Everything You Need to Know about Kingdom Hearts 3

When Kingdom Hearts 2 released in 2005, I don’t think anyone thought we’d have to wait over a decade for the next major installment in the series. Yet here we are, almost at the end of 2017 with several Kingdom Hearts games- 1.5, 2.5, 1.5+2.5 HD Remix, 2.8 Final Something Something– but we still don’t have Kingdom Hearts 3. Its development was confirmed at E3 2013, but since then the little information we’ve gotten about the game has been sporadic, and let’s be real, basically nonexistent. So, we’ve compiled everything to make things more cohesive for all the Keyblade wielders out there. Here’s everything you need to know about Kindgom Hearts 3. 

The Story:

Despite the fact there have been twelve games (yes, you read that number right) released since Kingdom Hearts 2, none of them have been a direct continuation of the first two in the series. They have instead focused on subsequent characters and storylines within the Kingdom Hearts universe and have, more or less, explored how they tie into the two primary games (though I really think all they did was confuse the series’ timeline even further). To be fair, though, not all twelve are an original game, as some have been remade, released together in a newly titled collection, or have been remastered altogether for the new generation consoles.

One of those twelve games is Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and its ending is where the story of Kingdom Hearts 3 will pick up. For those who forgot, or just never got around to Dream Drop Distance, it follows Sora and Riku as they take their Mark of Mastery Exam, the test that will determine whether they will become Keyblade Masters. Sora ultimately failed the exam, while Riku was dubbed a Master, because it’s not like we were the ones who ventured to dozens of worlds and secured Keyholes from the Heartless and the Nobodies and ultimately saved plenty of ungrateful Disney characters, but I digress. While this is all happening, Master Xehanort is running wild behind the scenes in an attempt to create the X-blade which will unlock Kingdom Hearts.

Below is the official description of the game from the 2013 Square Enix Press release.

Believing light and darkness must remain in balance, Master Xehanort seeks to spark war against the ‘tyranny of light’ to restore equilibrium.

In an effort to undermine Xehanort’s plot, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for seven guardians of light and the “Key to Return Hearts,” while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade Wielders. 

Kingdom Hearts 3 will be the final game that focuses on Xehanort’s “Dark Seeker” saga, which has been explored over the course of the other games. Sora, Donald, and Goofy, along with the series staples King Mickey, Riku, and Kairi will seek out the seventh Guardian of Light and restore order once and for all. Their journey will not only take them back to familiar Disney worlds that we’ve experienced over the course of the series, but the group will venture to new ones like Big Hero 6, Tangled, and Toy Story. 

Gameplay:

In terms of gameplay, fans of the series can expect much of the same. Sora’s offensive capabilities, both magical and otherwise are making a return, along with the summoning system. (As I type this I realize the summons are something I rarely used anyway. Sorry, Mushu). Sora’s various “Drive Forms” are also making a comeback, and two of the newest ones to be announced are called “Guard Form” and “Power Form”, the former of which you can check out in the photo below. Though the battle system is more of the same, it looks a lot more fast-paced and more fluid than in the previous games. Actually, hectic, might be a better word.

Release Date:

During Disney’s big D23 conference, Square Enix and Disney announced that Kingdom Hearts 3 would release in 2018. While a year is a pretty wide release window, it’s far better than anything we’ve gotten in the last decade. Kingdom Hearts 3 will release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

*note: Re: Coded and Re: Chain of Memories were included in the number of Kingdom Hearts games.*