sentences:  The game was directed by Tetsuya Nomura and co-directed by Tai Yasue.Nomura has referred to the game as "Episode 0" (and later "Episode 0.1" following the release of "Kingdom Hearts χ") saying that the game is on the same scale and plays as a large a role in the series as "Kingdom Hearts" and "Kingdom Hearts II".The game has been well-received, selling 1.27 million copies worldwide as of November 2010, and receiving positive comments by video game publications.