While Kingdom Hearts III is in no way a bad game I do feel like the game could have been better. Despite the impressive graphics and fun combat the story falls flat compared to its predecessors. I just feel like this game was made primarily for the players who stuck around since Kingdom Hearts II because whoever is new to the series will have a hard time following its complex plot. However, the game did include a surprisingly vast open areas to explore, items to collect, and descent amount of post-game content and DLC( REMIND). If anyone is thinking of getting into the series I recommend playing HD 1.5+2.5 Remix and then 2.8 Remix before playing Kingdom Hearts III.
25 Reviews
So far so good
codyjamesmiller10 February 2019
Just got started playin but love the new features... a lot of scenes so far and not as much gameplay as I thought there would be but that's part of the reason I personally like it. Overall good so far would recommend to anybody who played the original kingdom hearts
Fun game that is worth playing
leftguard10 February 2019
I've been a die hard kingdom hearts more than half my life and Kingdom Hearts 3 is the game is most fun gameplay wise. Story isn't the best in the series but that doesn't ruin the game or experience. By no means is it a bad story. It just doesn't quite beat the flow of the story of 1 or 2 (keeping my comparisons for the numbered titles) There are some flaws but nothing is completely perfect. The possibility of DLC can even fix some of those. All in all to rank the numbered titles I have KH2 at number one, KH3 at number two, and KH1 at three. All the games are great and Kingdom Hearts 3 is another great title in the series!
Game Of The Year!
applemacco111 February 2019
Ok... wow... this game has finally arrived after 10+ years if waiting after the release of KH2, and my god it was definitely WORTH the wait! This game is so amazing that it's hard to express how good it is in few words, KH2 has always been my favourite game of all time but after I beat this one that changed and this game has become the best game I have ever played in my entire life! It concludes everything that we've had answers to and makes the game so much better in every way, the game is filled with huge amounts of content that will take you ages to finish which is exactly what we needed for this game, The story without any spoilers is SO good and is easily the best story we've got so far for Kingdom Hearts. If you haven't played this game you haven't lived!
May your heart be your guiding key!
May your heart be your guiding key!
A fitting end to an emotional Journey!
eaton_214 August 2019
Even though we know this won't be the last Kingdom Hearts game. It was a brilliant end to the Dark Seeker Sega. The story runs smoothly for the most part. I thought the Disney worlds were abit lacking in story and were kind of rushed but the environments and settings were beautiful and made the worlds worth visiting. I completed the game at around 50 hours and I thought that was a good time as I completed most of the side quests and collectables but there is still so much to do once you have completed the game. I am looking forward to new content and it is definitely a worthy addition to the Kingdom Hearts collection. Thank you for finally giving us what we have been waiting so long for... Kingdom Hearts III. It was worth it.
Beautiful.
nirvana0wns31 January 2019
I mean wow 😮 This game is so much fun and was worth the wait! They couldn't have made a better game and is my favorite of all the games now. Sora is also looking fantastic all grown up! I recommend a 4K tv with PS4 pro. The graphics are flawless!
Spoiler free review - Why this game is amazing
inmentoriku1 February 2019
Alright so. I'm going to be giving my totally spoiler free review of this amazing heavily anticipated game.
Alright so I'm going to break this down for ya into 3 or 4 aspects, which turned into more so my apologies.
Here I go.
---
Gameplay: Gameplay is good. I don't see any floaty combat that was a worry because of 0.2, however I do have a few issues. I was experiencing framedrops and even input lag here and there. The worst thing though was the dropped frames. Didn't experience too badly until the second ring of worlds, I didn't notice in the third ring but I also wasn't paying too much attention, or if I did I was so used to it I didn't recognize it. The ability of special moves, transformation, reaction commands and ally special moves are plentiful and smart and you'll love them, just be smart and they'll be super effective. Hint: During a fight with a boss in a specific second ring world, use a summon that would be a weakness obviously.
Story: So far it's good. Leaves a bit to be desired and has some questions that we thought would be answered just more confusing and unanswered. Some of the voice acting isn't as good as previous titles in my opinion. However the story as a whole so far is pretty good. I'll comment below once I've seen the ending and gotten the secret one, just as an update to this again without spoilers.
