Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: Hologram Missions Detailed

Square Enix appears to be upping its output at the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days official site. The latest update on the late May release came on Friday with a look at a character, a couple of events, and a new gameplay system.

Since I still love listening to the theme song that plays in the web page's background, here's a summary of what's new.

Character: Lexaeus

No.V in Organization XIII, Lexaeus wields the elemental of Earth and makes use of a massive Axe Sword as his weapon. The phrase "actions speak louder than words" applies to him.

[end_p text="More on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days after the jump" /]

Event: Three New Events

Previously the site detailed the happenings in the game's Agrabah stage. Today, three additional updates from classic stages.

No. 18: Olympic Colossuem

Roxus visits Olympic Colosseum and is mistaken by Hercules' trainer Phil as someone who wants to be a pupil. Can Roxus survive Phil's tough training?

No. 19: Wonderland

Wonderland is a hectic place due to an investigation into the Heartless, who surprised the Queen of Hearts. Can you follow the Cheshire Cat's clues to clear the mission?

No. 20: Neverland

Captain Hook and his right-hand man Mr. Smee have taken possession of a treasure map and are digging about the island. Tinker Bell sees this and makes a request to Roxus about something.

Three new events. I'll let you figure out which is which.

Systems: Hologram Mission

As you work through the game's story mode, the camp menu will eventually feature a "Hologram Mission" option, giving you access to additional missions.

There are two types of Hologram Missions: Normal and Trial.

Normal Missions allow you to repeatedly replay past missions. Using this, you can try to fill up a mission gauge that eluded you in a past attempt, and gather previously unclaimed treasure boxes and materials.

Trial Missions are missions you take in order to get placards called "Shiren no Shou," or "Proof of Trial." These are just like normal missions, but with special conditions and requirements. The game includes over 80 trial missions.

In one screen at the official site, the special condition is that enemy levels are raised by 14. To get a high rating in this particular trial, you have to jump as little as possible.

By clearing these missions, you earn Trial Symbols as rewards. You can get up to three Trial Symbols per mission, depending on your performance. These can be used to purchase items from a Moogle Shop.

Hologram Missions. The center shot shows conditions for the trial missions. The right shows the Moogle Shop.

Systems: Larxene and Lexaeus

These two Organization XIII members have been added to the character area of the gameplay system section of the site, allowing you to view video clips of their combat and get a glimpse at their limit breaks.

Larxene makes use of knife which, while low on attack power, is said to be fast, easy to combo, and high on magic power. She's described as a character who's easy to use. Her limit break is "Volticrush."

Lexaeus's Axe Sword weapon is described as being slow, but powerful -- the strongest in the Organization, in fact. It has a low combo count, but wide attack range. His limit break, Ayers Rock, can unleash a powerful ranged attack.

Larxene (left) and Lexaeus (right).

Download: Wallpapers

Outside of these updates, the site now offers additional wallpapers for download. The two additional offerings bring the total to five, with one more on the way.