Lunatic Martyr of Gamefaqs said:
Before I head out to E³ (it's my first one, so, naturally, I'm pretty psyched - even though the flight is at 5:45AM... have to be on the road at 3:00AM... zzzzzzz... ), I figure I'd create one topic with all the new info I've come across in my various translating efforts (keeping track of all of it is a bit of a pain...). Luckily, I've had help from a few friends whom are quite a bit more fluent in the Japanese language than I myself am. Had I not, I probably wouldn't be able to do this... that is unless people don't mind semi-coherent gobbledyguk. XD
Anyway, on with the show (bear in mind that all of this comes from a number of different publications - not just one in particular; also bear in mind that not all of the following will be new, but it's necessary to mention on account that it helps piece it all together - however, I'll try to refrain from reiterating anything that's too old/obvious). In some cases, nothing's really condensed, as I wanted to get as much across as possible. And remember, I'm only going by what the magazine's say and it may not all be 100%, but it's the best we could do.
> Here is the general story set-up shared by a few of the written articles (it's a pieced-together translation; i.e. some things were left out on one, whereas they were present in another). Also, mind the grammar - I decided to post the literal translation, as opposed to a cleaned-up version (besides, I more or less already posted that in another topic):
"Heartless once again begin to appear in many Worlds, and threaten the balance of life. It's unknown why or how they have returned. Some claim that Hollow Bastion is once again the cause/source of their unpleasant return. When Sora hears about this, he gathers his companions and they immediately leave for Hollow Bastion. They arrive and discover the World is in total chaos. The essence of what they believe is Darkness, that is emanating from the castle, is warping the very World itself. Before they have a chance to head to the castle, they are surrounded on all sides by a very large group of Heartlesses, including some they had never seen before. They have no choice but to try and fight their way out, with the knowledge that very sinister things are taking place... and it's only the beginning."
> None of the articles I've seen say reveal anything new, or noteworthy about the Mysterious Boy. The only thing came in V-Jump's E³ Report a while back, stating that the playable demo will include said character (simply referring to him as "new character") with two partners of his own - whom are not Donald & Goofy.
> Still no name for "Ansem", but he has been referred to as the "Crimson/Red Enigma".
> In one magazine, a small blurb described Hollow Bastion as "once again an integral part of Sora's journey and a doorway to new, mysterious Worlds."
> "Disney Castle, a World that had much involvement with the story and was clearly visible on the first game's world map, was not accesible in the first game which puzzled a few people. However, the world coming out of Square[-Enix] is that Disney Castle will indeed be playable this time around."
> The Worlds are touted as being "much more expansive than those seen in the first game".
> The first playable World is apparently Hollow Bastion, where the game opens.
> Speaking of the Worlds, all the mentioned/confirmed themed-Worlds thus far are, in no particular order [Tentative name/Disney film it's based on]:
- "Fabled Countryside"/Beauty and the Beast
- "Ancient Greece"/Hercules
As for the specific, primary/prominent areas for each of the aforementioned Worlds, a few were mentioned...
Fabled Countryside
- Quaint/Peaceful Village (one said the latter, another the former)
- Forbidden Woods/Forest (see above)
- Beast's Manor (this is the term that's always been used so far; no "castle" or anything of the like; perhaps if the curse is broken, it'll become "Prince's Castle", or something)
Ancient Greece
- Thebes (City)
- Mount Olympus (Colosseum included)
- [The] Underworld (part of it is tournament-based)
> All the mentioned, practically-confirmed theme-Worlds, thus far, are, in no particular order (some are written about outright, whereas some are here simply going by subtle hints; no word on any sort of Final Fantasy-inspired Worlds as of yet):
- Nottinghamshire/Robin Hood
- Pride Rock/The Lion King
- Camelot/The Sword In The Stone
- Prydain/The Black Cauldron (WOOHOO!)
> All the mentioned/heavily-rumoured themed-Worlds include, thus far:
- Victorian London/The Great Mouse Detective
- ????/The Jungle Book
- ????/Mulan (one magazine said "... Mulan ... and The Jungle Book are all expected to be immortalized as playable Worlds in the next installment.")
> Bosses/adversaries Sora will supposedly encounter throughout the game include (mostly from the Hercules-inspired World; no others have been specifically mentioned as bosses, with the exception of DarkSide):
- DarkSide
- Nessus (Centaur)
- The Hydra
- The Cyclops
- The Titans (that's all that's said, so it leads one to believe that all four will be included; then again, it could just be the two that were absent from the first game)
- Auron ("a lost soul, looking for redemption")
- Cerberus (not referred to as a boss, per se, but said to be returning in some capacity)
- Hades? (was not pointed out as a boss, but it's natural to think he'd be one)
> Hades, Captain Hook & Jafar (perhaps in his Cobra-guise?) are all said to be indefinitely returning; presumably, to join the new group of Villains, whomever they may be.
