Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep dated for 2009 in Japan

Not only did those who were invited to the ultra-exclusive DKΣ3713 Private Party get a chance to play Dissidia, they also played through two levels of the upcoming Kingdom Hearts prequel Birth by Sleep. As we predicted, Square announced that a Japanese release will occur some time in 2009.

IGN had a chance to play through the two stages, and here's what they had to tell us, after the jump:

• The two playable stages are the land of Sleeping Beauty and the land of Snow White.

• Maleficent appears to be the principal baddie, but knowing Square, there's probably some greater evil pulling the strings in the background.

• Three Keyblade apprentices, Terra, Ven and Aqua, set out to search for the missing Keyblade master, Master Xehanort.

• Terra, the only character IGN managed to get some hands-on time with, had a Command meter that builds up with every normal attack. When fully-powered up, he can utilize four different attack modes, three of them corresponding with an element: fire, rock thunder and Fatal Mode.
  

• Terra could target enemies with a reticle and attack them with homing shots that are more powerful than standard attacks.

• The boss Terra faces in the Enchanted Castle is a large enchanted weaving machine that required multiple areas to be weakened before it can be completely defeated.