Well, the long wait is almost over – the first variant of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days has officially hit the streets in its native land of Japan, and reviews are currently rather positive.

As a quick example, Japanese “gaming bible” Famitsu has given it a score of 36 (9/9/9/9), which is a very formidable review from the team’s panel of experts.

I’m sure within the next few days spoilers galore will hit the internet, and for those of you who don’t feel the need to wait until the game is out, a treasure trove of information will await.

As for those of you who have actually imported the Japanese version, well not all of you may be proficient in the language of Japanese, and so you’re in luck, as we’ve found a little help – Kouli of Japanese blogging site Ameblo has uploaded a list of item/accessory translations to help you on your way!

So what do you guys think – add spoilers here as news articles? Or leave it altogether for those of you waiting for the English release? Drop me a line in the comments!

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Just got this official press release in my inbox from Square – thought you guys n’ gals might find it of interest:

KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS AVAILABLE ACROSS PAL TERRITORIES IN AUTUMN

London (28th May 2009) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS will be released across PAL territories this Autumn on Nintendo DS™.

With more than 12 million copies shipped worldwide, the KINGDOM HEARTS series is one of the most beloved RPGs in video game history. Disney and FINAL FANTASY® characters unite in a magical game world, engaging players across the globe with its gripping storyline and action-packed gameplay.

The series continues with KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS. Follow Roxas, the “other” hero from KINGDOM HEARTS II, and discover more about his days as a member of the mysterious Organization XIII. What is the connection between Roxas and Sora? Who is the mysterious 14th member and what were the reasons for his eventual departure from the organization? KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS adds one other exciting and essential component to the fun, being the first KINGDOM HEARTS game to offer a multiplayer mode.

There was more to the press-release, but the rest of that has been repeated ad infinitum over the past few months; this was the only real new stuff.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days releases tomorrow in Japan.

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E3 2009 is just around the corner, and the hype for this year’s event is incredible! With new projects from Kojima Productions and Team ICO leading the race for showroom floor supremacy, all eyes were on Square-Enix to see what they might have up their sleeve.

Well, turns out, not much. Square-Enix have announced today that their Kingdom Hearts team will NOT be making the trip out to E3 this year. What does this mean? Well, no announcement regarding a Kingdom Hearts III, that’s for sure. At least not until TGS at the earliest, but knowing Square I’d expect Jump Festa 2010 would be the place to make an announcement like this. Those events take place traditionally in September and December, respectively.

So, Square fans, what can you look forward to? Well, although the KH team won’t be there, it doesn’t mean we won’t seen anything of 358/2 Days! I have a feeling we’ll hear something about the English localisation, with the possibility of a trailer and/or release date unveiled. I don’t, however, expect we will see much at all of Birth by Sleep.

As for other major Square things, well we’ll see a lot more of Final Fantasy XIII, but seeing as the KH team isn’t there, not a lot on Versus XIII. Perhaps a new trailer, but don’t expect that to reveal too much. Other than that, rumours have been running wild regarding a possible cross-over with Square and Suda 51’s Grasshopper Studios – although this is unlikely, seeing as Grasshopper are currently working on a new Wii title, at least one new DS title and a project with Hideo Kojima (Project S), it’d still be a very intriguing collaboration.

Expect more from E3 as it happens from June 2 onwards.

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Sorry we didn’t post this earlier – we hadn’t been reading through FF7AC Reunion for the last few days. Long story short: new 6-minute trailer, uses Utada’s “Passion (After the Battle)” as its theme. The game releases in less than three weeks, so be prepared!

Check back in with us in the following days for more news, including our own reports from a playthrough of the Japanese version on the day of release!

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