Kingdom Hearts III makes a self-referential joke at the end of the first cutscene, with the words Kingdom Hearts II.9, in reference to its strange naming conventions when it comes to sequels and prequels, using decimal points and odd numbers — Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts (chi) being among them.
- Developer and Publisher: Square Enix
- Price: ₹3499 for Xbox One and Playstation 4
Thirteen years after Kingdom Hearts II launched, we finally get the next chapter in the series. Sure, there have been several Kingdom Hearts games during that time, but it is Kingdom Hearts III we have been waiting for. Since the game features a whole lot of Disney stuff, including Frozen , and I have grown a whole lot since the first game launched in 2002, who better to co-review this game with than my six-year-old daughter? Off we go!
What is it about?
Kingdom Hearts can be best described as a lovechild of Square Enix, makers of the Final Fantasy series and Disney. It follows the adventures of Sora and friends, joined by Donald Duck and Goofy, to fight the forces of darkness wielding large swords that look like keys, known as, Keyblades. It is a running joke that Kingdom Hearts has one of the most convoluted plots. Spanning its 17 years, it has gone from twists and turns into kiddie Soap Opera level. If you condense all of the lore into a heavy tome and lob it at someone, it will make for a pretty bad headache or concussion.
Special Arrangement
While a lot of the story hinges on the world-building and story ties from the previous 12 games, as well as several mobile games, Kingdom Hearts is easy to just pick up and play, with the beginning cutscenes giving you enough of a story to speed you along. Almost taken by darkness, Sora has survived, but has lost most of his strength. So he, along with his companions, have to travel across the worlds to gain back his lost strength. Kingdom Hearts III sees the conclusion of the Xehanort Dark Seeker arc.
Special Arrangement
The game dumps a whole lot of lore on you, and we found ourselves constantly referencing online videos and story summaries to read up on it. Heavy story aside, my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the interactions with all her favourite characters from Toy Story , Frozen and even Pirates of the Caribbean . Being a Final Fantasy fan, I did notice several references to characters from those games, making Kingdom Hearts III a wonderfully light-hearted adventure.
How does it play?
The best part of Kingdom Hearts III is the battle system, which has you jump around in real time, defeating all sorts of Heartless, the shadowy guys, while giving you a very Final Fantasy-like menu system to launch magic and link attacks. There is so much variety to the action, from letting you pull off incredible dual attacks with your party members, to summoning Disney theme park attractions, which are spectacular attacks, like a massive pirate ship made of sparks to deal damage or rotating teacups. Several boss enemies have their own special summons, like defeating a towering Titan with a sparkling choo-choo train or a merry-go- round. Everything is big, flashy, and while I enjoyed playing it, my daughter loved watching the light show with glee.
Special Arrangement
There is a ton of stuff to learn in the battle system though, and it is hard to tell which to pick for certain situations — from Form changes which let you use different Keyblades’ special moves to Shotlocks, which let you perform a variety of lock-on attacks, or the evasive manoeuvres that let you swing around pillars and jump off walls. Battles get frantic and flashy in a good way, as the screen fills up with effects. All achieved with a few simple button presses, but it did impress the daughter. The game is broken up into several small worlds, and for the most part, it puts you on rails.
Special Arrangement
Opening certain areas with alternate paths and hidden areas allow for exploration. In between each level, there are a lot of cutscenes, as it switches between characters, resulting in more cutscenes. What would have been a boring traversal, has been pepped up by several mini-games to keep things interesting.
At no point does the game get monotonous, as the worlds are cleverly designed to look exactly like the source material. From the fluffy look of Frozen to the spiral style of Hercules to the faithful recreation of Andy’s room in Toy Story to the realistic, grungy look of Pirates of the Caribbean, where your characters get to meet Anna and Elsa, Hercules, Captain Jack Sparrow and the rest of a colourful cast. Making the fan in you go wild with excitement.
Should you get it?
While Kingdom Hearts III has got its shortcomings as well as a heavy story to boot, it does not let up on the fan service. Either to its loyal Kingdom Hearts fanbase or to Disney and Square fans alike. Best recommended to play along with your kid and he or she will enjoy it as much as you will.
The writer is a tech and gaming enthusiast who hopes to one day finish his sci-fi novel
