Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Gets Mickey Mouse Checkered DSi

After being subjected to numerous delays, Japan finally has a solid release date for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 — again, in the interest of public sanity, that’s “Three hundred and fifty eight over two” — Days. That date is May 30th for Japan.

The game will ship with the limited edition Nintendo DSi (pictured above) that Square announced a few months ago. The game + DSi bundle will retail for 24,880 yen ($250), while the game alone will cost 5980 yen ($60). If you wait for the announced English version coming later this year Square Enix should sell it for the usual $39.99.

Also see some new screens of Roxas, Organization XIII, and the other Disney friends he meets in the Sora-less Kingdom Hearts game. Keep in mind, DS games look a lot better in motion, so don’t judge this one by screenshots alone.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is received in Japan. It’s a Kingdom Hearts game, it’s on a popular system, and it’s been heavily marketed as a local multiplayer experience — something that worked wonders for Monster Hunter and Phantasy Star Portable. I just wish Square had made this one a Nintendo DSi-exclusive that took advantage of the hardware.