Following months of silence of the game's official announcement before last year's Tokyo Game Show, a tiny bit of information on Kingdom Hearts II has surfaced in Japan. Sticking to the tradition of the original game, the sequel will feature appearances of various Final Fantasy characters. While director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura in previous interviews did not give any details, recent magazine articles from Japan suggest that Auron, one of Final Fantasy X's most popular characters, will be in the game. Apart from him, Sora and his Disney friends, only a red-haired, black-clad boy named Axel has been shown on various screenshots. He will play an important role in both Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the GameBoy Advance and Kingdom Hearts II. Disney characters Hercules and Beast will also return for the sequel, and Meg from Hercules will make an appearance as well.

Kingdom Hearts II has yet to receive an official release date, but is likely to be available in Japan in late 2004.

• GameOnline