Codex Gamicus
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Kingdom Hearts coded
KHCoded.png
Developer(s) Square Enix
h.a.n.d. (Nintendo DS version)
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Designer Tetsuya Nomura (game director)
Shinji Hashimoto (executive producer)
Kousei Itou (game producer)
Kakuko Obinata (associate producer)
Hajime Tabata (co-director)
Daisuke Watanabe (scenario supervisor)[1]
Engine
status Status Missing
Release date DoCoMo
November 18, 2008 (pre-install)[2] (JP)
June 3, 2009 – January 28, 2010 (episodes)[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] (JP)
Nintendo DS
October 7, 2010[12] (JP)
TBA 2010 (NA)
TBA 2010 (EU)
Genre Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player
Age rating(s)
Platform(s) NTT docomo[13]
Nintendo DS[14]
Arcade system Arcade System Missing
Media
Input
Requirements
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Kingdom Hearts coded (キングダム ハーツ コーデッド, Kingudamu Hātsu Kōdeddo?) is an episodic puzzle video game developed and published by Square Enix, in collaboration with the Walt Disney Internet Group for mobile phones.[1][13] It is an installment in the Kingdom Hearts series that is set after the events of the Kingdom Hearts II. The story focuses on a message written in Jiminy Cricket's journal. The game was announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show. Currently, the title is only a Japanese release; however, a remake of the game entitled Kingdom Hearts Re:coded will be released in North America, Europe and Japan on the Nintendo DS.[15] The game consists of eight episodes, with the first episode released on June 3, 2009,[3] the second episode on July 8, 2009,[4][5] the third on August 5, 2009,[6][7] the fourth on September 17, 2009,[8] the fifth on October 15, 2009,[9] the sixth on November 26, 2009, the seventh on December 26, 2009, and the eighth on January 28, 2010. A pre-install episode was also made available on November 18, 2008, before the game's official release.[2]

Gameplay[]

File:Kingdom Hearts Coded Gameplay.jpg

Sora fighting Heartless in Traverse Town

Coded is a puzzle game with action elements mixed into the gameplay.[16] The action gameplay is similar to the action-RPG style of the previous games in the series and features a similar basic interface.[17][18] Coded also includes minigame and platforming elements.[19] The game features a mix of graphics, with three-dimensional (3D) backgrounds and two-dimensional (2D) characters.[16][20] The initial trailer showcased the main character, Sora, in dungeons with floating red and black blocks. Battles feature a "debugging" mode to remove the blocks in order to progress towards enemies.[17][18] Blocks are also used to solve puzzles or reach higher ground.[18]


Setting[]

See: Universe of Kingdom Hearts

In coded, the player progresses through a series of levels which are virtual re-representations of worlds contained within the digitized version of Jiminy's journal which are from the first Kingdom Hearts game and are arranged according to the order in which Sora visited the worlds originally in Kingdom Hearts.[21] These virtual worlds are based on various locales from many Disney animated films as well as original worlds: Destiny Islands, the first original world in the series; Traverse Town, another original world; Wonderland from Alice in Wonderland; Olympus Coliseum from Hercules; Agrabah from Aladdin.[9]

Characters[]

File:CodedChar.png

Artwork of the cast of Kingdom Hearts coded. (From left to right)
(Bottom Row) Donald Duck, King Mickey, Jiminy Cricket, Goofy
(Middle Row) Kairi, Sora, Riku
(Top Row) Jiminy's Journal (taking form of a Cloaked Figure)

See: Characters of Kingdom Hearts

Like previous Kingdom Hearts titles, coded features numerous Disney characters.[17] Some characters include King Mickey, Pluto, Jiminy Cricket,[22] Donald Duck, Goofy,[18] and the Heartless.[23] The data Sora is in the original Sora's attire from the first game because he is created from data from Jiminy's earlier journal entries. The characters referred to as "them" in the message left in Jiminy's journal refers to the main protagonists of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.[23] Other antagonists include Maleficent and some other enemies from the Nintendo DS game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.[24]

