Tying Up Loose Ends, The Kingdom Hearts 3 Experience

A Review, by Nathan Taber

I’m a fan of Kingdom Hearts 3...weather I like it or not. I’ve been spending time with the game since it’s launch in late January with it at the forefront of my PS4 computer entertainment experience. I discovered the series as a youngster back in 2005 but never advanced beyond the second installment of the game. I jumped back into the games when they were remastered for PlayStation 4 and have enjoyed getting lost in the craziness that is the wild Kingdom Hearts universe. Let’s take a look at the final installment of the saga and talk about the good, the bad and the disappointing. We’re going to be analyzing it all; from how the game plays, to story mechanics and everything in between, so kick your feet up and stay awhile.

THE STORY OF KINGDOM HEARTS 3

We follow Sora, Donald and Goofy as they prepare for the final battle with the evil Master Xehonart. They travel through Disney worlds as they are constantly facing monsters known as the heartless and Nobodies.

Traveling through Worlds to Save the Universe

Worlds from the most popular Disney and Pixar movies are here. Save the worlds from the imposing darkness and face Organization 13 in the final battle to save the day. The sheer amount of time and energy spent playing through these worlds however doesn’t always correlate to Disney characters getting involved with major plot points of the game. A lot of time is spent advancing Disney specific goals and re-enacting what happened in the original movies. Because of this it often feels like you’re just killing time before you get to what really matters in the endgame. I don’t have a huge problem with that because I understand that the developers wanted to reinforce the importance of doing Disney things in Disney worlds such as saving Rapunzel from Mother Gothel or rescuing Jack Sparrow from Davey Jones' Locker. This is of course half of a Disney game. On the other hand I couldn’t help but feel that I am much more emotionally invested in what happens to the original characters. Not having them as heavily featured as they could have been throughout the game left me a big unfulfilled.

15 Years Later The Story has it’s Epic Conclusion!...Kind Of

The story fills the weird niche by combining otherworldly fantasy, over the top emotional moments and a sprinkle of goofiness into one package. In other words there aren’t any other games with a story quite like Kingdom Hearts and it really hits home with the fans. The tradition continues here. Any Kingdom Hearts game that presents this package to the fullest is going to be a good Kingdom Hearts game, and I feel that we got that. On the other hand I felt that the overall narrative of the game was a bit too paint by numbers and even rushed in some circumstances. Along with Saving the worlds as Sora, it’s also your job to “awaken” all of the heroes who have fallen to darkness throughout the history of the past games such as Terra, Roxas and Ventus . Just about every major character is here and the hardcore fan will be satisfied to see all the big name characters together under one roof. This game at heart is for the longtime fans who will truly only have a slight idea of what is actually happening with the story because of the level of complexity here. Without playing the games your only hope of understanding this story would be akin to taking something like a full length College Level Course! With that being said, I felt there wasn’t enough happening with the series main characters over the course of the 30 plus hour story. And then comes my issue; when the story does pick up at the end of the game, as a fan, I can say there are some real head scratchers. While the series has always been complicated it's also been very interesting. Unfortunately, at times I wondered why I got so deeply invested in a storyline element, to get a payoff like that. Certain outcomes just felt like excuses for tying up loose ends. The game did do what it “needed” to do, but certain aspects of the story didn’t blow me out of the water like I was hoping it would.

THE GAMING EXPERIENCE

The Difficulty Issue

Kingdom Hearts games have always been notoriously difficult but that is not the case this time around. In the past, players would even have an option to play on the ultra difficult critical mode, but for some reason this option was left out of the game (although it may be released as future downloadable content). Beginner, Standard and Proud Mode are the difficulty options you have to choose from here, however even on the proud mode the game is not terribly difficult. I was surprised by how strong some of Sora's attacks could be, especially the new attraction commands which seem to be very overpowered. New command attacks are also always popping up which drastically changes the tide of battle in your favor, even when there are very few or weak powered enemies in play. I really was surprised by the lack of difficulty, especially with all of the different ways you can dole out damage and strategize your attacks. Unfortunately at times it felt like formidable enemies could be defeated very quickly and without much thought.

The Kingdom Hearts Experience

Everything is here that should be when it comes to crafting that signature Kingdom Hearts game. Exploration, over the top action, fantasy magic, an award winning musical score, and beyond. Let’s “deep dive” into some aspects of Kingdom Hearts 3 and evaluate what this crazy game has to offer.

