Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this video game review. Please proceed with caution.

Welcome to my first video game review! If you haven’t played Kingdom Hearts 3, I suggest you leave this page before I start discussing the spoilers and game play. This long awaited video game came out last week after 13 years of waiting. Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2006, when I was in 5th grade. I distinctly remember because I had allowed my elementary friend to borrow my copy, and was frustrated that he took so long with returning it to me. SO MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE THIS GAME WAS OUT!

Quick story: I ran into said elementary friend to pick up my pre-ordered copy, and the two of us couldn’t believe we ran into each other at our local Gamestop after so many years have gone by. He had a kid last month, and that really blew my mind.

Back to to the game: Kingdom Hearts series is about a boy named Sora who travels the Disney multiverse with Donald and Goofy to protect the worlds from the Darkness threatening to consume them. Sora is the main playable character with Donald and Goofy as allies. We get other allies too depending on what world we venture to: Hercules, Woody and Buzz, Baymax, Captain Jack Sparrow, etc.

The gameplay is simple and clean (hehe) with Sora being able to control three keyblades similar to FFXV’s take on Noctis having the ability to wield different weapons. For the first time ever, Sora’s battle style can be adjusted to the player’s liking. However, this is not a button smashing type of game…

The high combos, attraction specials, and aerial recovery mechanics are incredibly flawless to the point that it’s easy to get sucked into it. While dishing out your own attacks early game, it’s hard to recognize at times when the enemies are fighting back, or notice the HP bar going way too low. I relied on Cure and Hi-Potions more and more as the game progressed.

The story scenes also play out like a movie and makes grinding through the battles / worlds way more enticing. I finished out the game in roughly 30 hours two days after the game was released. I cried the whole time and was 100% satisfied with the story’s ending. This video game also marked the end of the Xehanort Saga and concluded all of the loose plot lines from the side games like Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance, etc.

Sora’ character growth is connected to the player’s need to grind and explore the Disney Worlds, because his adventure in the last Kingdom Hearts game, Dream Drop, Distance, left him relearning his skills in addition to leaving him with self-doubt about saving the people inside his heart. Being able to raise Sora’s level, skills, and Keyblades, helped the player connect with the character more easily.

Donald and Goofy’s interactions with Sora are more developed both in the story and in gameplay. They are helpful allies and converse way more often by pointing out hidden treasures and lucky emblems nearby the area. The quote, “My friends are my power”, have never felt stronger with these two at the top of their game.

I’m going to stop now. Otherwise, I’ll keep rambling on and on about the “most unreviewable” game out there right now. Overall, I fell in love with the series all over again, lived out my childhood in two days, and played “Face My Fears” way too much in addition to “Simple and Clean”.

Kingdom Hearts 4… I’ll see you in a decade? Hopefully sooner? Please?

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