Back in mid-December, you might remember the gaming community buzz around the leaking of a little game called Kingdom Hearts III. A full six weeks before the official launch date, some early copies on Xbox One made their way into public hands and, rightfully, Kingdom Hearts fans were immediately concerned about the potential for spoilers.
Later that same day, game director Tetsuya Nomura issued a statement addressing the leak and attempting to calm fans’ fears by revealing that the version of the game pressed to disc did not include the ‘full’ ending. What that meant exactly, and how much of the ending of the game was not included on-disc remained a mystery, however, until now.
In a series of tweets from the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account, Square Enix have today detailed not only the content of the game’s requisite launch-day patch, but the nature of the game’s withheld ending content. Aside from the usual last-minute tweaks to the game itself (which aren’t explicitly spelled out in the tweets), it’s been revealed that Kingdom Hearts III will have three ‘video’ sequences added at launch. The ‘Memory Archive’ videos will recap prior games in the series and be added at launch, while the game’s ‘Epilogue’ and a further ‘Secret’ video will be rolled out over the two following days. Judging by what’s written, it seems the Epilogue will run right after the main game is completed and the primary ending viewed, while the Secret video will require certain in-game criteria to be met, much the same as previous games.
Check out the series of tweets below:
#KingdomHearts III free game update release schedule
Tuesday, January 29
Update 1.01 (several data fixes)
Memory Archive (videos)
*The Memory Archive option will be added to the game's title menu and can be viewed at any time.
[1/5] pic.twitter.com/tNntDkJkwh— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) January 11, 2019
Wednesday, January 30
Epilogue (video)
*Players will need to have completed #KingdomHearts III and seen the ending to view this video.
[2/5]— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) January 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/KINGDOMHEARTS/status/1083719468629536768
*The Memory Archive is a digest of the #KingdomHearts story in the series up to this point.
*The epilogue and secret movie are video content that will enhance player's enjoyment of the world of #KingdomHearts.
[4/5]— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) January 11, 2019
*These pieces of downloadable content are additional elements for #KingdomHearts III
*The main game allows players to proceed to and view the ending without the need for an internet connection.
*An internet connection is required to download patches to update the game.
[5/5]— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) January 11, 2019
Kingdom Hearts III launches on January 29th, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Kieron's been gaming ever since he could first speak the words "Blast Processing" and hasn't lost his love for platformers and JRPGs since. A connoisseur of avant-garde indie experiences and underground cult classics, Kieron is a devout worshipper at the churches of Double Fine and Annapurna Interactive, to drop just a couple of names.
