PixyJunket

Dropping the Pre-Release Discussion thread for this.

Official release date just hit the wires: March 28th

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6143910.html
http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2006/2/8-12

The first Kingdom Hearts game was notable not just as a gaming crossover between characters from the Disney and Square Enix universes, but also as a cultural crossover with an abundance of talent from the world of film coming together to work on a game. While that particular brand of crossover is becoming more and more common these days, Disney and Square Enix are looking to assemble a silver screen-worthy voice cast for its small screen PlayStation 2 game, Kingdom Hearts II.

Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense, The Country Bears), David Gallagher (7th Heaven, Angels in the Endzone), and Hayden Panettiere (Racing Stripes, Bring It On 3) will reprise the main roles of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, respectively. Backing up the three main characters of the original game is a diverse cast, including Christopher Lee (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Dracula: Prince of Darkness), Rachael Leigh Cook (Josie and the Pussycats, The House of Yes), Mena Suvari (American Beauty, American Pie), and pop singer Jesse McCartney, who was twice nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his acting work on All My Children.

A handful of Hollywood heavy hitters will also be taking up the roles of Disney characters they helped make famous. James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi, Videodrome) will once again become Hercules' nemesis, Hades, while Zach Braff (Scrubs, Garden State) provides the voice of Chicken Little.

As with the first Kingdom Hearts, Japanese pop star Utada Hikaru will sing the game's theme song. Hikaru's "Sanctuary," an English version of the Japanese game's theme song "Passion," was written specifically for Kingdom Hearts II.

Kingdom Hearts II is set for a March 28 release in North America and will retail for $49.99.

PixyJunket

PixyJunket

Confirmed voice cast:

Haley Joel Osment .... Sora
Tony Anselmo .... Donald Duck
Bill Farmer .... Goofy
David Gallagher .... Riku
Hayden Panettiere .... Kairi
Jesse McCartney .... Roxas
Brittany Snow .... Namine

Corey Burton .... Yensid
Sean Marquette .... Pence
Christopher Lee .... DiZ

Steve Burton .... Cloud Strife
Rachael Leigh Cook .... Tifa Lockhart
Mena Suvari .... Aerith Gainsborough (was Mandy Moore in the first game)
David Boreanaz .... Squall Leonhart (Leon)
Hedy Burress .... Yuna
Matt McKenzie .... Auron
Tara Strong .... Rikku
Gwendoline Yeo .... Paine

Sean Astin .... Hercules
James Woods .... Hades

Robby Benson .... Beast

Scott Weinger .... Aladdin
Dan Castellaneta .... Genie

Ming-Na .... Mulan
Mark Mosley .... Mushu
Miguel Ferrer .... Shan-Yu

Zach Braff .... Chicken Little

joshd2012

pinata242

Oh happy day!

tor_greg

Sean Astin, why are you the voice of Hercules? lol

zero

I noticed in my computer at work we have a Limited Edition strat guide listed, this could either be art work or soundtrack bonus either way I think Im gonna pick it up w/ the game.

PixyJunket

Well, they had a "limited edition" Dragon Quest VIII guide listed forever too, until the game came out and there was only the standard one.. though Kingdom Hearts is certainly a higher profile title, so we'll see. I'd consider picking one up if it included the soundtrack.

RocShemp

And I just reserved in full MGS3: Subsistence LE. Here's hoping I somehow manage to scrounge up enough cash for this too.

BigDave

My wife is anxious for this one. We'll be fighting for the TV because Oblivion comes out on the 360 about the same time as well.

Decker

Guess he needed some money after he was mugged by his druggie sister.

I'm very excited about this game. Glad they went all out with the vocal talent so far, but where are the Pirates of the Carribean cast members?

Rogue588

"Scheduling Conflicts."

Y2K Falcon

Filming POTC2?



And it's 3 days after my daughter's birthday. Damn_it.

Decker

Well, I was hoping they're still going to be in there (or at least Orlando "Anything For A Buck" Bloom), but that maybe the POTC segment hasn't been announced yet...

Gizmo

A game that will actually make me buy a PS2. Finally.

boredsilly

The first one didn't?

So glad to see Boreanaz back and can't wait to play the Mulan stage. Now to play through part one again.

PixyJunket

I have a question for anybody working at a game store (or anybody that regularly gives one their business for new games). Most of these places get the game on the ship date (in this case, 03/28) but not until early-late evening, right? So if I was going to take a day off of work, I'd need to shoot for the 29th? This will probably be like Metroid Prime 2 where I can't wait for Thursday to see if Fry's MIGHT have it on sale.

Setzer

Yes, I would take the 29th off. My local Gamestop and EB generally get there games in 1 day after their official release date.

Rogue588

That's the only reason I own my PS2..

monkey42

This is one of the few games that I would buy as soon as it came out and pay full price for.

PixyJunket

Here's a poor quality clip of the English opening song:
http://rapidshare.de/files/14005897/...Utada.mp3.html

Thanks to the KH2 UK forums for this.

pinata242

Maybe this'll change once I hear the whole English version in context with the story, but I think I still like Simple & Clean better. Luckily I don't have long to wait to find out!

Rogue588

Yeah, I like this one but S&C still rocks..

Supermallet

Gamestop/EB sometimes get the games on the release date, sometimes the day after.

Either way, I cannot frickin' wait for this game. I played through the first one basically non-stop when it came out, and the Tron world alone makes me shiver with anticipation.

PixyJunket

Do you hear that? That's the sound of Kingdom Hearts II coming out next week! *swoons*

My God.. I need to finish Legendia this weekend or I'm going to be in big trouble.