Kingdom Hearts Customize
| Kingdom Hearts Customize | |
|---|---|
 | |
| キングダムハーツカスタマイズ Kingudamu Hātsu Kasutamaizu | |
| Developer(s) | Walt Disney Internet Group |
| Publisher(s) | Walt Disney Internet Group |
| Release date(s) | Docomo (i-mode) June 23, 2008SoftBank (Yahoo! Keitai) July 16, 2008au (EZweb) July 24, 2008
|
| Genre | Phone Decoration Service |
| Game modes | Single player |
| Ratings | |
| Platform(s) | Mobile phone |
Kingdom Hearts Customize, temporarily renamed Kingdom Hearts Kisekae (キングダムハーツきせかえ Kingudamu Hātsu Kisekae) on digital storefronts, was a phone decoration service exclusive to Japanese cell phones. It allowed members to download kisekae (phone themes), wallpapers, ringtones, email decoration items, and other cosmetics related to the Kingdom Hearts series. The mobile portal also featured a World Map with Kingdom Hearts trivia and item search mini-games.
The service received regular updates with new customization items, World Map content, and special events. Kingdom Hearts Customize shut down on September 28, 2012, and it is no longer accessible. Although Kingdom Hearts Customize ran concurrently with Kingdom Hearts Mobile, the two services offered different downloadable content and operated independently.
Development[edit]
Kingdom Hearts Customize was developed by the Walt Disney Internet Group and distributed through the official Disney Mobile website. It first released for i-mode on June 23, 2008, arriving to Yahoo! Keitai, EZweb, and Disney Mobile in July 2008.
A subscription to Kingdom Hearts Customize cost ¥315 per month (free for Disney Mobile users), which provided the member with a monthly allowance of 300 points. Additional points could be purchased at a rate of 100 points for ¥105 or 300 points for ¥315.[1] The service received regular updates with new downloadable content on each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with the World Map updating on the first Friday of each month.
At some point in 2010, the service was rebranded as Kingdom Hearts Kisekae on mobile storefronts, but it kept the original name and logo within the application. On April 6, 2012, Kingdom Hearts Customize ceased the updates of new kisekae, the World Map, and the Collection, while the regular content updates were reduced to every Friday.[2] Following the discontinuation of kisekae updates, the application reverted to its original name on May 17, 2012. Kingdom Hearts Customize shut down on September 28, 2012.
Content[edit]
Kingdom Hearts Customize was split into several distinct menus. The base subscription allowed users to enjoy the World Map and Collection, while the items in the Customize and Gallery menus were purchased with in-game currency. In addition to the content menus, there was a Work Introduction page that provided basic information about the service.
World Map[edit]
The World Map menu allowed users to travel to the various worlds and complete challenges to win exclusive downloadable items without spending points. There were two types of challenges: quizzes, which were a set of ten trivia questions based on the current world, and searches, which had users search for icons hidden somewhere in the application. The current world switched from daytime to nighttime, and the pair of worlds would change on the first Friday of each month.
The worlds of the World Map followed the journey of the Kingdom Hearts games. From the launch of the service to February 2009, the World Map featured worlds from Kingdom Hearts roughly in order from the Dive to the Heart to End of the World. March 2009 featured Castle Oblivion with quizzes about the each campaign of Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. From April 2009 to August 2010, the World Map followed the worlds of Kingdom Hearts II, reflecting Sora's journey by visiting each world two times. The reward of the first visit was a decome item, and the reward of the second visit was a Flash wallpaper.
From September 2009 to May 2010, the World Map featured worlds from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The reward of each world was a Flash wallpaper of each Organization member in order of their rank. The final era of the World Map ran from June 2011 until the feature's discontinuation in April 2012, during which it followed the story of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Each world appeared three times, with each visit themed around the story of Terra's, Ventus's, or Aqua's campaign. The World Map was discontinued in the middle of the story, ending with Terra's Olympus Coliseum and Ventus's Disney Town.
Customize[edit]
The Customize menu offered four types of downloadable content: kisekae (250 points each), decome templates (100 points each), decome parts (50 points each), and settings animations (50 points each). Kisekae are full themes for the phone, including custom wallpapers, menus, power-on and power-off graphics, message notifications, and more. A minimum of two new kisekae were added every month.
Gallery[edit]
The Gallery menu offered two types of downloadable content: Flash wallpapers (100 points each) and image wallpapers (20 points each). Among the Flash wallpapers were clocks and calendars, both of which had at least one new design each month.
Many of the wallpapers in the Gallery were taken from Key Art and character renders, but there were also several series of original designs. Examples include Ultimatif, a series themed around the series' motifs and clothing; PremiumCafe, which featured images of Kingdom Hearts-themed cafe sets; and The Marble, a set of worlds from the first Kingdom Hearts drawn as though they were trapped inside a marble.
Collection[edit]
The Collection menu was a gacha where users could draw a random item once per day. The initial set was a collection of characters from the original Kingdom Hearts; it was succeeded in future updates by a collection of Kingdom Hearts worlds, Organization XIII members, and Kingdom Hearts Keyblades.
Voice[edit]
An additional menu featuring voice ringtones was added in early 2010. Users were sent a survey where they could vote for which famous character quotes they wanted to have turned into ringtones. The ringtones were only supported on Docomo phones, and the feature stopped receiving updates in Janurary 2011.
Anagram[edit]
The Anagram menu was added in August 2011. It generated Organization-styled anagram names for the user and inserted it into custom wallpapers. After its release, the menu would receive regular updates with new designs for the names to be added into.
Other[edit]
On top of the regularly scheduled updates, Kingdom Hearts Customize would hold limited time campaigns to celebrate special events. These typically involved the release of a exclusive wallpaper or kisekae for all users. Known special campaigns include the release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the release of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, a joint celebration of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix and the one-year anniversary of the base game, a celebration of Mickey Mouse's birthday, the release of Tron: Legacy, and celebrations of Christmas and other holidays.
An extra large campaign was launched in the lead-up to Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in January 2012. It offered multiple pages of information about the upcoming game, including a basic overview, system information, and an introduction to various characters. This menu was updated in February 2012 with introductions to several Dream Eaters, including the hitherto unseen Spirit versions of Jestabocky and Staggerceps.[3]
