(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); -Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Information Thread~[/CENTER]
"Birth By Sleep" is the secret ending video to Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix and a follow up to Sunset Horizons, the secret ending video to the original Kingdom Hearts II. The video centers around three armored warriors wielding keyblades and an unnamed foe, and is meant to introduce Tetsuya Nomura's newest Kingdom Hearts project, the details of which are still scarce. However, what is known is three new games are in the works. One of which, aptly named "Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep" for the PlayStation Portable.
General Information:
Published By: Square Enix
Developed By: Square Enix
Designers and Other:
Shinji Hashimoto (executive producer)
Patrick Chen (game producer)
Yoichi Yoshimoto (co-producer)
Tetsuya Nomura (game director)
Tai Yasue (co-director)
Daisuke Watanabe (scenario writer)
Engine: The engine used for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Action RPG
Release Date: 2009 (JPN) (USA - TBA)
ESRB: "RP" for "Rating Pending"
Price: TBA
Platform: PSP (Playstation Portable)
Media: UMD (Universal Media Disk)

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Story:
(From Kingdom Hearts Insider)
“The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it.” - Ansem Report

Birth By Sleep takes place about 10 years before the original Kingdom Hearts. Before Sora wielded the Keyblade, there were other Keyblade masters. One of these masters, Xehanort, disappeared one day along with his apprentice. Another master of the keyblade saw this as a sign of terrible things to come. So he ordered his three apprentices (Terra, Ven and Aqua) to seek out Xehanort and his cohort.

Both Ven and Master Xehanort have connections to preexisting characters. Ven happens to bare a striking resemblance to Roxas. Master Xehanort shares the same name and clothing to the other Xehanort seen in Kingdom Hearts. As you play through the story, their connections will be revealed. However, you will have to play all three scenarios to understand the story completely. The secret movie shown at the end of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ is actually a scene from the game.

Some crucial scenes have been revealed to us through scans:

* Terra will confront Xehanort in Sunset Horizons.
* King Mickey appears to aid Ven in his battle against Xehanort‘s Apprentice. Although since this is in the past, he might not have his King status yet.
* Terra carries a wounded Ven through Hollow Bastion.
* Terra watches two young boys play on the shore in what appears to be Destiny Islands.

New and returning worlds will be brought into Birth By Sleep. These include: Olympus Coliseum, Hollow Bastion, Sleeping Beauty, Sunset Horizons, as well as Destiny Islands. Since this game is taking place in the past, each World will be given a time shift to fit within the plot. An example would be encountering a young Hercules in the Olympus Coliseum. Nomura has also stated that characters like Donald and Goofy would be making a return.

Most of the new info gather from Jump Festa regarded Ven, the look-alike of Roxas. The blonde hair kid travels by himself throughout worlds different worlds, such as Cinderella and Agrabah. We also get to see more of Ven's climactic battle with the Dark Soldier. He actually gets a good enough hit on him to knock his face plate off, but naturally the face isn't revealed just yet. Last we see of him, Ven asks his friend to erase him from this world.

Other major players in Birth By Sleep recieve some face time, although not as much. Donald and Goofy do appear, and tag along with Mickey and Yensid, even while master and apprentice train. Terra and Maleficeint seem to have some sort of connection, and might even be working together as hinted by Nomura. Even though all three keyblade wielders do not have a connection with the three from Kingdom Hearts, this story will explain the conflict that follows them.

Main Characters:
Birth By Sleep features five main characters, none of whom appear in any earlier Kingdom Hearts scenes of videos. It also contains a shot of King Mickey.
The characters are not named in the video, but the three armored keyblade warriors were given names confirmed by Tetsuya Nomura in a May 2007 interview. The main characters demonstrate no concrete connection to other characters in the series, but much speculation has arised regarding various attributes they have, including the implications of the keyblades they wield and their physical resemblance to other characters. These characters are said to be features in the game Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.