Controls: Fluid, responsive mostly even with the input lag, reminds me of a mix of KH2 combined with BBS and DDD (although I couldn't use any of the skills from DDD effectively)
Other comments: I did feel as if the game was floaty though, just not the combat. The way some of your natural movements go that make you able to not have to jump over everything, like how in Minecraft you don't have to jump up every single block now, feels off and in some of the sparkly just move the joycon to continue, you can actually fall off. I'm sure that didn't happen in Two but if it did I didn't ever have it happen.
Keyblades, armor, and stuff: Use them, experiment and buy what you can. Have fun.
Bosses: I started with proud mode obviously but the bosses are so much fun. Dying on them never felt like any of the issues I listed were to blame, except in one fight. It always felt like I was missing something or needed a new strategy and it's amazing.
Worlds: Huge, majestic, unsure if there's second visits (I hope so because I don't wanna backtrack unless the world needs a second visit) and I'm actually sad there isn't just a musical world. Yes I liked Atlantic in KH2, bite me. Also they're gorgeous at max brightness too.
Cons: Lag, input problems, framerate drops, stuttering and even some weird choices.
Pros: Everything else listed, combat.
Tips: Don't worry about world level. By the time you're done murdering all those precious enemies and tackling the many bosses in a world, you'll be above the recommended level.
Gummie ship flying and missions are better than ever in my opinion. It's what I've always wanted it to be. There's a few problems I have, and some of the mechanics seem to not have been thought out properly, but all in all a solid 9/10 from me.
Stable graphics only made a difference in one world in the second ring, and only during the minigame.
Critical mode is in the game, don't freak out everyone who wants to play it but can't, you just have to beat proud or normal mode first.
They somehow even made Moogles better as well as finding materials.
My only other complaint/concern is that everyone somehow looks less pretty than they did in their original and remastered forms from the remixes. It's weird, I don't know. All I can say is that a lot of people remind me more of clay than updated graphics. Might just be me though.
Currently on the final world, haven't had enough time to beat it yet.
Is it accessible to newcomers? Yes, in every way. It's got a story so far option that's full of shortened cutscenes and narration that explains the entire Kingdom Hearts Story before III just in case anyone hasn't played the previous games or needs a good summary of what happened since the timeline can be confusing.
All in all I love this game and I think everyone should pick up a copy.
Alright so I'm going to break this down for ya into 3 or 4 aspects, which turned into more so my apologies.
Here I go.
---
Gameplay: Gameplay is good. I don't see any floaty combat that was a worry because of 0.2, however I do have a few issues. I was experiencing framedrops and even input lag here and there. The worst thing though was the dropped frames. Didn't experience too badly until the second ring of worlds, I didn't notice in the third ring but I also wasn't paying too much attention, or if I did I was so used to it I didn't recognize it. The ability of special moves, transformation, reaction commands and ally special moves are plentiful and smart and you'll love them, just be smart and they'll be super effective. Hint: During a fight with a boss in a specific second ring world, use a summon that would be a weakness obviously.
Story: So far it's good. Leaves a bit to be desired and has some questions that we thought would be answered just more confusing and unanswered. Some of the voice acting isn't as good as previous titles in my opinion. However the story as a whole so far is pretty good. I'll comment below once I've seen the ending and gotten the secret one, just as an update to this again without spoilers.
Controls: Fluid, responsive mostly even with the input lag, reminds me of a mix of KH2 combined with BBS and DDD (although I couldn't use any of the skills from DDD effectively)
Other comments: I did feel as if the game was floaty though, just not the combat. The way some of your natural movements go that make you able to not have to jump over everything, like how in Minecraft you don't have to jump up every single block now, feels off and in some of the sparkly just move the joycon to continue, you can actually fall off. I'm sure that didn't happen in Two but if it did I didn't ever have it happen.
Keyblades, armor, and stuff: Use them, experiment and buy what you can. Have fun.
