Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep - Versions and Merchandise

Versions and Merchandise

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep was also released with a limited edition PSP-3000 as a bundle in Japan featuring designs from the Kingdom Hearts series on its back. On March 16, 2010, Square Enix announced the English version of Birth By Sleep, which was released on September 7, 2010 in North America, and on September 10, 2010 in Europe. The overseas version of the game contains some adjustments from the original version, such as a new difficulty setting called Critical Mode, and additional songs for the Ice Cream Beat minigame. A new boss known only as the Unknown appears in the overseas versions, as well as a new gameplay element called "Crown Stickers", which act much the same way as the Puzzle Pieces from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. The game also has an all-star voice-acting cast of returning members such as Jesse McCartney and James Woods as well as numerous new actors such as Willa Holland, Leonard Nimoy, and Mark Hamill. An Ultimania guidebook of the game was released on March 25, 2010. Like previous games, a light novel of Birth by Sleep has been written by Tomoko Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. Its first volume, "Something Strange" was published by Square Enix on December 24, 2010, the second - "Best Friends" - on February 24, 2011, and the third and final volume, "To the Future", on May 26, 2011. Additionally, the tracks featured in the game have been released as part of a soundtrack of three CDs including the ones from Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days and coded.