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Originally called the "Armored Youth", the "Enigmatic Soldier" or the "Enigmatic Knight", Terra is the tallest and assumed to be the oldest of the three keyblade knights. The three are portrayed as the protagonists against the old man and his companion, and he, like the others, wields a keyblade. He begins the battle by rushing at the old man, but the old man avoids him by separating himself from the others with a makeshift cliff. Terra is hit by a blast of lightning from the old man's guardian, but ignores him to pursue the old man himself.



He is at first unable to reach the man because of the cyclone of keyblades, but after being aided by Aqua's magic, he is able to reach the man's cliff and attack him. The old man, wielding a keyblade of his own, is able to fend him off with a freezing spell. Once the old man gets a hold of Ven, a younger knight, Terra is thrown off the cliff by the keyblade cyclone, ending his involvement in the struggle. He is seen one last time after the appearance of Kingdom Hearts, when he pulls off his helmet to gaze up at it. His face and his reaction to the appearance of Kingdom Hearts, which turns his eyes yellow, have given rise to much speculation among fans, who have connected him to Xemnas/Xehanort, Saïx and other characters, though no concrete connection has been made by Nomura.



Terra did appear in Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix as a secret boss, seeing Sora's similarites to Ven before attacking him. Unlike Sephiroth, another secret boss in the game, Terra fights against both Sora and his main companions, Donald and Goofy. After losing once, he can be challenged again, and mentions both Aqua and Ven before mentioning his harboring of a deep hatred for Xehanort. The origins of this hatred and its implications on the relationship between Terra, the old man and Xehanort are a subject of frequent discussion among fans. He, like the game's other secret bosses, is difficult to defeat; his main abilities are transforming his keyblade into various attacking forms and conjuring drone-like objects which fire energy lasers at Sora and his party.


Ven is the name of one of two younger knights and the male of the pair. He fought against the old man's guardian with Aqua, but the two were unable to defeat it. His most memorable role in the video is his capture by the old man, who teleports behind him when Ven attempts to attack him from behind. Ven struggles against the old man's grip, but to no avail; the man squeezes his head hard enough to crack his helmet and freezes his entire body before letting him drop from the cliff. Ven's body is caught by Aqua after hitting the cliff wall, shattering his keyblade and most of what remains of his helmet. When his face is fully revealed, apparently still alive, it is shown that he is nearly identical to Roxas. The connection between the two is not explained or even confirmed as an existent connection, leading to scattered theories among fans.



Ven's full name is speculated by many fans to be Ventus, since the three knights are meant to represent water (Aqua), earth (Terra) and wind, both latin translations. Ventus is latin for wind, and the knight's name, which is shortened, is "Ven".



Aqua is a young, blue-haired female warrior who fights alongside Ven and Terra. She is the first to be unmasked, taking off her helmet after being thrown to the ground in battle.



She and Ven briefly take on the old man's guardian together, but make no progress in defeating it. She is the only one of the three to use magic in the video, using a spell reminiscent of Reflect to shield Terra from the keyblade cyclone generated by the old man. She is a spectator for the rest of the battle, being to far away to reach their enemies before Ven becomes trapped by the old man's grip. She is seen looking on in horror as Ven struggles fruitlessly, and catches his frozen body after he is dropped off the cliff. She was orginally seen in magazine scans as staring up at a glowing heart, and due to her hair color and style, was seen as connected to Riku by some fans. The video ends with her holding a helpless but still living Ven (although he could be possibly dead), gazing up at the newly appeared Kingdom Hearts in the sky.



Like the other two characters, her connection to the known storyline and characters of the series is unexplained, though her empty armor is seen in the Chamber of Rest in the depths of Hollow Bastion, referred to by Xemnas as "old friend".

It can be assumed that she is very close to Ven in a way.

The once unnamed "Old Man", now revealed to be called "Master Xehanort", but also also known by fans as the "Bald Man" or "Old Bald Man", is the most mysterious of the new characters, having remained unnamed by Tetsuya Nomura. He wears almost the exact same clothes worn by Xehanort's Heartless, has yellow eyes, and has pointed ears, a feature found on no other characters in the series. Master Xehanort is portrayed as the antagonist in the video, and fights against the three keyblade warriors with a Guardian of unexplained origin.