Bosses: I started with proud mode obviously but the bosses are so much fun. Dying on them never felt like any of the issues I listed were to blame, except in one fight. It always felt like I was missing something or needed a new strategy and it's amazing.
Worlds: Huge, majestic, unsure if there's second visits (I hope so because I don't wanna backtrack unless the world needs a second visit) and I'm actually sad there isn't just a musical world. Yes I liked Atlantic in KH2, bite me. Also they're gorgeous at max brightness too.
Cons: Lag, input problems, framerate drops, stuttering and even some weird choices.
Pros: Everything else listed, combat.
Tips: Don't worry about world level. By the time you're done murdering all those precious enemies and tackling the many bosses in a world, you'll be above the recommended level.
Gummie ship flying and missions are better than ever in my opinion. It's what I've always wanted it to be. There's a few problems I have, and some of the mechanics seem to not have been thought out properly, but all in all a solid 9/10 from me.
Stable graphics only made a difference in one world in the second ring, and only during the minigame.
Critical mode is in the game, don't freak out everyone who wants to play it but can't, you just have to beat proud or normal mode first.
They somehow even made Moogles better as well as finding materials.
My only other complaint/concern is that everyone somehow looks less pretty than they did in their original and remastered forms from the remixes. It's weird, I don't know. All I can say is that a lot of people remind me more of clay than updated graphics. Might just be me though.
Currently on the final world, haven't had enough time to beat it yet.
Is it accessible to newcomers? Yes, in every way. It's got a story so far option that's full of shortened cutscenes and narration that explains the entire Kingdom Hearts Story before III just in case anyone hasn't played the previous games or needs a good summary of what happened since the timeline can be confusing.
All in all I love this game and I think everyone should pick up a copy.
More than worth it
briancham199413 July 2020
This video game had a lot of hype and there was a risk that it might not live up to everyone's expectations. However, Kingdom Hearts III was more than worth it. It expanded on every previous game with all the characters, mechanics and settings. It was truly an epic game and I was happy to have played it through to the end.
Totally worth the wait!
zschneider-053333 February 2019
A Lackluster finale that broke my heart
nbmartino15 February 2019
*THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE
I normally NEVER write reviews but playing this game has compelled me so much to chime in and stop others from supporting Disney, and such an awful game. As a passionate fan who has played every kingdom hearts title since 2001, this was a massive letdown in so many ways and it broke my heart to see Square Enix/Disney ruin such a beautiful franchise. This is by no means to say this game is downright terrible, as it's clear from the overall presentation a lot of time and money went into the development (three years on an older engine, then completely scrapped an re-animated by Disney's request in favor of Unreal Engine 4), but there are so many glaring issues with the gameplay, story, and music that it makes it very difficult for me to recommend KH3 to anyone, even someone who loves the series rabidly. Part of the problem is that the series started to go downhill with the release of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (after KH2/385/2 Days), and ultimately Birth By Sleep and the other three installments that were released after (Re:Coded, Union X, Dream Drop Distance) play a huge part as to why KH3 is so bad....But, I digress.
Kingdom Hearts, for those of you who haven't played the games, tells the story of a young boy named Sora, who is striped away from his peaceful island after a group of mysterious enemies threaten the existence of the world. His journey consists of saving characters from various Disney worlds which tie into the overall overarching story of the main antagonists. The beauty of the narrative was that the first game had one title in between before the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 (Re:Chain of Memories), which creatively expanded upon the lore of the previous two titles while still adding other features to gameplay to make it fresh and exciting. KH2 successfully wraps up those plot points and offers a beautiful ending to characters who have gone through so much. Since the release of KH2, however, five titles have been introduced to expand the story, and this in itself lies the hugest problem; the writers have attempted to wrap up the story of five titles into this one installment, which causes the narrative and pacing to be all over the place. Square's biggest mistake was trying to connect all 5 stories to KH1/Re:Com/KH2 after the fact and then try to wrap it all up in KH3, resulting in a convoluted mess of story that defies logic and motivations that were previously established in KH1/Re:Com/KH2. Before, there was a clear reason Sora had to journey to all the Disney worlds, but here, his journey lacks direction. No explanation has been given as to why it's necessary in KH3; additionally, his actions do not effect the outcome of the characters and worlds he visits as it did in previous installments. For this reason the finale is crammed into the last three hours of the game and it feels contrived. The new villain's motivations are also not explained, and characters who had graceful deaths which helped Sora succeed previously are brought back which cheapens the sacrifice they all had to go through...and, to add insult to injury, all at once! Additionally, Sora's love interest Kairi is handled terribly; there are small scenes that set her up to have an important role in the story only for her to have no additional scene time. The ending itself is absolutely terrible and offers the viewer no satisfaction. KH2 felt like an epic finale to which had been a long journey, KH3 on the other hand is a muddled joyride.
