The Kingdom Hearts series will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first game on my very first console and Kingdom Hearts was the reason my saga started as a gamer. This game had everything: from Disney figures to Final Fantasy characters, an interesting story between Dark and Light where the love for your friends always prevailed, challenging bosses and a fun way to kick some butt. The sequel and all of the “extra” additions to the franchise spread out over different gaming consoles, only boosted my enjoyment with this amazing adventure. Then there was this silence for lots of years and I fell into a dark hole, hoping some announcement would come soon that would fill my heart with joy. Unfortunately, it took them 13 years to come up with the third chapter of the main story and I feared it wasn’t going to be enough but let me tell you this…
….this long-awaited sequel was worth the wait!
The game booted up and that first glimpse of the title screen sends a shiver through my spine. As a tear rolled along my cheek, my doubts after this long abstinence were cast aside and I suddenly thought to myself… “I’m home”. Even though this adventure looks gorgeous and feels like a homecoming, it isn’t without its flaws but just like Sora would say…
“The shadows are only there because of the light”.
Enough for the emotional baggage, let’s get into things. Kingdom Hearts 3 is an amazing looking game that blends Disney figures with an alternate world, it’s a game that takes the battle between Light and Darkness to a higher level. The game focuses a lot on friendship, love, loyalty and the inner struggle between good and bad. For players, who have already played the series, this is nothing new. Kingdom Hearts 3 goes, further along, that path but of course, as we all know it’s much more complex. For newer players, the story of KH3 won’t make a lot of sense, since there are a lot of “flashbacks” to the history of the main characters. At the same time, the game tries to do a great job in “getting new players up to speed”, there are just too many aspects of the story that need a lot more explaining. If you have the time, play the 2 previous games and if you’re still enjoying yourself and you want to get more out of the lore, buy every game in the Kingdom Hearts series and leave KH3 for the end. This will definitely help you along the way but if we’re being honest, we don’t have that much time to play all of the games. The “red wire” throughout the whole story is being told during your KH3 play session but it’s just not enough to get the “insiders”. Fortunately for you, the game comes with a Memory Archive that can be accessed from the main menu and this gives you a recap of the most important events that eventually led up to this moment. It won’t make you a Kingdom Hearts Expert, but it’ll do the job to get most of the dialogues that’ll happen during your campaign. If you want the real deal, check out Youtube! This information is all for the new players to get an understanding of some of the enemy’s motivation, but I can assure veteran players… all of the side stories, all of the years we’ve spent waiting to get a conclusion of this beautiful, but head-spinning kind of story has led up to this moment, the moment we have been waiting for.
To recap the whole story without spoiling anything, the game takes place after Dream Drop Distance where Sora has fallen asleep for quite some time. Sora and the members of his Trinity Guard need to gather the Seven Guardians of Light to ensure the defeat of Xehanort and his minions so that the new Organisation XIII can put it all to rest. Now I’ll be honest here, even though I have been waiting over 13 years to play this sequel, I haven’t finished the story completely. I’m taking my time to enjoy the game that has been created for the fans. From what I’ve seen and heard, the game is doing an excellent job to find the balance between lighthearted talks and seriously written dialogues that’ll touch your heart for sure. The only complaint I have is that not all dialogues have been written perfectly. There’s sometimes an awkward pause that doesn’t feel right and it breaks the immersion a bit.
Aside from the story, Kingdom Hearts 3 is bringing back that nostalgic combat system with a few tweaks but definitely for the better. You’ll always find yourself “staring at the screen smiling” when you launch an attraction or destroy your opponents with the different Keyblade forms. Teaming up with your party members and summoning lost friends (Disney Characters) are also another way to do damage and they are visually stunning which make them a blast to use. This “mechanic” is really a great way to put emphasis on the “team’s effort” to bound accordingly and form this unbeatable squad. The combat system also focuses on the battle menu that allows you to choose different key components such as attack, magic, items, and link. This makes it a bit easier to respond adaptively to your opponents. Even though, it may be an old system, it’s definitely a great system so I didn’t mind the fact that they didn’t change it. This combat system also allows you to “customize” it to your own liking and to find a combat menu that suits your game style perfectly. What Kingdom Hearts did right from the beginning, is staying true to the nostalgia from 2002, I mean even the ability system is an old system but an effective one. They offer special skills that’ll turn your squad into a force to be reckoned with. Combine different skills to form the perfect setup. With all of these things, you can be sure that spectacle is definitely something the game doesn’t lack. Mix all of these elements with some of your highly Keyblade Master skills, and you’re in for a treat. I do like the fact that the developers made a “skip cutscene” button to speed up the combat. Even though, these “short” attractions and forms are always a marvelous act to look at they do take a bit of time to be completed. So, I can imagine that some people just want to skip the presentation and go straight for the action.