The man shows himself to be immensely powerful during the struggle, capable of dramatically altering the terrain and creating a tornado out of the keyblades that are abundant in the area. He also can fight using a dark blue and black keyblade, and exhibits proficiency in the use of magic; he freezes the arm of Terra after fending off his keyblade attacks, and freezes Ven's entire body solid.



In addition to being a powerful figure, Master Xehanort also exhibits much brutality during the battle. After vanishing from thin air to avoid being struck from behind by Ven, he grabs onto his helmet and shatters it in his hand while Ven kicks and struggles to free himself. His freezing of Ven's body and dropping him off the high cliff have become somewhat iconic of the video.



After defeating the three keyblade knights, Master Xehanort causes an enormous glowing heart to appear among the clouds, which is assumed to be some form of Kingdom Hearts. Both the process by which he causes it to appear and his involvement in its origin remain thus far unexplained.



The name "Master Xehanort" was revealed in the announcement for the three new games. It was stated in the announcement that currently he and his apprentice disappeared, an omen of a great disaster, and that the three knights were sent to find him.


Like the Old Man, the Guardian is not named by Nomura and is known by several fan names. The exact nature of the Guardian is also a mystery, but it appears to originate from a part of the old man himself, and has been speculated to be his Nobody or his Heartless. The guardian wears a mask over his face, wears a black and red muscle suit (very similar to Riku's in the first Kingdom Hearts game), and wields a darkly-colored keyblade.

After the old man creates the cliffs to avoid Terra's charge, the Guardian leaps down to engage the warriors directly, blasting them with lightning and ice magic. After the old man creates the keyblade cyclone, the Guardian leaps onto it, allowing it to carry him at great speed around the area. After Aqua is thrown aside by the keyblade cyclone and Terra and Ven attack the old man, the Guardian is not seen again until after Ven is caught by the old man. When Terra makes to run at the old man, the Guardian arrives on the heels of the keyblade cyclone, which throws Terra off the cliff. The Guardian remains by the old man's side until the end of the video.


King Mickey makes a brief appearance at the end of the video, looking with a grim expression at the area where the battle occurred. He is seen wearing different clothes than usual and wielding the Star Seeker keyblade. The appearance of this keyblade, which is associated with Yen Sid, has led some fans to believe the shot shows Mickey in his apprenticeship under the great sorcerer.
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Olympus Coliseum and Sleeping Beauty


Birth by Sleep is a single player action-RPG which features melee combat. The gameplay is believed to have gameplay similar to the action-RPG style of the previous games in the series. This game is said to use the same engine as the one used in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

2007- 2008(C) Yigytugd

This scene appears to take place in the opening of the Birth by Sleep trailer played at DKΣ3713. Here's the excerpt from the trailer:

In a castle courtyard. Aqua is dancing about with a keyblade, Ven and Terra are watching. Ven looks toward a staircase, someone comes from the entrance, and the three gather.

The second image offers a closer look at Aqua herself. This is from when Aqua pleas with Ven about Terra.

Ven: "It's a lie..."
Aqua: "Don't be fooled, Ven!"
Aqua runs toward Ven.
Aqua: "Terra isn't like that, you know that!"

In this scene, Terra and Aqua discuss Master Xehanort's whereabouts. Look's like they're in Cinderella's castle.

Aqua: "Is there a clue of Master Xehanort?"
Terra: "He is interested in hearts of pure light."
Aqua: "A heart of pure light..."
Terra: "We'll chase the light too."
Terra: "Master Xehanort should appear if we do so."

In the second shot Terra has approached Snow White and is thinking to himself about her.

Terra: (I can feel the pure light...)
Terra: (After all, does this girl have a heart of pure light?)

In this dramatic scene, Aqua confronts Maleficent outside her castle. After their talk, Maleficent transforms into a dragon and attacks Aqua. It's the ending of the Birth by Sleep trailer played at the event.