> The game will feature many new types of Heartlesses, along with many that will be returning from the first game (many - not all). Also, three of those new types had names given to them. Not really certain if they're official, but I'll give them anyway.
- Rabid (little blue, pudgy dog-like things)
- HookWing (the bat-like Heartless with the red hooks on the end of their tails)
- Spectral Mage (the magic-type Heartless Sora is pictured as encountering within the Underworld)
> Take this for what its worth, but, while not actually divulging the name of the "species" (they probably don't know it, anyway), one magazine referred to the stretchy "White Creatures" as 'Flailers'. No name was given for the giant one.
> The game will keep "Real Time", and the large clock on the train station in Twilight Town will also reflect this (in other words, among other things, there will be a definitive day and night periods in each World and they will alternate on a regular basis).
> Sora will receive a certain special ability/technique upon the completion of any one world (that is, aside from being granted the traditional theme-based Keychain, which will also be a returning factor). Exactly which ability/technique you acquire depends solely on how well you were able to successfully complete that particular world. Once you do complete the World, the factors will be tallied up, and depending on the end result, you'll receive one ability for that World. Determining factors include, but are not necessarily limited to (i.e. the only ones divulged as of this writing; these aren't the exact classifications [as there were none], just the names I'm going to give them based on descriptions):
Total Percentage Of World Beaten Rating
Overall Time Required To Successfully Beat World Rating
Total Vanquished Enemy-Count Rating
Battle Performance Rating
Magic Adept-ability Rating
Party Cooperation Rating
Group Participation Rating
Special Rating
Overall Performance Rating
Then, those are all added together and depending on the rating, you'll receive your reward. For example, in the Hercules-themed World (one publication referred to it as "Ancient Greece"), the best ability Sora can obtain is "Zeus' Thunder", "an extremely powerful and punishing lighting-based magical attack", which drains all of Sora's MP. The second best ability is "Herc's Might" (drains 1/2) and the 'worst' one is "Hermes' Trail" (drains 1/4); no idea on what the latter two do (if you happen to do any worse than that, you'll receive a package with various items, equipment and lots of Munny included. There was no indication on whether or not if any of these abilities can be shared within the entire party, or if it's limited to just Sora. As well, if doesn't say if you can actually eventually obtain all the abilities for any given World by returning or not (I'd bet that you can).
> Sora's Command Menu will change to a visual theme that reflects whichever World he's currently in.
> In addition to receiving Keychains throughout the course of the game, you'll have the opportunity to craft a custom KeyBlade of your very own choosing (along the same lines as the Synthesis process from the first game). Details are sketchy, but it's said that the materials needed to create the KeyBlades are very rare and well hidden in each World.
> The mysterious "Drive" meter seems to tie-in to how many enemies you kill, and it may or may not be the only type. For example, it mentions that if you kill enough enemies, and the gauge fills to capacity, Sora is able to unleash a powerful attack (the meter keeps count). If you execute the attack enough, and kill enough enemies, the level of the meter increases, and the attacks/techniques Sora is able to utilize when the meter is full are upgraded (but you can still use the lower-level attacks by hitting the appropriate button when the gauge fills to that specific point). If you happen to defeat a boss with a "Drive"-based attack, you get double the "points" you'd get by just using it on a normal enemy.
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There. I think that's everything. Hopefully more information will be divulged soon (post-E³, of course). When that happens, I'll try to do what I did here, and translate it (with the same help, of course =P).
As for the demos, I'm not sure I'm that dedicated of a fan to undertake that - I can already imagine the lineups. And seeing how highly-anticipated both games are... eh, but I'd probably feel bad if I didn't at least try. And while I am definitely looking forward to the Square-Enix booth, it's not the only one I want to see. ****, I'm looking to take in everything I can while I'm there, **** or high-water. =P
And while I won't be able to contribute directly to the magazine and/or website (my brother's, my friend's and my pass all directly state "Admit One - Official Press/Media Attendant - Guest Level Clearance", whereas my brother's friend - the actual 'official' person making the trip - simply says "Admit One - Official Press/Media Attendant), I'm going to bring my Digital Camera along with me, and if I get the chance, I'll snap a few pics (as long as it doesn't interfere with my being there, of course). Then I'll report back with everything that went down (hopefully I'll be cleared to attend press conferences, as well) here, and a few other places that are anticipating a summary of the trip.
Until then...
800 POSTS! 
). BTW, does anyone here know KH2's Japanese release date?
DreamCaster, I love your comparison of 
