Do you heart Kingdom Hearts – especially the idea of a new game in the series for Nintendo DS? Then you'll be happy to hear that the Japanese manual for Square Enix's recently released Dragon Quest V remake contains an ad promising a 2008 release for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days ... in Japan, of course.

Revealed at last year's Tokyo Game Show, the next handheld Kingdom Hearts features a four-player co-op mode and follows the adventures of series protagonist Sora's "Nobody" twin, Roxas (above). Even though the game looks like it's hitting Japan this year, we'll still have to wait out the necessary localization before seeing it Stateside. At least the ad isn't merely a "coming soon" tease like the one for God of War III.

[Via DS Fanboy]

While video game music is no longer simply the series of 'beeps' and 'boops' it was in the past, it has nonetheless remained one of game design's -- groan -- unsung heroes. This isn't lost on tune-focused Music4Games, and in a recent interview with Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura, she spoke out on a number of topics, including her thoughts on creating music for the PlayStation 3.

According to Shimomura, who is responsible for the tunes we'll be humming along to in Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy Versus XIII for the PS3, composing on Sony's current platform is much less limiting than it was in previous generations. "With the PlayStation 2, sound production...was a constant battle with memory and limitations," she recalled, adding that "with the PlayStation 3, I'm expecting to have it sound the way I please, without limitations." It's encouraging to hear someone at any level talk about creating content on the PS3 that doesn't involve the words "difficult" or "costly." However, with Square Enix continuing to play coy with regards to when its decade of Final Fantasy will actually kick off, it may be some time before our ears ring with the fruits of Yoko Shimomura's musical labor.

We're not sure how he does it or how long it takes him, but animator and generally insane fight choreographer "Montyoum" has once again delved into the many unwritten volumes of fan fiction buried inside our minds and rendered each page in startling, over-the-top clarity. After allowing Samus and Master Chief to find love on the battlefield, Montyoum orchestrated a crossover between the elaborately endowed gals of Dead or Alive and a trio of Final Fantasy femme fatales, labeling the ludicrous result "Dead Fantasy."

Above you'll find the sequel, an even bigger display of absurd acrobatics, imaginative pummeling and blissful ignorance of the laws of physics. We love it.

[Thanks, dara hoy]

Square Enix has finally nailed down a firm US release date for its upcoming, dare we say original action-RPG for the DS, The World Ends With You. While Nintendo listed the game among its spring releases last month, the calender jockeys at Final Fantasy proper have announced that the game will make it to North American retail outlets on April 22.

Developed at the hands of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories developer Jupiter, the game has certainly been on the minds of those of us partial to Nintendo's touchable handheld, as as well as those with a thing for big feet and Japanese culture. The World Ends With You is set within Tokyo's "trendiest youth culture center," Shibuya, and takes "major influences" from the area's cultural bearings, from food and music to fashion and design. It all sounds great, but honestly you had us at original.

Released on the Nintendo DS back in July, "Subarashiki Kono Sekai" saw the team behind Kingdom Hearts take a break from all that adorable fantasy nonsense to explore an entirely different... well, no. Setting the game in Shibuya, Tokyo ("the coolest district in Tokyo," it says here) pretty much guarantees a heavy presence of adorable fantasy nonsense. It's a good thing some of us are partial to that sort of thing, or Square Enix wouldn't have bothered to localize the game (otherwise known as "It's a Wondeful World") for the PAL market.

Set for release in Spring 2008, the newly redubbed "The World Ends With You" starts in a rather sinister fashion, reminiscent of other popular Japanese import, The Ring. It seems the lead chap, Neku, encounters a phone message ominously informing him that after seven days have passed, he'll cease to exist. Don't be too concerned, as he'll get out of the predicament thanks to "the coolest fashions, friends and fighting skills" Tokyo has to offer. And hey, if those friends and fighting skills don't work out, at least the guy will be fashionably late. Geddit?

We've asked Square Enix whether or not a US release is on the cards, though it's easy enough to import and play DS games from Europe should the answer be "no, and for the last time, stop sending us those chain letters."

Update: Square Enix has no announcements regarding a US release.

You simply can't barge your way through the throbbing mass of people at the Tokyo Game Show without bumping into video game characters which have somehow manifested in reality. Actually, physically bumping into them isn't recommended, as the ornate headdresses, gargantuan shoulder pads and razor-sharp hair is very likely to cause unexpected injury. With all the Clouds marching about the hallways of the Makuhari Messe center, you're likely to become trapped in a cosplay iron maiden* if you're not careful.

*Due to creative cosplay, "maiden" may in truth be "man."

Remember this? This is the original Birth by Sleep trailer that was hidden at the end of the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix. But this is not Kingdom Hearts III for PS3. No, it's not what you were expecting at all.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, revealed at Tokyo Game Show today, is a brand new PSP game that expands the story of the franchise not by looking forward, but by looking back. This prequel stars a character that strongly resembles (but is not) Zack from Final Fantasy VII (and most recently, Crisis Core). In addition, we see a character that appears to be a clone of Roxas -- but that's impossible, considering the massive time difference between Birth by Sleep and the original console games. Certainly, there's a lot of mysteries surrounding this upcoming title.

As this preview video shows, the game features a much darker and sinister feel than the console predecessors. The character designs feature a rougher look, especially the main villains, featured above. The new hero, being of a much older age than the previous heroes, also adds a much more mature feel to the overall presentation. The new keyblade also feels much more menacing, being able to shoot projectiles rather quickly. From the little we got to see at Tokyo Game Show, it seems as though the gameplay of Birth by Sleep will most closely follow the PS2 originals of the new Kingdom Hearts games announced today.

This is easily the most technologically impressive Kingdom Hearts game announced today, and although it's not a next-gen sequel, this PSP iteration looks to satiate the needs of the Kingdom Hearts gamers everywhere.

Three new Kingdom Hearts titles were shown in Square Enix's private theater at this year's Tokyo Game Show. In addition to incredibly silly titles, the games all shared one thing in common: they will set new technical benchmarks on the platforms that they arrive on.

First up is Kingdom Hearts Coded, a unique reinterpretation of the original Kingdom Hearts game. The trailer begins with an ominous message that leads Jiminy Cricket in a frantic race to Mickey Mouse, to send Sora through a digitally recreated version of the original Kingdom Hearts. In Coded, players will be able to enter a "Debug Mode" which allows players to alter the world around them. In one sequence, we saw Sora gain the ability to run through objects, such as blocks. What he ran through would then explode, reinforcing the notion that Sora can have dominion of his world: it's like playing a Kingdom Hearts fanfic written by a hardcore aficionado of The Matrix. Of course, as cool as this may sound, chances are you'll never play it. It's frustratingly yet another one of the countless cell phone games that Square Enix has in development.

The other games showcased will certainly be more relevant to the Joystiq reader. "The time of the other side ... " the trailer begins. This will be Roxas' adventure, following the trials of Organization XIII. The battle system resembles the one featured in the past two console games, but there's a few new twists. Members of Organization XIII are aerially gifted, being able to float away at a whim. They also work together: we saw a four player co-operative mode on display which looks quite fun. Amazingly, the game manages to maintain visuals that are strikingly similar to the PS2 originals, albeit a bit more pixelated. Oh, and did we mention that this is on the Nintendo DS? Oh, and did we mention the title: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Certainly not the catchiest of titles. But, that wasn't the end of Kingdom Hearts games revealed today.