List of Kingdom Hearts media

"Kingdom Hearts" is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (formerly Square). It is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios, combining characters and elements from Square Enix' "Final Fantasy" series and Disney's franchises. Currently the series includes four video games released on various platforms, a manga series, a novel series, video game soundtracks released on audio CDs, and a collectible card game.

The video games provide the canonical story of the series. The manga series is adapted by Shiro Amano and the novels are written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. The stories follow the events that take place in the video games with differences to account for the loss of interactivity that a video game provides. The manga and novel series are both divided up into three series based on each of the three main video games. Each series is further broken up into multiple volumes. The manga was originally serialized in Japan by Square's Monthly Shonen Gangan, but has since been released worldwide. The manga was released in the United States by Tokyopop near the end of 2005.cite web|url = http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=4731| title = Encyclopedia - Releases Kingdom Hearts G.novel 1| publisher = Anime News Network| accessdate = 2007-08-09]

Games

Video games

Each game in the series has been critically and commercially successful, though each installment has seen different levels of success. As of December 2006, the "Kingdom Hearts" series has shipped over 10 million copies worldwide, with 2.0 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America.cite web| url = http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/kingdomhearts/news.html?sid=6165399&om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;1| title = "Kingdom Hearts" Series Ships over 10 Million Worldwide| author = SquareSoft| publisher = GameSpot| accessdate=2007-05-13 | date=2007-02-05] cite web| url = http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070105/khfm.htm| title = スクウェア・エニックス、イベントなど追加「KINGDOM HEARTS II FINAL MIX+」「キングダム ハーツ」 シリーズ累計出荷本数1,000万本達成| publisher = Game Watch| language = Japanese| accessmonthday = March 11| accessyear = 2007] The main games in the series were released in chronological order, with each new game following the events of the previous. The exception is the V CAST mobile game, which was developed independently of Square Enix's games. Three new titles in the series were announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show. [cite web| url = http://ds.ign.com/articles/821/821306p1.html| title = Three New Kingdom Hearts Titles| publisher = IGN| author = Charles Onyett| date= 2007-09-19| accessdate = 2007-09-19] Currently they are only confirmed for a Japanese release, though Square has plans for releases in other territories. [cite web| title = TGS '07: Three new Kingdom Hearts games coming| url = http://tgs.gamespot.com/story.html?sid=6179212| author = Emma Boyes| date= 2007-09-20| publisher = GameSpot| accessdate = 2007-09-20]

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

Novels

A novel series has also been released in Japan. It is written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. Like the manga series, it is divided up into separate series based on the games.

Kingdom Hearts

Companion books

There have been numerous books that provide walkthroughs and supplemental information to the video games. Square Enix has released six Ultimania guides and one bonus book on the "Kingdom Hearts" series exclusively in Japan. The Ultimania guides primarily serve as strategy guides for their respective games, revealing secrets from the developers' perspective. They also contain interviews with the staff, extended information on backstory, and original artwork. In North America, BradyGames has been given exclusive rights to publish strategy guides for three of the games.

References

External links

* [http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/ Official "Kingdom Hearts" site]
* [http://www.kingdom-hearts.com/ Official international "Kingdom Hearts "site]
* [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/kingdomhearts/index.html "Kingdom Hearts" TCG Official Website]
*ann manga|id=3107|title=Kingdom Hearts
*ann manga|id=8018|title=Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
*ann manga|id=8020|title=Kingdom Hearts II