Story[]

Template:Kingdom Hearts chronology The game takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts II and follows the story of Jiminy Cricket, King Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy in Disney Castle.[13][16] While organizing the records in Jiminy's journal from his travels with Sora and his friends, Jiminy Cricket's curiosity about the line "thank Naminé" results in him finding a message that he did not write: "We must return to free them from their torment."[22][25] To investigate this message, King Mickey digitizes the contents of the journal and goes into the simulated world to investigate, awakening a virtual Sora on the virtual Destiny Islands to carry out the contents of the journal to uncover the identity of "them".[22]

As Sora awakens on Destiny Islands, he encounters numerous "bugs", which take the form of red and black Heartless, covering the whole world.[21] Upon eliminating the Heartless and destroying the bugs, Sora traverses to other worlds infected with bugs to return them to normal,[4][26] following a mysterious cloaked figure upon orders from King Mickey.[7]

Meanwhile, Heartless begin appearing within Disney Castle, and everyone finds themselves trapped in the room.[7] To their surprise, they are saved by Data Sora. Suddenly, the cloaked figure reveals himself to be Jiminy's Journal taking the form of Riku, and explains that they are no longer in the real world, but the data world. Sora is sent off by the Journal to discover his true identity, only to encounter Maleficent and Pete from the real world. Maleficent destroys Data Sora's Keyblade and summons Heartless to attack him.[9] Mickey and the Journal arrive to save Sora, but the Journal is abducted by Maleficent, with Mickey giving chase. Sora makes his way through Hollow Bastion, aided by Donald and Goofy. They encounter Pete, who summons the Journal and takes control of him with the bugs to fight them, but Sora still manages to defeat the Journal, who falls unconscious.[11]

Mickey arrives and informs Sora that unless the bugs are destroyed, the Journal will never awaken. Sora decides to find a way to awaken the Journal, and enters Riku's data world, losing his abilities in the process. The two visit various worlds from the Data Riku's memory and find their way back to Hollow Bastion, where they fight and defeat Maleficent. Meanwhile, King Mickey discovers that he will be returning soon to the real world, but the Journal, once completed, will have to be erased, which will mean the end of Data Sora's memories. When the time comes, Sora requests more time in order to save Pete and Maleficent, who are still in the data world. Sora finds them fighting Sora's Heartless, but Pete and Maleficent are erased before he can intervene. Sora defeats Sora's Heartless, the cause of the bugs, and Mickey returns to the real world, erasing the Journal. A new message appears claiming that a new door to a new world has been opened, which is the data of the data world added into the Journal. Mickey, realizing that this quest may be too dangerous for Data Sora as he has no memory of it, requests to be taken into the Data World once again.[11]

Finding Data Sora in Traverse Town, Mickey takes him to Castle Oblivion where Data Sora is confronted by a young man wearing a black coat. He tells Sora that if he wants to know the truth, he must move forward on his own through the previous worlds he visited destroying bugs. During this time, he realizes that even if he doesn't remember someone he's met, there's still the sadness of having forgotten them which the figure attempts to warn not to let it consume him. Sora disregards this message and fights the figure, revealed to be Roxas. After losing to Sora, Roxas gives him a card as Mickey appears. Sora opens the next door to find Naminé, who reveals the bugs to have been an unintentional side effect of her attempt to restore Sora's memories. She then reveals Sora's nature as the "Key that connects everything" through his ties with herself, Roxas, Xion, and Axel. Furthermore, Naminé tells Data Sora about three figures also tied to Sora's heart who are the ones referred to in the message and need his help. Mickey bids farewell to the Data Sora and promises Naminé that he will inform the real Sora of this.

In the final scene, Mickey sends Sora a bottled letter, which Sora reads with Riku and Kairi.