These “forms” we’re talking about are Keyblades that most of the time will be added to your inventory after you’ve completed a world. All of the Keyblades are very unique in playstyle and looks and you can tell that the developers put in a lot of time and effort to create this fascinating weaponry. I love the fact how every Keyblade’s handling is different from all the other Keyblades that you’ve used before. Each Keyblade focuses on different attributes (like strength or magic) and you’ll quickly find a favorite for each type of enemy. I also loved the feature where you can swap between Keyblades on the spot, this allows the player to adapt and react much better to the enemies than before. Are they overpowered? A bit but it’s what makes the gameplay so much fun. If they weren’t strong enough, you can upgrade them to make them even more powerful by using the shards you find along the way.
“Quantity can still conquer quality if you’re not careful enough.”
Reading all of these things, makes you probably wonder if the game’s still challenging enough? Yes, but not “Dark Souls” challenging. In some situations, the game becomes a bit more challenging due to the number of enemies that spawn on top of you in certain areas. Quantity can still conquer quality if you’re not careful enough. The bosses are a lot more challenging as they’re using a lot more “unique” mechanics. If you want the game to be more challenging, there’s always the option to dumb down Sora’s mechanics by unplugging some of his abilities.
If this hasn’t changed your mind about Kingdom Hearts, the following chapter will. What makes Kingdom Hearts such a unique game? It’s the worlds that you visit. These worlds are mashups from different Disney movies with a pinch of variable components. Sora and his friends often find themselves in the middle of a Disney story but with some variation. This variation impacts the original Disney story in a way and the interaction Sora has with these main protagonists from Disney’s story. The worlds Sora visits are visually represented with beautiful colors and lighting effects. You venture to these worlds to complete your own objective and help these characters along the way. You’ll see the worlds of Frozen, Big Hero Six, Tangled, Monster Inc., …. and so much more.
Helping these characters in their own story doesn’t impact Sora’s adventure on its own but it’s the experience that Sora gains with these characters that build up his personality. It’s the smooth dynamic between these characters and Sora that makes the game so much bigger than your ordinary Dark and Light kind of story.
All of these worlds are very keen to the eyes and every single element just clicks. However, not every world will be as equally intriguing as the previous worlds that you’ve already visited. Because some of the worlds are a bit dull and uninspiring. You can feel that some of the worlds are just a bit too linear and don’t offer a lot of exploration but if you do take the time to explore all of these worlds on your own terms, there are definitely a lot of surprises along the way. They’ve considered so many little things that make the interactive world the bigger picture. Disney can be proud!
Kingdom Hearts also feels much more alive than before. “All of the small things matter” and Kingdom Hearts is a game where you can prove this statement. First of all, your team members are doing their part in so many ways. Donald will warn you if there are items around that can be gathered for Remy’s cooking skills. Goofy will warn you if there’s a Lucky Emblem nearby, even when you’re taking a picture and one of the members or even Disney characters are in the frame, they react and pose for your picture. So small things, but so important. Especially if you want an immersive world where you build up an emotional bond between you and the characters you play. Worlds still live and grow, even after you’ve saved them. It gives you a reason to turn back and see for yourself what has been changed in the meantime. All of these things make a game “ALIVE”.
“The game does so much more than I ever hoped it would do.”
The Gummi Ship sections have also been upgraded to make it a lot more enjoyable. There’s still the option to customize and build your own Gummi Ship with the materials you’ve gathered along the way. A great change has also happened when it comes to the traveling part. Instead of a linear shooting gallery like previous games, the Gummi Ship sections offer you a lot more openness to explore. The moment you embark for the next planet, you’ll be placed in a bit more open world type of space where you can search for items, treasure probes, and even battle/ avoid the Heartless. There are also bosses that’ll challenge your Gummy Ship to the end. The missions also give you the chances to find gateways which are a more guided and faster way to get to your objective, but you can also leave it at any moment and start your exploring again. The Gummi Ship lovers will have lots of things to do.
Conclusion:
I love Kingdom Hearts and I’m not afraid to say it. The game does so much more than I ever hoped it would do. The game looks stunning, the mechanics and complex story elements are there and that nostalgic feeling… I have no words to describe it. All of these things just fit perfectly together. How the game presents itself towards newcomers, hats off. Even though it’s not easy to continue a story with so much complexity, the developers have opened the game up by adding the Memory Archive to give some more background which I can only applaud. Veteran players will love the story progress as the developers stayed true to the “original” storytelling and emotional bonding you’ll have with our Trinity group. Combat feels smooth, the characters are alive, and the worlds are much bigger and filled with new experiences. Explore on your own terms and get more out of the game. If you haven’t played the game before, this game is a great way to start, especially to get the feel of the combat. However, if you want to fully enjoy the game and what it has to offer, you should spend some time to search for lore online. If you do that, everything will become clearer. Veteran players, you already know you like the game.
My Verdict, for now, has to be an 8.5 out of 10. I haven’t finished the story in total and I want to see where the plot’s heading. After I’ve fully completed the game, I’ll return back to this review and give you my final verdict for Kingdom Hearts III. See you soon!
8.5/10
tested on PS4