Elements of Gameplay

The Keyblade

_{Use the Keyblade to strike down enemies or launch magic spells at them. The Keyblade will be your only weapon and you will collect a unique Disney themed variation of it with each world you visit. Each one will utilize a different style of attack. The keyblade can even power up into stronger “forms” throughout the course of battle which can unleash ultra powerful attacks.}

Flowmotion

_{Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance Introduced us to Flowmotion attacks which have been a welcome addition to the series. These attacks allows Sora to interact with his environment. You can perform actions such as a spinning attack off a pole, or launch off of a wall for a huge Keyblade strike.}

Commands

_{A staple of the franchise in the command menu is also here. As you play, special overpowered attacks called commands will pop up that you can activate with the push of a button such as special magic attacks or attractions.}

Attractions

_{Completely new to the series are attractions which have you controlling classic Disney rides to do damage. Bashing Mad Tea Cups into enemies, or showering enemies with water from Splash Mountain mountain is great but are also very overpowered lending to a larger overarching problem this game seems to have with difficulty.}

Shotlocks

_{Seen first in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Shotlocks are ranged attacks that can be triggered anytime by locking on to an enemy. Much like keyblade strikes these attacks change depending on the keyblade.}

Assist Characters

_{Per the usual Kingdom Hearts Style Sora won’t be alone for the journey as Donald and Goofy are nearly always by his side. As you transverse through Disney Worlds you will also be joined by characters from those worlds who will aid you in battle. It’s important to keep an eye on these assist characters as they each have their own unique set of attacks, abilities and skills.}

Items

_{There are a huge amount of power up items that can be equipped to your characters to enhance certain stats like strength, magic and even resistances. In addition to power up items you can also find items like potions and ethers to get a boost of health or magic on the fly.}

Moogle Shops

_{located all over the worlds, moogle shops are where you can buy tons of different items with “munny” or craft new items with the materials you find.}

Meals

_{A brand new way to power up your stats is eating meals which you can whip up with “Little Chef” Remy once you’ve found the needed ingredients hidden around the world. Mixing up the ingredients requires you to play mini games which simulate the cooking experience and requires just the right stroke of the controller.}

Summons

_{Call upon the assistance of Disney favorites like Ariel from Little Mermaid or Simba from Lion King with summons and perform ultra powerful attacks.}

Gummi Phone

_{Access a multitude of options on the fly with the Gummi Phone. Check up on the glossary, read about the story, play a mini game and more. Classic Kingdom Games offer a unique distraction from the norm in the form of 2D mini games based on the popular black and white LCD games from the 80s. Sora can even take pictures so you can capture your favorite sights from the worlds for your viewing pleasure.}

Gummi Ship

_{The Gummi Ship is what Sora, Donald and Goofy will use to travel between worlds. For the first time in the series we finally have an enjoyable way of getting from point A to point B. In Past iterations of Kingdom Hearts the Gummi Ship only proved to be an annoying obstacle en route to your next destination but for the first time ever you can now explore the universe. Do as much or as little as you please as you take down enemy heartless ships, or blast away at space debris to extract blocks to build your very own ship.}

Audio/Visual Presentation

That signature Kingdom Hearts style is back and better than ever with amazing graphics and the unforgettable musical score. The original music pieces that the composers behind this series have been able to pump out have lent success to an actual Kingdom Hearts Orchestra! Modern day graphics are able to bring Disney worlds to life almost replicating the original movies. While certian worlds like Olympus from Herculese or Galaxy Toys from Toy Story are filled to the brim with detail and variety, I found cerian worlds like Arendelle from Frozen to be barren and bleak. While this may be true, I don't believe we can consider it a negative aspect of the game for a level that is based on snow.

Replay Value

Kingdom Hearts games have always had great replay value, and that is the case here as well. There are many mini games that you can partake in around the worlds as well as Lucky Emblems and treasure chests to be discovered. Post game boss fights and a secret ending are also included. Chances are that on your first play through of the game you won't have achieved half of what is available to conquer.

My Overall Takeaway

Whether or not you understand the story to its fullest or you just play the game for the battle of light vs Dark, I believe that this is a game with a very broad appeal. Fans of the Disney movies may just want to play the game to explore worlds from their favorite movies. Hardcore Kingdom Hearts fans will always come back to new releases in the series but may be a bit disappointed in the paint by numbers story that is offered here. All in all, I believe Kingdom Hearts 3 is one of the best valued experiences you can get for a video game on modern game consoles. While the story may fall flat in some cases, I believe a measure of forgiveness is owed. The Kingdom Hearts games were always designed to ask more questions than provide answers...even at the expense of logic in some cases.