Aqua: "I'll ask again."
Aqua: "Was what you said to Ven a lie?"
Maleficent: "It was all true."
Maleficent: "Terra succumbs to darkness in order to gain power."
Aqua: "Get out of here!"

-- DK£3713 Wrap Up! - UPDATED o

Japan Release Date: 2009

* The new enemies are called Unbirths
* Terra and Ven were playable in the demo
* Aqua appears in the trailer
* Master Xehanort is after the Princesses of Hearts
* Maleficent is after them as well

TRAILER SUMMARY

BG MUSIC: Fate of the Unknown

The Wastelands
Master Xehanort is pleading.
Xehanort: "Those that submit to darkness are not qualified to wield the keyblade."
Xehanort: "Already, that man is a monster infused with darkness."
Xehanort: "Defeat the darkness and correct my mistake!"

Ven is shown on the island shore.
He is looking downward with a despondent expression.
Ven: "We're "friends", therefore I wanted to ask something."
Ven: "Erase me."

Castle courtyard.
Aqua is dancing about with a keyblade, Ven and Terra are watching.
Ven looks toward a staircase, someone comes from the entrance, and the three gather.

Castle of Dreams.
Ven is running around holding a blue ball of yarn.
Lucifer pounces on top of Ven.
From atop a desk, the mouse throws things at Lucifer
Mouse yells, "Watch out! Run away into the house!"
Lucifer targets the mouse instead and attacks.
Mouse: "Ahhh!"
The mouse falls from the desk.
(It's the mouse from Cinderella, not Mickey.)

Sleeping Beauty's World
In a bedroom of a castle where Princess Aurora sleeps.
Terra and Maleficent are talking beside her.
Maleficent: "Those who do not have any darkness, seven of pure light――"
Maleficent: "If I gather them, I will be in possession of all the worlds.""

Castle garden?
Aqua: "Is there a clue of Master Xehanort?"
Terra: "He is interested in hearts of pure light."
Aqua: "A heart of pure light..."
Terra: "We'll chase the light too."
Terra: "Master Xehanort should appear if we do so."

The dialogue is different depending on what blog reported it, but it all essential means the same thing.

Alternate version:

Terra: "That guy is after hearts of pure light."
Terra: "If we look for those pure of heart, we'll find him."

Snow White's World
In the forest.
Snow White: "Oh! Who are you?"
Terra: "Aren't you surprised?"
Snow White's face looks a little confused.
Snow White: "Why?"
Terra: (I can feel the pure light...)
Terra: (After all, does this girl have a heart of pure light?)

In a dark place covered in thorns
Ven: "It's a lie..."
Aqua: "Don't be fooled, Ven!"
Aqua runs toward Ven.
Aqua: "Terra isn't like that, you know that!"
Maleficent watches the two from above.
Maleficent: "But the truth is harsh to hear."

The Wastelands
Terra: "…I have a 'friend'"
Terra: "Answer me, Xehanort. What have you done to his heart?!"

Among a thorny bridge.
(Probably Sleeping Beauty's world.)
Aqua: "I'll ask again."
Aqua: "Was what you said to Ven a lie?"
Maleficent: "It was all true."
Maleficent: "Terra succumbs to darkness in order to gain power."
Aqua: "Get out of here!"
Maleficent turns into a dragon and attacks Aqua.

DEMO SUMMARY

You can choose Terra and play in the Enchanted Kingdom or choose Ven and play in Castle of Dreams.

Terra in Enchanted Kingdom (Sleeping Beauty)

After the start screen, no logo is shown.
Terra: "Is it the unbirths Master spoke of...?"
A battle with a large flock of unbirths (the blue enemies) occurs. Sometimes they escape off the map and Terra must chase them down. After the unbirths are defeated, a scene where the logo is shown appears. It seems Enchanted Kingdom is the name of the Sleeping Beauty world.

The next area is on top of a bridge, a castle is in front so Terra proceeds there. Unbirths appear, but it isn't necessary to defeat them all in order to proceed into the castle.

