In a recent interview, Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura talked at length about what could be called "his series". The character designer and director of Kingdom Hearts mentioned that Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for Game Boy Advance will feel like the original game, with some new elements like the card deck being added. The development team will place a heavy emphasis on gameplay. The title's story will pick up directly where the original Kingdom Hearts left and evolve around Sora, Donald and Goofy searching for the Chain of Memories.Asked about Kingdom Hearts II for PlayStation 2, Nomura explained that it would take place one year after the events of Kingdom Hearts. When quizzed about the future of Kingdom Hearts, he mentioned that it was not comparable to his company's flagship series Final Fantasy. While Kingdom Hearts was telling the story of Sora, each Final Fantasy installment tells a different story featuring different characters. Hence Kingdom Hearts as a series will end when Sora's story comes to an end. However, for the time being it will continue.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories will be available in Japan sometime next year. Kingdom Hearts II has yet to receive an official release date, but should be available in Japan by late 2004.
