Kingdom Hearts III is a third-person action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in 2019. This is a twelfth installment of the Kingdom Hearts franchise and it concludes the Dark Seeker saga started back in the original game. You will once again travel through fantasy worlds known from Disney and Pixar animated movies, as well as the ones created solely for the Kingdom Hearts series, to stop the Heartless invasion and to restore peace to the realms. KH 3 is available exclusively on consoles (Xbox One and PlayStation 4).

Story

The story in Kingdom Hearts III is quite complex and may prove hard to follow at times. It continues the events witnessed in the previous titles and concludes the Dark Seeker saga, thus it is advised to play the earlier Kingdom Heart games before jumping into KH3 to have a better understanding of the ongoing story. It is not required, however, as developers prepared short introductory videos which should help to understand the history for newcomers.

Sora, who was previously nearly taken over by the Keyblade Master, Xehanort, lost much of his own strength. Now Xehanort plans to forge the χ-blade, the only thing being able to summon the Kingdom Hearts, and use it to recreate the worlds according to his will. As a result, Sora, together with friends, will need to regain the ability to restore lost hearts, as well as find the seven guardians of light and the Key to Return Hearts to stop Master Xehanort’s plans.

Characters

Sora returns as the main protagonist in KH III and is your playable character. He is a Keyblade wielder and the one who fights the darkness beings called the Heartless. On his adventures, he is accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy. Other supporting characters include his friends, Riku and Kairi, as well as King Mickey, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, among the many others.

The main antagonist of the Dark Seeker saga is Xehanort. He is a Keyblade Master trying to achieve the perfect balance between light and darkness through conquering the Kingdom Hearts and recreating the worlds according to his wishes. His reckless actions lead to disastrous events, like the mass release of Heartless into the Realm of Light. Other evil characters include different incarnations of Xehanort, as well as Maleficent and Pete, Vanitas, and Larxene.

Gameplay and game modes

Kingdom Hearts 3 is played in single-player mode only. Similarly to the previous games from the franchise, gameplay combines the 3D platformer with a fast-paced dynamic slasher-like combat system and throws in a variety of mini-games to the mix.

You will travel to distant fantasy worlds, among which the ones known from Disney and Pixar productions appear, together with their corresponding characters – Anna from the Frozen, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean, just to name a few.

On your journey, Donald Duck and Goofy will have your back once more, and 2 additional characters will be able to join, for up to 5 characters in a team simultaneously, which is an increase from the previous titles by 2. As a team, you will defeat hordes of enemies and challenging bosses in order to develop the team – killing foes earns experience which allows to level up characters and to acquire new powerful abilities. Managing the team’s equipment is an important part of the game. You will be able to craft a multitude of items, including the consumables that permanently increase certain stats, making future battles easier.

After finishing the main story, an additional challenge in the form of Battlegates appears inside the previously visited worlds.

Reception

Kingdom Hearts 3 received very positive reviews and is considered a worthy successor to the previous titles from the franchise with over 5 million copies sold within the first week from the release. The most praised elements include refined and smooth combat, the high level of details of the visited fantasy worlds, and the soundtrack accompanying the adventures, as well as the surprisingly fun to use abilities and the significantly larger amount of content packed into the game.

Key features:

• Join Sora on his epic fantasy adventure and learn the concluding part of the Dark Seeker saga
• Meet characters known from Disney and Pixar movies, many of which being dubbed by their original voice actors
• Travel to distant diverse worlds full of hostile creatures, minigames, and collectibles
• Engage in dynamic fast-paced combat against hordes of enemies and demanding bosses
• Develop your team – gain levels, craft tons of usable items, utilize powerful spells and abilities, and unlock Link Summons