mini-game and arena stuff for each character..

 

[syoaran]

Unless KH3D is... キングダムハーツIII - デスティニー[運命篇]

Indeed - would be nice if it is. I'd like to play Sora, not digi-Sora, or mind-blank Sora or even blast to the past Sora. The one at the end of KH2 please

 

[duckroll]

Indeed - would be nice if it is. I'd like to play Sora, not digi-Sora, or mind-blank Sora or even blast to the past Sora. The one at the end of KH2 please

But that is already confirmed.

Spoiler

KH3D will be set after KH2, Re:Coded, and BbS's Secret Ending. Both Sora and Riku will be playable characters, and the story will be about them taking the trials to become Keyblade Masters under Yensid, to prepare themselves as the last line of defense against Xehanort when he returns.

 

[badcrumble]

I don't know, while you're right, the requirements for all the Mirage Arena items needed to get a 100% Item Collection are downright obnoxious.

Plus, needing to do ALL of the mini-game and arena stuff for each character..

That's why you should play on a higher difficulty so you can unlock the secret ending without having to give a damn about the minigames and item collection crap.

 

[Princess Skittles]

That's why you should play on a higher difficulty so you can unlock the secret ending without having to give a damn about the minigames and item collection crap.

I did that too. :3

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

So english voice acting but no english menus? Why?

 

[Skilletor]

But that is already confirmed.

Spoiler

KH3D will be set after KH2, Re:Coded, and BbS's Secret Ending. Both Sora and Riku will be playable characters, and the story will be about them taking the trials to become Keyblade Masters under Yensid, to prepare themselves as the last line of defense against Xehanort when he returns.

I could not possibly be more hype than I am right now.

 

[badcrumble]

But that is already confirmed.

Spoiler

KH3D will be set after KH2, Re:Coded, and BbS's Secret Ending. Both Sora and Riku will be playable characters, and the story will be about them taking the trials to become Keyblade Masters under Yensid, to prepare themselves as the last line of defense against Xehanort when he returns.

I hope it's more than just

Spoiler

swatting at a few balls of darkness like the 'final test' in BBS

!

 

[syoaran]

But that is already confirmed.

Spoiler

KH3D will be set after KH2, Re:Coded, and BbS's Secret Ending. Both Sora and Riku will be playable characters, and the story will be about them taking the trials to become Keyblade Masters under Yensid, to prepare themselves as the last line of defense against Xehanort when he returns.

Spoiler

Ok, I knew it was meant to about a new element of the story, but I didnt realise about Yensid and becoming keyblade masters. Then why is the promo showing them in KH1 era age/clothes? Is it just to show that a game is being made - and the promo has nothing to do with the actual game itself?

 

[duckroll]

So english voice acting but no english menus? Why?

Because all the English voices are just lifted off the US version of the game?

Spoiler

Ok, I knew it was meant to about a new element of the story, but I didnt realise about Yensid and becoming keyblade masters. Then why is the promo showing them in KH1 era age/clothes? Is it just to show that a game is being made - and the promo has nothing to do with the actual game itself?

Spoiler

The promo is just to show what the game will look like, and it was made to test the capabilities of the 3DS, while also giving a hint as to what the game itself will feature and what it will be about. But the actual content in the promo demo is not an indication of what the game will actually have. They only started making the game after they made the demo, and Nomura already confirmed that like BbS, KH3D will feature brand new worlds instead of being a recycle project.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Spoiler

Ok, I knew it was meant to about a new element of the story, but I didnt realise about Yensid and becoming keyblade masters. Then why is the promo showing them in KH1 era age/clothes? Is it just to show that a game is being made - and the promo has nothing to do with the actual game itself?

It's in their head or some weird world that the big man created, that's me guess.

 

[TheSeks]

So english voice acting but no english menus? Why?

Because Baka Gaijin's import-u. NO HAVE. JPN ONRY.

I can't believe duckroll is importing a remake of KH that only has three-five new things that the US release didn't have. For once, Square isn't shitting on western fans with their "international" release. :lol

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Because all the English voices are just lifted off the US version of the game?

Spoiler

The promo is just to show what the game will look like, and it was made to test the capabilities of the 3DS, while also giving a hint as to what the game itself will feature and what it will be about. But the actual content in the promo demo is not an indication of what the game will actually have. They only started making the game after they made the demo, and Nomura already confirmed that like BbS, KH3D will feature brand new worlds instead of being a recycle project.

So they can't lift the words from the US version? I'm assuming they added voice acting for the extra stuff or it doesn't have VA?

 

[xero273]

So they can't lift the words from the US version? I'm assuming they added voice acting for the extra stuff or it doesn't have VA?

extra stuff is japanese VA

 

[V_Ben]

But that is already confirmed.

