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Update: The comments have closed and the winner will be contacted shortly. Thanks to everyone for participating!

If you're anything like us, you'll be spending a decent part of your holiday stuck in the seat of a train, bus, automobile, or aeroplane, heading towards wherever "home" is for the upcoming holidays. We know how nice it can be to pick up a new game or two for the travels ahead, and in the spirit of that we're giving out a DS/PSP travel pack for this week's Swag Saturday including both Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Tell us your best (gaming or non-gaming) holiday travel story (keep it clean, folks! -- no "mile high club" stories!) and we'll pick one winner at random to receive the travel pack early this week. As always, keep an eye on the email address tied to your commenting name to find out if you've won!

• Leave a comment telling us your best (gaming or non-gaming) holiday travel story.
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- which may have to do with the Ubisoft Petz franchise)
• Limit 1 entry per person per day
• This entry period ends at 9:31PM ET on Sunday, December 6
  
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for Nintendo DS ($35 ARV) and one copy of Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny for Sony PSP ($40 ARV).
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Square Enix is partnering up with online retailer amazon.com yet again, this time offering a $5 off coupon on their already discounted pre-order rate for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The game, which is finally coming out next month in the US, can be purchased for $28.99, shipped. That essentially negates the "Square Enix tax" of their DS games. Not bad, right?

Use coupon code KINGDOM5 when checking out to get the discount.

Though it's been quite some time since Square Enix and Eidos shacked up, the first time the two share booth space will be at the upcoming European trade show, Gamescom 2009. Aside from bringing the first publicly playable Supreme Commander 2, some highlights include Dissidia Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and ... Nier. Alright, maybe not Nier.

The event announcement says that both Final Fantasy XIII (as a franchise unto itself, not just the eponymous iteration) and Final Fantasy XIV will be at the show, though it doesn't detail if hands-on time with either will be available, or how much new info to expect, unfortunately. Finally, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mini Ninjas will be descending from Eidos' camp. Gamescom 2009 kicks off on August 19 - 23 in Cologne, Germany.

(Also, Pony Friends 2 ... finally!)

In an interview with Famitsu, Square Enix character designer and Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura revealed some secrets about the early history of the franchise.

The ensemble-cast design of the games, for example, stemmed from a disagreement between Square and Disney over the protagonist: "Square wanted to make a game starring Mickey Mouse," Nomura said, as translated by 1UP, "and Disney wanted a Donald Duck title. Meanwhile, I wanted neither." The resulting compromise was "a game featuring lots of characters without focusing on any particular one."

The Keyblade weapon, despite being an early component of the game, was not Nomura's first idea for a signature weapon. "Actually," he said, "the first weapon I showed Disney was a chainsaw. It was this chainsaw-like weapon that I had a rough sketch of when I first showed my concepts to Disney."

Disney reacted pretty much like you would expect Disney executives to react to the heavy use of a chainsaw in a game about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck: "Everyone got this scrunched-up look on their face and nobody said a word in the entire room. Dead silence. And I thought 'No, I guess this wouldn't work, huh?'"

It occurred to us that the chainsaw was the perfect Nomura weapon, because the teeth on the chain are reminiscent of those on a zipper.

Nintendo E3 2009 checklist:

• Mario? *check*
• Zelda? *check*
• Metroid? *check*

Are we missing something? Head past the break to find out!

Though the development team for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days shied away from E3 this year due to the ever-present danger of Swine Flu, the game itself made an appearance, as computer software is impervious to most biological pandemics. As a result, our time with the game was completely unguided. Not that it mattered -- the game is classic Kingdom Hearts. Not card-based brawler Kingdom Hearts, not kart racer Kingdom Hearts, but the classic action-RPG Kingdom Hearts we fell in love with when it first landed on PS2.

Forget about the wide chasm between the graphical capabilities of the PS2 and the DS -- the game looks phenomenal. The controls have been ported over brilliantly, the only noticeable difference being the camera controls, which are now bound to the touch screen. The game also comes with an ad-hoc four-player multiplayer mode in which members of the shadowy Organization XIII compete for points whilst embarking upon a mission. Points come in the form of crystals dispersed throughout the level -- attacking your fellow players will knock the crystals out of them, which will probably lead to hilarious real-life bloodshed.

