The long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 is here and it did not disappoint! For seasoned players, it has been fourteen long years since the release of the Kingdom Hearts 2 with only trailers, remixes, and spin-off games for handhold consoles to keep our hope alive. The announcement and release of this game carried a lot of expectations and after nearly 65 hours of play, I can honestly say it is a near perfect game!
The Kingdom Hearts 3 story jumps in following the return of Master Xenahort and a renewed plan to forge the ultimate keyblade, the X-blade. The seven keyblade wielders must train to fight Organization XIII while Sora explores new worlds to regain his strength. On theme with the other games in the series, Sora searches for lost hearts while trying to thwart Organization XIII and Maleficent’s dark plans.
For those that have never played a KH game, the franchise is a series of twelve games that combine Final Fantasy and Disney characters into their own universe. The three major installments in the series have their own set of Disney-based worlds that connect to a linear storyline yet allow for mostly open-world play with hack-and-slash as the primary combat style. Players are offered a strong main plotline with numerous side missions and mini-games to keep you committed to exploring various worlds multiple times.
The first impression KH3 leaves is the perfect balance between classic KH mechanics and modern cultural concepts. Sora now uses a Gummiphone, which does everything from contacting Mickey and tracking progress to taking selfies and playing mini-games. Although the very basics of the game are still there, creators have made improvements to nearly every aspect. Each world is a multilayered with intense plot development, countless mini-games, and more hidden tasks and treasures than ever before.
Honestly, this game was well worth the wait. The developers took their time, learning from popular games and eventually melding them into the Kingdom Hearts world. Even at first glance, this game seems to have everything! The improvements to classic mechanics are incredible, including insanely visual combos that seriously do not quit. Sora is able to “remember” old skills quickly while new skills and keyblade-specific or NPC-specific skills avail themselves with each new world. You can also equip up to three keyblades at a time, upgrading and improving them with rare items found throughout the worlds!
The absolute best part of the game is the seemingly limitless play. Players can freely traverse the worlds with few limits to the landscape and little concern for consequences. You can search for ingredients without worrying about needing food; you can climb nearly any surface without the fear of taking fall damage. Maps range from tiny to extremely large with endless options and goals for open world exploration (after beating each world, of course). The creators have once again found a style that brings you back to the individual worlds again and again, making sure to not finish the game before you do everything in each one.
Although the game is incredible, it is not perfect. The KH storyline has always been a little difficult to follow but this instalment just kept losing me. The vast majority of players haven’t played every game in the series, when the endless alternate realities and characters come together it becomes hard to keep up with. KH3 brings a long stream of characters, new and old, whose hearts and bodies are either trapped or damaged. The long scenes do little to provide clarity, causing the player to choose between practicing patience for storyline or skipping scenes in confusion for more enjoyable playtime.
The creators seemed to struggle to find a sweet spot between pleasing decadelong fans and attracting new, younger players. The worlds they chose to represent appeal more to younger generations yet few children would have the patience for the complicated storyline and excessively long cut scenes. Disney had an opportunity to revive more classic beloved storylines, such as Mulan or Lion King, but Toy Story and Monsters Inc. were satisfying enough to say the least. Honestly, the game was a little too easy. Seasoned players should consider playing on a higher difficulty.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 3 deserves high marks simply for being an impressive compilation of gameplay and mechanics. Each world offers something unique, from Bedazzled in the Hundred Acre Wood to Titanfall in the Toy Box, plus other mini-games, such as cooking with Ratatouille, challenging fruit flans, and classic Disney Gummiphone minigames. This game truly has something for everyone, it’s even fun to watch! After 65 hours of avoiding beating the game, I can safely give Kingdom Hearts III a solid 9!
