Tetsuya Nomura Joins Kingdom Hearts Union x[Cross] Players for A Massive Party in April

Today, Square Enix announced the first U.S. event for its mobile game, KINGDOM HEARTS Union χ[Cross]. The game lets players customize their own character to take part in the ongoing story of Kingdom Hearts as a hero of their own, making all of the events that take place completely canon to the larger games, including the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3. The game's first-ever U.S. based community event has officially been announced, giving players who attend the party a first-look at incoming updates, and the chance to get up-close and personal with franchise Director Tetsuya Nomura.

Nomura, along with x[Cross] producer Hironori Okayama, will attend a special event in Anaheim, California on April 15th at the recently-relocated House of Blues, just a few blocks away from the Disneyland resort. So while the event won't exactly be available to all U.S. players, those of us at home might want to stay tuned for exclusive interviews and early looks at what the game has to offer this year. But, for those able to attend, tickets to the event will be $20, and they go on sale tomorrow at 12PM PST via the official website.

If you've never heard of KINGDOM HEARTS Union χ[Cross], it might be because the game started our as Kingdom Hearts Unchained X. A quick re-naming turned the game into something of a sequel, with a continued storyline that delves deeper into the vast lore of the franchise. If you dropped out during Unchained X, a few of the other new features to Union χ[Cross] include a fun new multiplayer mode and enhanced cinematics in Theater Mode. Some of the game's coolest features include:

Quests - Mission objective will be stated at the start of the quest and must be completed. "Time Missions" may also take place. Cooperate with other players to finish the quest within the time limit! The stage and mission itself will be randomly selected among a variety of options. Try to adapt to each situation!

Matching - On the Union Cross start screen, you can play quests with other players in your Union.

Revival -When HP drops to 0, the player will become inactive and a gauge will be displayed The player can be revived if a participating player tap as many "Counts" as displayed on the gauge before it disappears. Each time a Player taps, 1 medal action will be consumed. The count displayed on the gauge will increase each time your HP drops to 0, so try to survive as long as possible. If the gauge disappears before the player can be revived, you have the option to use jewels to revive yourself, or you can retire from the quest.

Comments - During the quest, you can make comments to other players by tapping the balloon at the bottom right of the screen and selecting the message you wish to convey. You can also change what comments you can use via the "Comment Edit" on the Union Cross screen (blue button). When you press the comment button and close it, the icon will display in the direction of other players. Take advantage of this when trying to regroup! Players who have played together will be able to check their history. This function can be used when you wish to invite players from the same group for more quests.

KINGDOM HEARTS Union χ[Cross] is free-to-play with in-game purchases on iOS and Android.