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Relive the Kingdom Hearts 3 E3 announcement
Kingdom Hearts 3 has no official release date yet, but we do know it's coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In the meantime, here's the announcement trailer.
Nomura: The Kingdom Hearts Keyblade was originally a chainsaw
In an interview with Famitsu, Square Enix character designer and Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura revealed some secrets about the early history of the franchise. The ensemble-cast design of the games, for example, stemmed from a disagreement between Square and Disney over the protagonist: "Square wanted to make a game starring Mickey Mouse," Nomura said, as translated by 1UP, "and Disney wanted a Donald Duck title. Meanwhile, I wanted neither." The resulting compromise was "a game featuring lots of characters without focusing on any particular one."The Keyblade weapon, despite being an early component of the game, was not Nomura's first idea for a signature weapon. "Actually," he said, "the first weapon I showed Disney was a chainsaw. It was this chainsaw-like weapon that I had a rough sketch of when I first showed my concepts to Disney." Disney reacted pretty much like you would expect Disney executives to react to the heavy use of a chainsaw in a game about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck: "Everyone got this scrunched-up look on their face and nobody said a word in the entire room. Dead silence. And I thought 'No, I guess this wouldn't work, huh?'"It occurred to us that the chainsaw was the perfect Nomura weapon, because the teeth on the chain are reminiscent of those on a zipper.
Rad keyblade auction also benefits Child's Play
We love helping sick kids as much as the next staff of surly bloggers, but even our moral compass is being tested by this eBay listing for an incredible Keyblade replica. We'd like to say the best part is that 35% [Update: In their FAQ, the seller says 100%] of the funds raised are going to Child's Play. But alas, we're pretty sure that the best part is the above video from the listing that features one of our favorite things: Cosplayers who've just lost the game of Chicken they've been playing with e-infamy and insanity and have ended up splattered all over the internet. Happy holidays, kids.Of all the images the video, we're especially terrified of Pikachu holding a sword. Because, you see, even if you're properly grounded and insulated against electricity -- he's still got a sword.[Thanks everyone who sent this in.]
Game weapon lets us into our hotel room
Pictured above: a life-size statue of Sora, the protagonist from hit action-RPG franchise Kingdom Hearts (PS2). We have it on good authority that he held that rictus grin all day, despite the sweaty photogs who shoved lenses in his face. Pictured below: the key to our hotel rooms at the Century Hyatt in Tokyo. Coincidence? Yeah. That's just how some keys are made 'round here. But I'm obsessed with games, so whatever it is I think I see, becomes a tootsie roll to me.
