Gaming News - February 2006

Redmond, CA (February 8, 2006) - Square Enix announced today the voice cast and North American release date for Kingdom Hearts II.

From Square Enix:

The all-star ensemble voice cast is led by Haley Joel Osment (“The Sixth Sense,” “A.I. Artificial Intelligence”) as the main character Sora and is joined by David Gallagher (“7th Heaven”) as Riku, and Hayden Panettiere (“Racing Stripes,” “Raising Helen”) as Kairi. Kingdom Hearts II will also feature the voice talents of Jesse McCartney (“Summerland,” Recording artist, “Beautiful Soul” CD) as the mysterious boy Roxas, Brittany Snow (“The Pacifier,” “American Dreams”) as Namine, Christopher Lee (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring”) as Diz; Steve Burton (“The Last Castle,” “Taken”) as Cloud, Rachael Leigh Cook (“She’s All That,” “Josie And The Pussycats”) as Tifa and Mena Suvari (“American Beauty,” “Rumor Has It”) as Aerith, all characters from FINAL FANTASY VII; and Hedy Buress (“Boston Common,” “If These Walls Could Talk”), Tara Strong (“Fairly OddParents : Shadow Showdown,” “Teen Titans”) , Gwendoline Yeo (“Desperate Housewives,” “24”) as the popular female-trio Yuna, Rikku, Paine from FINAL FANTASY X-2. In addition, many of the original Disney film star voice actors are reprising their role for this project, including Ming-Na (“ER,” “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”) as Mulan, James Woods (“Be Cool”), returning as the villain Hades and Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) as Chicken Little.

Kingdom Hearts II will ship to North American retailers on March 28, 2006. Since its release in September 2002, the original Kingdom Hearts for the PlayStation 2 has shipped more than 2.6 million units in North America. Bridging the gap between the original and the sequel, Kingdom Hearts: CHAIN OF MEMORIES followed in December 2004 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance system. With the release of the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts II in December 2005 (1 million units shipped during only three days after the release date), the series has shipped in excess of 7.5 million units worldwide.

The world of Kingdom Hearts joins classic Disney characters and worlds together with a new story filled with new characters and environments created in the renowned Square Enix style. The result was one remarkable, innovative, original property that captured the attention of both gamers and critics alike. In Kingdom Hearts II, players will travel through the worlds of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Steamboat Willie and Tron as well as revisit worlds from the original, including Aladdin, Disney Castle, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The game features more than 100 Disney characters, and also introduces new, original characters such as Roxas, members of Organization XIII and the Nobodies, all designed by Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura, director and character designer of the Kingdom Hearts series. Nomura is best known for his creations in the top selling titles FINAL FANTASY VII, VIII, X and X-2. New Disney additions to the sequel include Chicken Little and Stitch from Disney’s Lilo and Stitch as summons as well as one of Disney’s favorite villains, Pete.

“We have enjoyed success with the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts II this past December and cannot wait to roll out this title in March in North America – North America is where Kingdom Hearts all began,” said Tetsuya Nomura. “The entire team has been working day and night to perfect the North American version and we hope the gamers will find it even more exciting than the original.”

“Kingdom Hearts is the perfect creative example of how BVG is growing and developing the Disney brand and relevance in video games worldwide,” said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager, Buena Vista Games. “Our excellent relationship with Square Enix has once again resulted in a game that sets the artistic benchmark in developing video games based on popular entertainment intellectual properties.”

“The Kingdom Hearts series has given us the opportunity to showcase Square Enix’s expertise in game design and development together with Disney’s memorable worlds and characters. This collaborative project is a situation most can only dream of and we are fortunate to have had this opportunity,” said Shinji Hashimoto, producer, Square Enix. “Kingdom Hearts II is packed with even more excitement and amazing adventures and we cannot wait for gamers to experience it for themselves.”

Kingdom Hearts II follows Sora, Donald, and Goofy on their continuing quest, after the events of Kingdom Hearts. Sora is looking for his lost friend Riku, while Donald and Goofy are searching for their missing king. The story begins in Twilight Town, a quiet burg nestled between night and day. Sora and friends are joined by a vibrant new cast of characters, including the king himself. Together, they will encounter countless dangers in worlds both familiar and brand-new.

Kingdom Hearts II features a new and improved real-time battle system which provides an increased selection of commands, such as performing special attacks and cooperative attacks with members of your party, adding strategy to the gameplay. Players can also perform the “Drive” to transform main character Sora into his various forms, altering his skills and abilities. Examples include the Brave Form, where Sora absorbs the power of Goofy allowing him to use two Keyblades; the Wisdom Form, where Sora absorbs the power of Donald allowing him to increase his magic power; and the Master Form, where Sora absorbs the power of both Donald and Goofy and increases both his attack and magic powers. These new features bring additional challenges and excitement to the players and further enhance gameplay.