Development[]

coded was directed by Tetsuya Nomura and co-directed by Hajime Tabata, and is the first collaboration between Square Enix and the Disney Internet Group.[1] It was announced alongside Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 2007, where a trailer was shown in a photo-prohibited theater.[20][27] New trailers were shown at the 2008 Jump Festa in December 2007 and the DKΣ3713 Private party in August 2008.[19][28] Playable demonstrations, as well as new trailers, were available at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show in October 2008 and the 2009 Jump Festa in December 2008.[29][30] Early trailers highlighted coded's gameplay, while later ones focused more on the game's story, which would reveal some plotholes behind the first Kingdom Hearts game.[29]

In mid-2007, Nomura mentioned a desire to create a spin-off Kingdom Hearts game on a mobile platform and wanted it to play slightly different than other titles in the series.[31] The game's concept was devised by Nomura who wanted to make the game like a playground for fans. Tabata originally thought the initial plan was terrible, but still interesting. The development team plans to make use of phone technology to facilitate interaction between players.[23] coded was developed with 3D and 2D graphics to have the game available on a range of cellphones for distribution overseas.[16] Early screenshots showed the game in a wide screen format, based on the idea that more future models will feature a swivel screen.[18]

coded was first released pre-installed on the Docomo PRIME Series "P-01A" mobile phone.[32][33] Because many mobile games in the market offer free content, Nomura planned to release the game via a new business model, one the industry had not seen yet, to lower barriers to entry.[18] Included in the model is an online cell phone portal called Kingdom Hearts Mobile which will allow users to create avatars and play minigames.[21][34]

Versions and merchandise[]

Main article: List of Kingdom Hearts media

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded[]

In May 2010, the new English voice actor for Jiminy Cricket, Phil Snyder, who took over the role after the passing of Jiminy's former voice actor Eddie Carroll, wrote on his official website that he was recording his first voice work for the game Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, a remake and English version of Kingdom Hearts coded for the Nintendo DS in the same way Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories brought Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories to the PlayStation 2.[35] Re:coded, among other titles, was presented at E3 2010.[36] The game will play like a mix of Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, and the original coded, although the game also makes use of the leveling system from 358/2 Days; however, the system has been simplified to be more appealing to the "light gamer". The story of the game also is not being changed, although more scenes will be added, including a new secret movie and a few hints at Kingdom Hearts 3D. As of June 2010, the game is 80% complete. The game will be released in Japan on October 7, 2010 and Nomura said that it should be releasing in other territories shortly after the Japanese release.[37]

Reception[]

Prior to coded's release, Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com praised the game's graphics and scope. He stated the graphics were comparable to those of the PlayStation Portable and commented that coded was a sign of mobile games turning into "full-fledged" games.[38] 1UP.com's Vernon Hastings commented that the game deserved the attention of video game enthusiasts, and praised its features: the themes and the online cell phone portal.[34]

See also[]

