Kingdom Hearts PSP hits September 7

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep finally has a due date. Square Enix today announced that the PSP installment in its Disney crossover action role-playing game series will arrive at North American retailers September 7.

The publisher also revealed that Birth by Sleep will also be available as part of a PSP hardware bundle featuring a "Mystic Silver" version of the Sony handheld. Beyond the game and system, the bundle will include a 4GB memory stick and a movie. Square Enix hasn't specified what the movie will be but did note that it won't be related to the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

The fifth installment in Square Enix's 14-million-unit-selling collaboration with Disney, Birth by Sleep actually serves as a prequel to the events of the 2002 original. The game follows three young keyblade-master novitiates--Terra, Ventus, and Aqua--who must learn to use their weapons to save their world and those linked to it.

The PSP game introduces a number of new locales from the Disney universe, including Sleeping Beauty's Enchanted Dominion, deep space from Lilo & Stich, and the Dwarf Woodlands, as seen in Snow White. Birth by Sleep also includes updates to previously seen worlds, such as Peter Pan's Neverland.

Birth by Sleep will maintain the game's action role-playing mechanics, though Square Enix has updated the game's combat system with a variety of new features. The game will also include four all-new multiplayer modes: Versus, Arena, Command Board, and Rumble Racing. Square Enix will be giving North American gamers a handful of exclusive features as well, such as an extra boss encounter and additional multiplayer options.

For more on Birth by Sleep, check out its appearance toward the end (8:47) of the episode of GameSpot's Import Friendly shown below.