- [Jonathon] Watching the combination of 17 years
of story play out in Kingdom Hearts III
is a great, satisfying RPG adventure
that both evolves the series and stays firm in
some of its story telling ways, sometimes to its detriment.
It's gorgeous Disney themed world introduce some
spectacular new combat options
and often intriguing landscapes to explore.
And yet the story telling within them feels as simplistic
and predictable as ever.
That said, I'm impressed by how much Square Enix
has stuck the landing for one of
my favorite long running series.
(inspirational music)
(beast roaring)
A hero losing his powers and needing to regain them
is the most common trope in RPG sequels.
But here, Sora's loss is smartly tied into
his fight against the forces of darkness.
It's a nice motivation for Sora, which also immediately
addresses one of the most notorious
criticisms of Kingdom Hearts two.
Instead of a long slow intro,
he jumps right into the action of Hercules' world.
There's a sense of urgency and forward momentum,
not just to Sora's quest, but
to the plight of the world he's visiting.
It slows down a little after that, but part of what
helps the pace all the way through the almost 30 hour
story is the wide array of combat options.
I expected to be emotionally invested in Kingdom Hearts III
story, but I didn't expect to fall so deeply in love
with the battles.
Yes, smacking heartless nobodies and then versed around with
Sora's key blade is the main method of mayhem still,
but there's now so much more going on that turns
every fight into a varied spectacle
that rarely plays out the same way.
The fact that you can summon Disney park-like rides
which serve as both a visual feast, and a crowd
control saver shows how far this combat system
is willing to try risky new ideas
and be just a joy to watch.
(Kingdom Hearts gaming chimes)
Each of Sora's Keyblades can transform too,
and they're a consistent throw to test out.
There are some repeated transformation powers,
but the options can change Sora from a range dual wielding
gun fighter to a close up area of effect
crawler yielding a giant toy hammer.
(gaming grunts)
There's also the ability to spin on columns
or ride a railing mid-battle like in Dream Drop Distance.
But that system doesn't always let Sora as easily
latch onto objects cleanly as it should.
But with beautiful character summon
sequences like Wreck-It Ralph's,
different approaches to fighting Heartless and Nobodies,
and team up moves with Donald, Goofy
and world specific party members,
they all contribute to an incredible variety
that prevents the combat from descending into monotony
and routine even late in the campaign.
- Whoa.
(inspirational harp music)
- [Announcer] And speaking of those world specific team ups,
the assortment of Disney locations to explore in
Kingdom Hearts III are stunning.
As a life long Disney fan, I couldn't help but feel sad
at not seeing many classic Disney worlds like
Aladin or Snow White, but the more modern choices
Square Enix has gone with are gorgeous to explore.
They're often paired with beautiful
orchestral takes on classic themes.
Venturing around the toy store setting of the
Toy Story world for example, captures the essence
of seeing the world from the point of view of a toy.
A single floor of the store feels
as vast as previous levels in the series.
But while Toy Story's world is inventive,
the worlds of Frozen and Tangled are relatively sparse and
unsurprising natural landscapes.
They're pretty, but not nearly as exciting
to explore.
Those two in particular are also odd cases
because they're the most direct retellings
of the stories they're based on.
Where as the others have more interesting creative twists.
(piping music)
- C'mon everyone, come dance with us.
- [Announcer] Linking the worlds together is a wonderfully
revamped gummy ship system,
which I enjoyed for the first time in a Kingdom Hearts game.
There's nothing all that challenging about it,
but choosing when to jump into space battles,
hunting clusters of asteroids for loot,
and just having the freedom to explore
instead of being on rails all the time makes
these interstitial sections so much more pleasant.
- [Woody] We've got to work together.
- [Sora] Right.
(cheering)
- [Announcer] I'm pleasantly surprised by how well
Kingdom Hearts III wraps up the series spanning story of
the power of friendship and the bonds we make
with one another.
It didn't really surprise me though, because nearly
every major character's resolution is something
I couldn't called a mile away.
There's definitely a bit of sluggishness to the
overall pacing too.
Characters are peppered into each Disney world
and small updates about the larger story are provided,
but the real meat of the confrontations and character
shifting moments don't really factor into Sora's
journey until it's nearly complete.
It culminates in hours of really fun end game resolution
with massive battles that really tested my skills in combat.
Whereas previous boss battles were often fun in their scale,
but not much more than damaged sponges.
(battling grunting)
Plus this huge end section also includes character
confrontations that fan fiction writers would dream of.
Much of the nuance will probably
be lost on newcomers though.
As Cage 3 tackles the larger questions of identity
and what it means to be whole as a person
with heavy references to previous games.
It's not that difficult to get a sense of the good
and bad guys' goals and Kingdom Hearts III
does do a bit of recapping, but you really need to be
familiar with the backstory to appreciate some
of the most touching moments.
- Never hurts to have your head in the clouds.
- (laughing) Exactly.
("Dearly Beloved")
- [Announcer] The wait has been long, but I
thoroughly enjoyed Square Enix's evolution of
Kingdom Heart's game play and fidelity to Disney worlds.
Square has done a fantastic job of capturing the
spirit of these memorable worlds and giving us
a massive tool box to battle and explore
our way through them.
But to see the story of the Kingdom Hearts franchise reach
its conclusion is, frankly a little weird,
because specific resolutions are largely satisfying,
but not all that surprising.
I still loved seeing so many characters interact
in new ways and rekindle old bonds.
And that's why it's so exciting to
see that Kingdom hearts III is as full
of heart as it ever has been.
For more, be sure to check out the whole Kingdom Hearts
series story in roughly about five minutes, and be
sure to test your Kingdom Hearts trophy knowledge.
And of course, for everything else Kingdom Hearts III,
you're already in the right place, IGN.
- Let's go Max.
(horse neighing)
- [Everyone] Whoa.
(inspiring music)