Animation, music and gameplay are also a mixed bag. The animation by far is the best the game has to offer; you can clearly see how vibrant, colorful, and creative the designs of the worlds are. The Disney worlds look crisp and new and the animation is so close to their Disney movie counterparts I swear I was in the theater. The original characters are also animated to blend in so seamlessly with the Disney counterparts. I had so much fun playing through the worlds which felt epic in scale compared to the previous games (despite the story being awful), That being said, not much originality went into the music or gameplay. Music tracks from previous installments were re-played constantly. "Don't Think Twice," the game's main theme, while beautiful, seems out of place in context to the game's story. The music in previous games tugged at my heartstrings but there wasn't anything of note here. Additionally, my biggest gripe after the story is that there is little to no post game content. Where was the Olympus Coliseum tournaments, summons, drive forms, secret bosses, and synthesis missions? Where were the side stories with final fantasy characters, like Leon, Cloud, Aerith, etc? (They played an important role in the story in previous titles, yet they were totally absent In KH3!)? The Hundred Acre Wood, which offered fun, relaxing gameplay in previous games, only lasted thirty minutes...why? These were all things that were pre-established in KH1/KH2 so their absence in KH3 was extremely disappointing. The gameplay itself was also too easy: with a weakened "Proud Mode" and a lack of "Critical mode" difficulty, I breezed through the game in a week. Sora's "attraction flow" battle commands also the game too repetitive.
Overall KH3 feels like an incomplete piece, too many ideas were crammed into one narrative to the point where other areas felt rushed. This can partially be blamed for Square attempting to tie it in to other installments, KH3's 13 year long development hell (started in 2006) and Disney's demand for Square to rebuild the engine from scratch, but there is absolutely no excuse for a game we all waited so long for to be this muddled. KH2 felt so epic in scale in comparison to this game which was supposed to be a grand finale to close the trilogy. Yet ultimately KH3's ending left me with more questions than answers, which is absolutely unacceptable. I read several development articles that stated Disney was not heavily involved in the creative process of Kingdom Hearts until post KH2 (because KH2 broke sales), which makes absolute sense to the way each installment has turned out thus far. I believe Disney's increased involvement is what ruined Kingdom Hearts; their films as of late show the direction the company is moving towards...a film company with no creativity, tight restrictions, and a mindless, safe product. That is what KH3 is, and it is an absolute disgrace to the fans of the original trilogy (Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hears: Chain of Memories, & Kingdom Hearts 2...385/2 days is borderline passable, but I still recommend it to get Roxas' Story. Xion's character was totally unnecessary though). Beautiful animation alone cannot save a lackluster story, sloppy gameplay, and unoriginal music. Do yourself a favor and AVOID THIS GAME AT ALL COSTS, otherwise it will break your heart.
PROS +Phenomenal Animation that mirrors its Disney movie counterparts +Great world design; worlds are long to explore +Sora's more powerful then ever; creative new battle commands +Option to upgrade weapons to be more powerful +Fun new minigames, such as Lucky Emblem hunt, Cooking w/Remy, Flan games, etc.
CONS -Terrible story that ruins previously established character motivations -Newly established plot points contradict that of previous installments -Female characters, while strong, have no screen time -Ending does not wrap up story in a meaningful way -Old music tracks are constantly reused, little original orchestration -No post game content -Lack of extra content that were present in KH1/KH2, such as Olympus coliseum tournaments, Winnie-The-Pooh, Summons, Synthesis, secret bosses, etc.