With no inkling of the game's story or the micromanagement mechanics, our walkaway impression of the game was simply this: It is the Kingdom Hearts gameplay and visual aesthetic you know and love (plus a few bonus features) operating on the DS with remarkable accuracy. Despite the game's stupid, inaccessible title, our interest has swiftly moved from "non-existent" to "piqued."

Update: We've confirmed with both the North American and European branches of Square Enix that this is in fact true, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is on track for an autumn release. Huzzah!

Siliconera reports that the English version of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will arrive in Europe later this year, though it should be noted there isn't any official source on the matter. We trust those guys, but, without a source, this has to be treated as a rumor.

Right now, the current release date for North America is whenever, though it's a safe bet to assume the game will be here within the same timeframe as Europe (sometime between September and November), as Square Enix is notorious for releasing its games only days apart in the European and North American regions. Of course, that would only happen if this rumor pans out, and we've contacted Square Enix to clarify and we'll be sure to update you as soon as we have official word.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will release in Japan on Sunday, May 30.

Awaiting your lustful eyes past the break is some new gameplay footage from Square Enix's upcoming Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, taken from the game's Japanese site. So, quit stalling and watch the video already!

[Via PortableRPG]

According to a V-Jump ad for the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Collection Guidebook (an official strategy guide), Riku will be a playable character in the game. The delectable piece of information regarding this was found in the lower left part of the ad, and it states (translated via Andriasang) that the book provides tips on character missions for Donald, various Organization XIII members and, yes, even Riku. So, finally, those looking to control the silver-haired hero can realize their wish.

Additionally, Andriasang translated more regarding 358/2 Days; this time, it's info from the official website. The latest update unveiled the new Hologram Missions, a mode which allows players to replay previously accomplished missions in either normal or trial versions (the latter tacks on special conditions and requirements). And, this being a Riku-centric post, we're wondering how many of those missions have Riku in them? There are 80 Trial missions in total, and here's hoping he's in all of them!

[Via Andriasang]

Source: V-Jump
Source: 358/2 Days Official Website

The usual complaint regarding video game trailers, especially Square Enix trailers, is that they don't feature enough gameplay footage. That is not the problem with this Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days video, which was reportedly made for Japanese storefronts and brought online by a Nicovideo user.

This trailer features the usual cutscenes as well as new gameplay footage -- all played at once in multiple, tiny windows. For six minutes. This is like five hundred trailers' worth of footage right here. If you can concentrate, you might be able to spot Donald and Goofy in the game's multiplayer mode. Good luck.

[Via Nintendo Everything]

In this week's Ask Joystiq Nintendo, in anticipation of the North American DSi launch (and also because we got a bunch of DS questions) we address some of the most worrisome issues related to the DS! Most notably the nagging issue of the DSi's regional limitations, but we also discuss flashcart compatibility and the ever-present threat of fake cartridges from eBay.

Do you have a question about the Wii, DS, or anything else related to Nintendo? Send us an email at asknintendo AT joystiq DOT com!

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days finally has a release date in Japan: May 30. Not only will Goofy fans be able to pick up the new action-RPG then (for 5,980 yen, or $60!), they will have the option of dropping even more money on the Kingdom Hearts Edition DSi bundle, which contains this specially decorated black DSi and the game, for 24480 yen ($246). Even as people not particularly into Goth Disney, we happen to think it's rather fetching!

The existence of this bundle sort of validates a rumor we received a while back: while there is a 358/2 Days DSi bundle as predicted, there has been no mention of an included Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories game nor of this special DSi having a Game Boy Advance slot. We expect that the Japanese sites would have mentioned that if it had been the case.

[Image via Inside-Games]

Flagging this as a rumor for now, though official confirmation will probably come very soon: according to sources reporting from Jump Festa on NeoGAF, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has been pushed back from February to sometime in Spring of 2009. The delay isn't too surprising in and of itself, but the timing is, considering we only recently learned about the special edition DSi set to release with the title.

More news as it develops!

Now that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has been slated for North America (like we ever doubted it was coming), we thought you might want to check out some gamplay videos. Oh, who are we kidding? We'd have looked at them anyway, even if the game were still only a dream in a developer's eye. Check out the weapon-swinging Disney and Square Enix action above and after the break.