Kingdom Hearts III Review

Kingdom Hearts III
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Reviewed On: PS4
Available On: PS4, Xbox One

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I’m a bit disappointed.

That’s a sentiment I never thought I would associate with Kingdom Hearts III, especially not after the thirteen-year wait since the second game. Granted, Kingdom Hearts III hasn’t been in development for thirteen years, and there hasn’t exactly been a shortage of games on other systems, but as the main sequel to Kingdom Hearts II and the finale in what’s been the decade-long Dark Seeker Saga, I expected more. Certainly not the meandering narrative and lackluster new worlds that we received.

It’s no secret that Kingdom Hearts has always suffered from a convoluted story. It’s actually not that difficult, but the way it’s been presented and the fact it’s broken into so many installments, on several different platforms, makes it more complicated than necessary. In a way, though, it’s this heavily-twisted lore and massive cast of characters (many of whom refuse to stay dead) that has made the series so endearing over the years and across the span of nearly fifteen games.

With so many loose threads in the air, Kingdom Hearts III was meant to wrap up the ongoing battle between Sora and the keyblade wielder, Master Xehanort, in the ultimate battle of light versus darkness which began in the very first game. Despite it being the main iteration in the series after Kingdom Hearts II, however, Kingdom Hearts III actually picks up after the events of Dream Drop Distance, a title which was exclusive to the Nintendo DS upon its release in 2012, but which has since been ported to PS4 in Kingdom Heart 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.

In Dream Drop Distance, Sora and Riku prepare to take the Mark of Mastery Exam to defeat Master Xehanort upon his return to incite the next Keyblade War. To make a long story as short as possible, after successfully completing the Exam, Sora receives the power to wake sleeping hearts, or the “power of waking” as it will later be referred to in the third game.

It’s not a problem that Kingdom Hearts III is largely related to the events that took place over the course of Dream Drop Distance– at least for people who have played through that game. The problem lies in the fact that crucial story moments and concepts from Dream Drop Distance, namely everything related to the “power of waking” are mentioned either half-halfheartedly, or completely out of context in Kingdom Hearts III.

What’s worse, these important story elements that are supposed to be driving the third game are not even explained until the very end of it, in what has got to be one of the biggest info-dumps known to man. The decision to have that info-dump near the end, instead of sprinkling it evenly throughout the game, makes for a painfully-slow first half where nothing is being explained, and where you have too much time to dwell on the game’s other faults.

Of everything wrong with Kingdom Hearts III, the pacing and the worlds- both new and the newly-imagined- were consistently two of my biggest gripes with the game. Kingdom Hearts III has a lot of ground to cover if it’s going to bring together a conclusion to a problem that started over ten years ago; and with a main campaign that took me thirty-four hours to complete, you would think the game hit the ground running. Instead, we hit the ground in Olympus, a world that has been a staple for Sora, Donald, and Goofy, where they could grind for XP and battle classic Final Fantasy characters like Cloud and Sephiroth, in the Coliseum.

But in Kingdom Hearts III, Olympus, like Twilight Town, have nearly been reduced to shadows of their former selves- one where the traditional “training” no longer exists in the Coliseum, Phil doesn’t speak, and there are no Final Fantasy characters; and another where at least half of Twilight Town’s playable areas have been removed, in favor of keeping the town’s center and the forest that leads to the Old Mansion.

These unfortunate, re-imaginings of returning worlds, however, pales in comparison to the grievances found with the brand new worlds, specifically the individual stories being told within them that do nothing for the progression of the game.

I’m mostly looking at you, Arendelle.

Frozen’s Arendelle best exemplifies the game’s pacing issues, and was my least favorite world, by far. Unlike its predecessors, Kingdom Hearts III assumes (or perhaps takes for granted) that we have either seen, or at least have a strong familiarity with the Disney movies from which its worlds have been created. Because of that we have the Disney movies’ actual events, which are given little explanation on their own, let alone within the context of Kingdom Hearts III, bumping up against the game’s narrative without doing anything to smooth it out.

Arendelle featured Elsa’s song “Let it Go” in its entirety. And while that was great in the moment, if not a little humorous to see Sora, Donald and Goofy gaping from the sidelines- when the song ended, if left me thinking I really could have just watched the movie instead.

It continued on like this- Disney movie moments being inserted into the game while doing nothing for the game. I remember in old worlds like Agrabah, Wonderland, and Neverland, the narrative within those worlds acted as links in a long chain that ultimately served Kingdom Hearts’ end goal. In Kingdom Hearts III, not so much. I’m convinced Arendelle was just to remind us how amazing Idina Menzel sounds.

Where the game really shines, though, is in its level design and in its host of new gameplay features. In Toy Story’s world, The Toy Box, I was left in awe traversing through the toy mall and using the gumball machine to glide to each floor in a wave of bright, sparkling colors. Using the different Gigas during battle in The Toy Box was also a great touch in that added a level of thrill to the combat.

Similarly, Big Hero 6’s world of San Fransokyo feels like one big playground. Every building and skyscraper can be scaled, and I found the world a great place to level up due to its heartless popping up in abundance and the high number of XP their deaths were worth.

I love that still plays like Kingdom Hearts.

The attractions became one of the most integral parts of my command bar during my playthrough. Inspired by actual rides in the Disney parks, like the pirate ship or the carousel, the attractions are large-scale, colorful attacks that can be used to deal major damage to your enemies. Where I found them to be unnecessary in the beginning of the game (my pirate ship barely hit anything), they became something I looked forward to popping up over the command system later on when the fights became tougher. Attractions like the blaster and the train were, by far, the most useful and dealt the most damage.

Combat is swift, possibly the fastest its ever been in the series, and seems to move even faster with the use of Sora’s new abilities and the fact you can upgrade your keyblade, in both strength and magic. I found myself constantly in motion during a fight, with numerous heartless popping up everywhere and in consistent waves. Even running up buildings in San Fransokyo, or running back into an area I’d just cleared triggered battles. Due to the abundance of heartless, I leveled up much quicker than I’d expected, reaching level forty in a little under twenty hours.

Aside from the “Cure” spell, there was a strong emphasis placed on magic in Kingdom Hearts III, with some battles near-impossible to beat without the use of fire, thunder, and water. While the magical abilities have always been a core part of the series, I’d never relied so heavily on them until now, and I appreciated the balance it brought to the gameplay.

Each battle was satisfying in its own right, especially all the ones after Anti-Aqua that lead to the final showdown with Xehanort. The battles in the later half of the game challenged my skill, patience, and pre-battle strategy in a way no other Kingdom Hearts game has done.

To switch gears, no pun intended, the Gummi Ship has made its return and has been completely revamped.

The new, open-world system offers an abundance of freedom when flying between worlds or galaxies, and is the most detailed we’ve ever seen throughout the Kingdom Hearts series. Flying the Gummi Ships now almost feels like a space action game, with Gummi bosses flying around and waiting to challenge you if you get too close. If flying has never been your thing, you can abandon some of the battles and continue on toward your destination.

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Final Thoughts:

When you strip away all the not-so-great parts of Kingdom Hearts III, at its core, it very much still feels like a Kingdom Hearts game, and that in itself is fantastic and worth mentioning. There is something to be said for the powerful wave of nostalgia it evokes with something as simple as the new Dearly Beloved playing on the title screen; or the emotional beats it hits when we get stolen moments between Sora and Kairi that remind the player of everything they have been through together; or reuniting Terra, Ven, and Aqua.

Players who’ve grown with Kingdom Hearts, or passionate fans who may be playing it for the first time, will find that those moments, even in the midst of the game’s messy narrative, are the most memorable.