I normally NEVER write reviews but playing this game has compelled me so much to chime in and stop others from supporting Disney, and such an awful game. As a passionate fan who has played every kingdom hearts title since 2001, this was a massive letdown in so many ways and it broke my heart to see Square Enix/Disney ruin such a beautiful franchise. This is by no means to say this game is downright terrible, as it's clear from the overall presentation a lot of time and money went into the development (three years on an older engine, then completely scrapped an re-animated by Disney's request in favor of Unreal Engine 4), but there are so many glaring issues with the gameplay, story, and music that it makes it very difficult for me to recommend KH3 to anyone, even someone who loves the series rabidly. Part of the problem is that the series started to go downhill with the release of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (after KH2/385/2 Days), and ultimately Birth By Sleep and the other three installments that were released after (Re:Coded, Union X, Dream Drop Distance) play a huge part as to why KH3 is so bad....But, I digress.
Kingdom Hearts, for those of you who haven't played the games, tells the story of a young boy named Sora, who is striped away from his peaceful island after a group of mysterious enemies threaten the existence of the world. His journey consists of saving characters from various Disney worlds which tie into the overall overarching story of the main antagonists. The beauty of the narrative was that the first game had one title in between before the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 (Re:Chain of Memories), which creatively expanded upon the lore of the previous two titles while still adding other features to gameplay to make it fresh and exciting. KH2 successfully wraps up those plot points and offers a beautiful ending to characters who have gone through so much. Since the release of KH2, however, five titles have been introduced to expand the story, and this in itself lies the hugest problem; the writers have attempted to wrap up the story of five titles into this one installment, which causes the narrative and pacing to be all over the place. Square's biggest mistake was trying to connect all 5 stories to KH1/Re:Com/KH2 after the fact and then try to wrap it all up in KH3, resulting in a convoluted mess of story that defies logic and motivations that were previously established in KH1/Re:Com/KH2. Before, there was a clear reason Sora had to journey to all the Disney worlds, but here, his journey lacks direction. No explanation has been given as to why it's necessary in KH3; additionally, his actions do not effect the outcome of the characters and worlds he visits as it did in previous installments. For this reason the finale is crammed into the last three hours of the game and it feels contrived. The new villain's motivations are also not explained, and characters who had graceful deaths which helped Sora succeed previously are brought back which cheapens the sacrifice they all had to go through...and, to add insult to injury, all at once! Additionally, Sora's love interest Kairi is handled terribly; there are small scenes that set her up to have an important role in the story only for her to have no additional scene time. The ending itself is absolutely terrible and offers the viewer no satisfaction. KH2 felt like an epic finale to which had been a long journey, KH3 on the other hand is a muddled joyride.
Animation, music and gameplay are also a mixed bag. The animation by far is the best the game has to offer; you can clearly see how vibrant, colorful, and creative the designs of the worlds are. The Disney worlds look crisp and new and the animation is so close to their Disney movie counterparts I swear I was in the theater. The original characters are also animated to blend in so seamlessly with the Disney counterparts. I had so much fun playing through the worlds which felt epic in scale compared to the previous games (despite the story being awful), That being said, not much originality went into the music or gameplay. Music tracks from previous installments were re-played constantly. "Don't Think Twice," the game's main theme, while beautiful, seems out of place in context to the game's story. The music in previous games tugged at my heartstrings but there wasn't anything of note here. Additionally, my biggest gripe after the story is that there is little to no post game content. Where was the Olympus Coliseum tournaments, summons, drive forms, secret bosses, and synthesis missions? Where were the side stories with final fantasy characters, like Leon, Cloud, Aerith, etc? (They played an important role in the story in previous titles, yet they were totally absent In KH3!)? The Hundred Acre Wood, which offered fun, relaxing gameplay in previous games, only lasted thirty minutes...why? These were all things that were pre-established in KH1/KH2 so their absence in KH3 was extremely disappointing. The gameplay itself was also too easy: with a weakened "Proud Mode" and a lack of "Critical mode" difficulty, I breezed through the game in a week. Sora's "attraction flow" battle commands also the game too repetitive.