When you enter the castle, a boss battle ensues. The enemy is called the Wheel Master, it's huge and mechanical like. You can attack it with normal moves and use the circle button to recover from repeated attacks. Stopping Terra and leaving him still in battle allows him to regain HP. I was unable to defeat him, so I escaped the battle. A "thank you for playing" message appears afterward.

Ventus in the Castle of Dreams (Cinderella)

The logo appears first. Ven is smaller, similar sized to the mouse. Jaq the mouse and Ven talk, and the mouse assigns Ven to collect material to make Cinderella's dress. The proceeding level looks like a maze while searching for the items.

Mouse: "It's the king of the castle."
Mouse: "All the daughters of the country are invited to the ball being held tonight."
Ven: "Does Cinderella get to go too?"
Mouse: "Well..."
Mouse: "Madame Tremain is wicked, she said without a dress, Cinderella couldn't go."
Ven: "It's that guy that called upon Cinderella a while ago."
Mouse: "Right, it's Cinderella's dream to go to the ball."
Mouse: "Everyday, she has to do the cleaning and the laundry, it's like another world to her."
Ven: "I know the feeling."
Ven: "Alright! Let's help make her dream come true!"
Mouse: "How will we do that?"
Ven: "We'll make a dress!"
Ven: "We'll look for the materials inside the house and tailor one for her."
Mouse: "Good idea!"
Mouse: "Well then, there is some white ribbon, pink thread, and white lace in the lower dressing room.Any of it will be good, so look for at least two."
Mouse: "I'll sew the dress right here."
Mouse: "Ven! Keep an eye out for Lucifer!"
Ven: "Lucifer?"
Mouse: "He's a ferocious cat!"
Mouse: "Take very soft steps around him."
Ven: "I got it, be careful."

After finding two among the white ribbon, pink thread, and white lace, there is a boss fight with Lucifer.

Terra and Ven's Abilities

Shot Lock

You can use this special attack by pushing the circle button while holding down the R button. Terra's is called a "photon charge" and Ven's is called "star burst".

The circle button advances like this: Fighting > Blitz > Burst > Finish.

The triangle button combos include: Firaga Storm | Aerial Slam | Thundaga | Cure | Confusion

Terra's attacks are very power orientated, he goes through the enemies one by one. Fighting, with the exception of magic is clearly most effect. One other ability is "Freeze" where the enemy is surrounded in ice, and can be crushed with regular attacks. It causes a lot of damage. Another is "Confusion" which effects multiple enemies. Keep an eye on the triangle button for additional techniques.

In FATAL MODE, a new technique called the "Lock Breaker" is described as being a fierce attack that drives enemies into the earth. Sort of similar to an attack from Lexaeus. In normal mode, his techniques range from "Barrage", "Fire Blaze" (A standard fire attack), and "Thunder Mode" (A standard thunder attack).

Ven's style of fighting is faster than Terra's, using aerial attacks and such. Also, his special techniques are more characteristic of Sora's. His attacks are distinctly non-magical. He uses abilities like:

Strike Raid - Tossing the keyblade and striking the enemy twice depending on the location.
Final Break - Fly above and attack the enemy over the head, attacking additionally with the triangle button.
Sonic Rave - A high speed stabbing attack.
Neo Graviga - Similar to a graviga attack.

In Ven's form of FATAL MODE, other than normal attacks, he uses special techniques like "Cyclone" (A fire attack like a tornado), the Finish move is exactly like that of a tornado. He also uses "Speed Rave" (A high speed fire attack), and "Fire Blaze".

Similarities

The operation of the battle system is similar to that of KHI and KHII. Shortcut commands and camera control buttons are currently unconfirmed. You move the up and down buttons on the control pad to choose which technique to use and then select it with the triangle button. One of every skill is listed, and when it's used the charge initiates. The COMMAND gauge increases by doing normal attacks, when it becomes MAX the mode changes. In the MAX mode the selectable techniques change.

Putting the FOCUS mode to use. Within a limited time, you must focus on the enemy before attacking it with the circle button, it has quite a hectic feeling about it. If you lift off the R button midway, the focus breaks and the enemy will attack you and the mode cancels out.