Spoiler

KH3D will be set after KH2, Re:Coded, and BbS's Secret Ending. Both Sora and Riku will be playable characters, and the story will be about them taking the trials to become Keyblade Masters under Yensid, to prepare themselves as the last line of defense against Xehanort when he returns.

Oh, god damnit duck. Now I want a 3DS...

 

[badcrumble]

Not to stray too far from the topic of KH:BBS:FM, but I think it's been said that the "3D" thing stands for something (either like "3 Dudes" or "Duodecim Didgerido Derring-do") and that it's not Kingdom Hearts 3 but rather another 'significant' spinoff title that is basically a full but non-numbered KH title, like Birth By Sleep.

 

[V_Ben]

Not to stray too far from the topic of KH:BBS:FM, but I think it's been said that the "3D" thing stands for something (either like "3 Dudes" or "Duodecim Didgerido Derring-do") and that it's not Kingdom Hearts 3 but rather another 'significant' spinoff title that is basically a full but non-numbered KH title, like Birth By Sleep.

I would have thought that it wasn't a spin off, but something like Kingdom Hearts: 3 Destinies (Sora, Kairi, Riku) :lol

 

[duckroll]

So they can't lift the words from the US version? I'm assuming they added voice acting for the extra stuff or it doesn't have VA?

Read the OP?

I can't believe duckroll is importing a remake of KH that only has three-five new things that the US release didn't have. For once, Square isn't shitting on western fans with their "international" release. :lol

I don't see why the US release matters to me, seeing as I don't own it.

 

[Vamphuntr]

So they can't lift the words from the US version? I'm assuming they added voice acting for the extra stuff or it doesn't have VA?

To punish westerners for not buying enough copies of the US version of BBS.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Read the OP?



I don't see why the US release matters to me, seeing as I don't own it.

I did and I was still confused that's why I asked? Sorry master.

Ah, I see the part I missed. The extra is only voiced in Japanese. I guess you can't play through english and it's only in theater mode? That would make a little more sense.

Edit 2: Still seems weird you wouldn't just the english text along with the voices if you're doing the voices anyhow. I shouldn't be surprised though, I don't think any of the other final mixes for KH were english either right?

 

[duckroll]

The voice in the main game is in English. The voice in the Secret Episode is in Japanese. You cannot switch language settings in the normal game. In the theater mode all main game cutscenes can be viewed in English or Japanese. Secret Episode cutscenes are in Japanese only.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

The voice in the main game is in English. The voice in the Secret Episode is in Japanese. You cannot switch language settings in the normal game. In the theater mode all main game cutscenes can be viewed in English or Japanese. Secret Episode cutscenes are in Japanese only.

Ah, still seems weird you can hear like 99% in english and then you're forced to hear japanese. I understand it's cheaper but just seems weird still after allowing to hear english through the rest.

 

[duckroll]

Ah, still seems weird you can hear like 99% in english and then you're forced to hear japanese. I understand it's cheaper but just seems weird still after allowing to hear english through the rest.

It's better than what they did in KH2 Final Mix+, where all the new cutscenes have no voice acting at all when you're playing through the game, just subtitles. It was SO WEIRD. But when you unlock Theater Mode, you can select Japanese voice, and all those scenes were actually... voiced! :lol

 

[Peff]

Ah, still seems weird you can hear like 99% in english and then you're forced to hear japanese. I understand it's cheaper but just seems weird still after allowing to hear english through the rest.

Better than silence like in Final Mix+!

Also, is the dual language for every scene? Siliconera has an article that said that only some scenes have both audio tracks.

 

[xero273]

I don't think any of the other final mixes for KH were english either right?

Been awhile since I played the other final mix+ but from what I remember extra scenes in those only had text, no voices. The voices were in theater mode though.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

It's better than what they did in KH2 Final Mix+, where all the new cutscenes have no voice acting at all when you're playing through the game, just subtitles. It was SO WEIRD. But when you unlock Theater Mode, you can select Japanese voice, and all those scenes were actually... voiced! :lol

:lol I guess in that sense it's better but it's still sure as hell awkward. Stupid filthy gaijin. ;.;

 

[duckroll]

Better than silence like in Final Mix+!

Also, is the dual language for every scene? Siliconera has an article that said that only some scenes have both audio tracks.

They're just translating the blog post here: http://blog.jp.square-enix.com/kingdom/2011/01/-aaaaa.html

It actually says the opposite. Some scenes will not have this option, but the dual language function is being presented as a general feature. The note about some scenes not having the option are almost certainly referring to the Secret Episode scenes. Nomura mentioned in the last interview about Final Mix that the Secret Episode will be Japanese voice only, but that for everything else, you can toggle the language just like in KH2FM+.