E3ODUS [E3 2018 Preview]: Kingdom Hearts III.

Artez “The Aztec” Bailey
IG @aztecstudiosla

KINGDOM HEARTS III (Square Enix – PS4, Xbox One – January 29, 2019)Kingdom Hearts is a series that has been around since 2002. As one of the pioneers of the action-RPG genre, it combines two of the biggest franchises ever created in Disney and Final Fantasy, following the adventuers of Sora (who can now run direct up cliff walls), Donald and Goofy. After almost 2 decades, 8 games and 2 remakes for PS3 and PS4 (sorry Xbox fans!), we are finally getting Kingdom Hearts 3..in 2019. For those that want to get caught up on the story, here’s the KH backlog in order: KH Final Mix 1.5, Re: KH Chain Of Memories, KH 358/2 Days, KH Final Mix 2.5, KH Birth By Sleep (prequel), KH Re:Coded, KH Dream Drop Distance and KH 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.

Got all that? KH3 will feature new worlds from Disney franchises like Toy Story, Monters Inc., Wreck-It-Ralph, Tangled and Big Hero 6, just to name a few; as I’m sure even more Disnified Universes — and the in-game contraptions that follow — will be revealed at 10am PT/1pm EST on Monday, June 11th. Since KH3 was announced back at E3 2013 (yes, I know…) faithful nerds have seen screenshots, teasers and gameplay trailers from Disney’s D23 (Japan) that have only built up hype for fans young and old of the franchise.

This time the graphical detail is simply magical, erasing much of the title’s choppiness in the past, and the worlds (such as Galaxy Toys) will give you various routes, be it the traditional narrative, or off the beaten path to pick up weapons and expand beyond the usual enemies and details you would see.

Sora’s new keyblade transformations seem and sound like a (literal) blast, expanding on the franchise’s already fun combat and finishing moves. Instead of friendly summons, there will be link attacks — like a super team-up with ya boy Wreck-It-Ralph, etc. Aerial combat looks great, and theme park Attraction attacks perform even crazier (think of a battle technique using Big Thunder Mountain or any nutty ride from Disneyland).

-Artez Bailey