Square-Enix dropped a major bombshell on unsuspecting Kingdom Hearts fans at E3 in the form of the
very first trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3.
And that means it's time to kickstart the mobile Analysis Machine to see what kind of
details we can find in this far too brief trailer.
So the trailer kicks off with scenes from all of the Kingdom Hearts games in order to
drive home that Kingdom Hearts 3 will be the culmination and conclusion of the Xehanort
saga.
It also provides just the slightest of hints as to what Sora's quest will be in this game.
The quote that overlaps this footage is actually from the secret ending of Birth By Sleep and
shows Sora's dedication to finally rescuing the protagonists from the PSP game.
But there are still many mysteries as to how this story will unfold though there are several
clues to spot in the trailer.
The biggest of which is when Sora finds a Keyblade on the shore of the Destiny Islands.
That Keyblade is actually the Master Keeper which originally belonged to Master Eraqus
in Birth By Sleep.
It was eventually passed on to Aqua who used it to transform the destroyed Land of Departure
into Castle Oblivion in order to protect a comatose Ventus.
The question is; how did it end up with Sora?
The last the Master Keeper was seen it was with Aqua in the world of darkness.
So how did it arrive in the Destiny Islands?
And why did it choose Sora?
It's worth noting that the Master Keeper has only been used by Keyblade Masters.
Since Sora failed his Mark of Mastery exam in Dream Drop Distance, shouldn't this Keyblade
appear before Riku?
It's just another mystery that we're not sure of the answer to.
Just like we're not why Sora has returned to Destiny Islands when Riku and Kairi were
all last seen at Yen Sid's Tower in the ending of Dream Drop Distance.
Perhaps he returned there after his visit with the Spirit Dream Eaters that helped him
throughout his last journey.
And the only other location shown in the trailer is Twilight Town.
Both of these Worlds have proven to be quite important to the lore of Kingdom Hearts but
we're just not sure what more they could offer.
In terms of the timeline, Kingdom Hearts 3 looks like it takes place soon after the end
of Dream Drop Distance since Sora's still wearing his outfit from Kingdom Hearts 2.
Sora's classic outfit also appears in the trailer though we think that's only to show
how closely the new graphics match the cutscenes of past games.
However, there's a slight cel-shading effect added to the graphics engine which is likely
designed to keep Sora from looking too realistic.
The series has always tried to emulate the animation style of the Disney movies and the
cel-shading would allow Sora and the rest of the main characters to fit in.
The trailer also provided a small glimpse of the possible gameplay in Kingdom Hearts.
The Command Menu HUD shows three options: Attack, Magic, and Items, with a question
mark filling in the remaining slot.
This immediately tells us that the battle options will be much more reminiscent of Kingdom
Hearts 2 rather than the Command Decks featured in Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance.
This is further supported by the left-pointing arrow next to the Attack command as well as
the tab featured above.
If the battle system is indeed based off Kingdom Hearts 2 then that means those other options
could be Summon, Party, and Limit.
And that could mean that the magic system of Kingdom Hearts 2 returns as well.
In that game, each spell expends the entire meter and recharges based on the spell used.
But what about that mystery option below the Item command?
It could very well be the return of the Drive Forms, and this is supported by the similar
appearance of the EX Meter.
However, the mere fact that it's labeled an EX Meter means that the Drive Forms could
work quite differently.
And that's not the only element that may be tweaked for Kingdom Hearts 3.
We can see that both Donald and Goofy return as party members, but they're nowhere to be
found in the trailer.
However, we can see that their icon locations have shifted positions and their HP and MP
bars have been shrunk.
But there's still an awful lot of space next to their portraits.
Is it possible that some form of the D-Link system from Birth by Sleep is being used for
Kingdom Hearts 3?
The battle system could indeed be seeing more additions than just the D-Link.
We see Sora jump off the side of a wall to avoid the incoming Heartless Swarm.
It could very well be the return of the Flowmotion system from Dream Drop Distance though in
a more limited form.
And speaking of that swarm of Heartless, is that a brand new enemy where the pack is treated
as one?
Or is it an indication that the packs of Heartless that Sora faces are more numerous than ever
before?
Okay, we're almost done here, but there are just a few more details that we'd like to
point out.
It's hard not to notice that the HUD is much more basic than in past games.
Kingdom Hearts 2 and several of the spin-offs actually used a more intricate, world-dedicated
HUD that gave a sense of personality to each world.
Kingdom Hearts 3 appears to be opting for a more uniform design.
Next we noticed that Sora appears to be even more agile with his jumps as he flips and
spins with his animations.
He's even able to ride on top of the Shadow Swarm for a brief moment.
Is this just a limited instance or is it possible that Sora can leapfrog over enemies to better
position himself?
And with that, we've finished picking apart the debut trailer of Kingdom Hearts 3.
Of course, let us know if there's anything we missed by posting in the comments.
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