  • List of Disney video games by genre

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Square Enix (2007-09-20). A New Chapter in the Kingdom Hearts Series Delivers Three Brand-new Titles to the Nintendo DS, PSP, and Mobile Phones. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-21
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kingdom Hearts Coded for Cell Phones. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-12-04
  3. 3.0 3.1 キングダム ハーツ coded (Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved on 16 August 2009
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 『キングダム ハーツ コーデッド』第2章の配信がスタート (Japanese). Famitsu (July 8, 2009). Retrieved on 16 August 2009
  5. 5.0 5.1 Kingdom Hearts: Coded Artwork, Screens Accompany Release Info. Kingdom Hearts Union (May 30, 2009). Retrieved on 16 August 2009
  6. 6.0 6.1 Kingdom Hearts World - Archive - Coded Episode Three. GameSpot (July 30, 2009). Retrieved on 16 August 2009
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 『キングダム ハーツ コーデッド』第3章が配信開始! (Japanese). Famitsu (August 5, 2009). Retrieved on 16 August 2009
  8. 8.0 8.1 『キングダム ハーツ コーデッド』第3章が配信開始! (Japanese). Famitsu (August 18, 2009). Retrieved on 18 September 2009
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Message from the KINGDOM»KHcoded (Japanese). Square Enix (October 15, 2009). Retrieved on 29 October 2009
  10. 11/26~27発売雑誌 KHBbS&coded情報まとめ (Japanese). ReBirth Wings (November 26, 2009). Retrieved on 4 December 2009
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 coded-07:光が強まるほどに、闇もまた強くなる…それはまるで鏡のように。 (Japanese). ReBirth Wings (December 26, 2009). Retrieved on 28 December 2009
  12. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Decoded in October (English). Siliconera (July 19, 2010). Retrieved on 19 July 2010
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Kingdom Hearts シリーズ 新プロジェクト (Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved on 2007-09-20
  14. Square Enix Staff. Square Enix - E3 2010 Lineup. Square Enix. Retrieved on May 30, 2010
  15. Square Enix Staff. Square Enix - E3 2010 Lineup. Square Enix. Retrieved on May 30, 2010
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Kingdom Hearts: coded (Famitsu Interview). Kingdom Hearts Ultimania. Retrieved on 2007-09-28[dead link]
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Onyett, Charles (2007-09-19). TGS 2007: Three New Kingdom Hearts Titles. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Gantayat, Anoop (2007-10-02). Nomura Discusses Kingdom Hearts. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-04
  19. 19.0 19.1 Haynes, Jeff (2008-08-02). Kingdom Hearts Coded Trailer Impressions. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-05
  20. 20.0 20.1 Niizumi, Hirohiko (2007-09-20). TGS '07: Square Enix shows all in closed mega-theater. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-21
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Gifford, Kevin (2008-08-06). Kingdom Hearts All Over Your Cell Phone. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 Kingdom Hearts: Coded. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 "Interview with Tetsuya Nomura and Hajime Tabata" (translation). Famitsu: p 33. October 2007. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080613192826/http://www.kh2.co.uk/?page=NI/KHC2. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  24. Hatfield, Daemon (2008-10-09). TGS 2008: Square Enix Closed Mega Theater Exposed. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  25. Boyes, Emma (2007-09-20). TGS '07: Three new Kingdom Hearts games coming. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-20
  26. 『キングダム ハーツ コーデッド』、P-01Aプリインストール版だけのステージも収録 (Japanese). Famitsu (November 11, 2008). Retrieved on 16 August 2009
  27. 『キングダム ハーツ』新プロジェクトも明らかに! (Japanese). Famitsu (2007-09-20). Retrieved on 2007-09-23
  28. Gantayat, Anoop (2007-12-02). Square Enix Unveils Jump Festa Lineup. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-12
  29. 29.0 29.1 Tanaka, John (2008-10-10). TGS 2008: Nomura on Square Enix Closed Theater. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  30. Winkler, Chris (2008-12-02). Square Enix Announces JUMP Festa Line-up. RPGFan. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  31. Ransom-Wiley, James (2007-05-04). Next Kingdom Hearts to be portable spin-off, not KHIII. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-09-22
  32. Docomo Prime series P-01A: 搭載コンテンツ (Japanese). NTT docomo. Retrieved on 2008-11-25
  33. Docomo Prime series Products. NTT docomo. Retrieved on 2008-11-25
  34. 34.0 34.1 Gifford, Kevin (2008-10-22). Why You Should Care About Kingdom Hearts Coded. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  35. Phil Snyder. Official Site for Phil Snyder. Retrieved on May 30, 2010
  36. Square Enix, Inc.. SQUARE ENIX BRINGS AN UNRIVALED LINEUP OF FRANCHISES TO E3 2010. Retrieved on 2010-6-9
  37. Anoop Gantayat. Tetsuya Nomura Talks Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. Retrieved on June 23, 2010
  38. Parish, Jeremy (2007-09-20). TGS: Cell phone gaming takes a turn for the Heartless. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-14

External links[]

Template:Kingdom Hearts series fr:Kingdom Hearts: Coded hu:Kingdom Hearts coded no:Kingdom Hearts coded pt:Kingdom Hearts: Coded fi:Kingdom Hearts coded zh:王國之心 coded

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