Back in 2002, Disney and Square Enix decided to come together and create a video game. Massive entertainment entities on their own, the idea of the two joining forces sounded a bit ridiculous. Mickey Mouse battling Sephiroth? Please. This sounded like someone slipped a copy of their fan fiction in the stack of papers and someone decided to just run with it. The idea turned into Kingdom Hearts, a huge franchise that has spanned across eight different systems for a total of ten titles. A seemingly unlikely partnership between the two became a dynamic relationship that truly changed how we perceive mash-ups in games. And after waiting 14 years, the charming, deep, twisted story has finally come to an end in Kingdom Hearts 3.
Now, if you’ve never played a Kingdom Hearts game, while I appreciate your click on my review, please just close your browser. I’ve played the three main games plus one of the side games (Chain of Memories), and even with the memory archives that Kingdom Hearts 3 so graciously provides us, I still cannot say with full certainty I understand the complete story of these games. So, I won’t be offended if you leave now. But if you’re still here, let’s dive right in.
Kingdom Hearts 3 picks up with Sora needing to regain his lost “power of waking”, in order to fight against Xehanort and Organization XIII. Xehanort wishes to open the gateway to Kingdom Hearts and flood the cosmos in darkness. Accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, Sora travels to various Disney-oriented worlds in pursuit of his lost power: Olympus, Twilight Town, Toy Box (Pixar’s Toy Story), Kingdom of Corona (Tangled), Monstropolis, Arendelle, The Caribbean, and San Fransokyo. This is the first Kingdom Hearts game to finally include Pixar-themed worlds (Toy Story and Monster’s Inc.), but taking us back to the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed world and featuring an unexciting Kingdom of Corona were poor choices. Possibly due to the long development time, Square couldn’t update/replace worlds deep in the cycle, but recently released Moana and Coco would’ve been amazing places to visit.
Right away, this game is stunning. It’s absolutely beautiful and, coupled with the incredible music, there were moments where I forgot I was playing a game and instead watching a Disney movie. The attention to detail with each character’s quips from their respective movies translates to the game. Having those small additions, such as Baymax’s iconic fist bump, really adds that special layer of charm and magic that truly makes this a Kingdom Hearts title. While the visuals of Kingdom Hearts 3 are breathtaking, the voice acting could do with a bit more “oomph”. Certain characters, Zexion especially but also Riku at times, spoke in an extreme monotone that sounded almost robotic. Ansem and Xemnas spoke with a bone-chilling calm, never really exerting themselves with emotion. Only a few Organization members displayed any amount of feeling in what they said, and at times made the situation feel awkward or cringy.
Now, let’s get to what we’re all itching to do: destroy Heartless. The combat system in Kingdom Hearts 3 continues with its predecessors in hammering the X button until a prompt comes up to deal out massive amounts of damage. Wash, rinse, repeat. And that’s where Square and Disney dropped the ball. Making a big jump in terms of console power from the PlayStation 2 to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, there was a big opportunity here to create engaging and challenging, yet rewarding combat mechanics to evolve this franchise. Instead, they opted with button mashing, which again is simple enough, but certain elements get forgotten in the process. A recurring battle feature is the “summon” command, where Sora calls upon his Disney allies that he’s befriended throughout his journey to assist him in battle. I used this feature twice during my entire 46-hour play through, with one of those times being the tutorial. The overall combat structure is easy to understand and execute, but never really fearing that you’d fall in battle (plus even if you did, there’s an auto-revive item sold at the shop) and not having to incorporate all the combat mechanics leaves an empty feeling in that regard.
Kingdom Hearts 3 had a very steep hill to climb toward success with having to live up to incredibly high expectations as a result of being a highly-anticipated sequel, but also because of its incredibly long development cycle. People have waited 14 years for the conclusion of Sora’s journey, and that type of pressure puts a game under intense scrutiny. Luckily, the (supposedly) final installment of the Kingdom Hearts franchise delivers an overall satisfying experience for die-hard and casual fans of the series. Square and Disney missed the mark on the stale combat mechanics and average world selection, but Kingdom Hearts 3 is gorgeous and wrapped up its complex story best it can. And at the end of the day, that’s what fans really want. A satisfying, deserving end to a magical story.
Final Score: 8.5/10
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