Overall KH3 feels like an incomplete piece, too many ideas were crammed into one narrative to the point where other areas felt rushed. This can partially be blamed for Square attempting to tie it in to other installments, KH3's 13 year long development hell (started in 2006) and Disney's demand for Square to rebuild the engine from scratch, but there is absolutely no excuse for a game we all waited so long for to be this muddled. KH2 felt so epic in scale in comparison to this game which was supposed to be a grand finale to close the trilogy. Yet ultimately KH3's ending left me with more questions than answers, which is absolutely unacceptable. I read several development articles that stated Disney was not heavily involved in the creative process of Kingdom Hearts until post KH2 (because KH2 broke sales), which makes absolute sense to the way each installment has turned out thus far. I believe Disney's increased involvement is what ruined Kingdom Hearts; their films as of late show the direction the company is moving towards...a film company with no creativity, tight restrictions, and a mindless, safe product. That is what KH3 is, and it is an absolute disgrace to the fans of the original trilogy (Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hears: Chain of Memories, & Kingdom Hearts 2...385/2 days is borderline passable, but I still recommend it to get Roxas' Story. Xion's character was totally unnecessary though). Beautiful animation alone cannot save a lackluster story, sloppy gameplay, and unoriginal music. Do yourself a favor and AVOID THIS GAME AT ALL COSTS, otherwise it will break your heart.
PROS +Phenomenal Animation that mirrors its Disney movie counterparts +Great world design; worlds are long to explore +Sora's more powerful then ever; creative new battle commands +Option to upgrade weapons to be more powerful +Fun new minigames, such as Lucky Emblem hunt, Cooking w/Remy, Flan games, etc.
CONS -Terrible story that ruins previously established character motivations -Newly established plot points contradict that of previous installments -Female characters, while strong, have no screen time -Ending does not wrap up story in a meaningful way -Old music tracks are constantly reused, little original orchestration -No post game content -Lack of extra content that were present in KH1/KH2, such as Olympus coliseum tournaments, Winnie-The-Pooh, Summons, Synthesis, secret bosses, etc.
Awesome
adamphillips-493562 February 2019
If you like watching a movie, here you go.
sugarfreesweetie03674 February 2019
I have been playing these games since the first one came out. Loved them and was so excited for this one. Sadly, it is at least 80% cut scenes. My controller actually shut off twice because it wasn't being used. Also, worlds aren't too exciting and I'm playing through it really fast because it doesn't feel very challenging.
It could've been better
nolablusouth13 August 2020
I love the quality and loved that you can play as other players besides Sora and also have more than three fighters by your side but the story line was kind of off to me. They've should've added more worlds and gave us more details of Maleficent and Pete storyline. It would've been interesting to battle them again including Hades as well. I've waited more than decade for this game to come out and felt cheated because the trilogy wasn't as entertaining as kh2 and kh1.
Masterpiece
jdchavarriaga5 December 2019
It was good!
skyscatr3 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I liked the game, But it seem pretty easy, I don't know is it just me or KH 2 was much more challenging?
Don't get me wrong I actually enjoyed the game, but I was expecting more from it.
The graphics was pretty good, the worlds were bigger, some of the trophies are insanely difficult to achieve.
I have a feeling that the story would be much more greater if there was some more worlds from the previous games like The lion king, Atlantica, Halloween town, Aladdin .
I was expecting every world that we saw so far to be included to be complitly honest.Also Destiny Islands NOT playable? WTF Square Enix ?? Scala ad Caelum also, you were building the to this point and Na-Da. You better made some new worlds as a DLC or a New Game plus with more worlds. My 10 year old self had really big hopes, and we waited soo long for this game to get less worlds than any other KH game, I was playing on Proud mode and I was with the impression I was on Standard mode.
So summary: I like the graphics, loved the soundtrack, I did NOT like the worlds and that insane Mickie's head hunt.
I know this is not a review, more like a complaint, but please understand that this game was my everything and I hate to admit it, but it was disappointing.
Hope your next game is worth it, but I will watch walkthroughs before buying it.
I have a feeling that the story would be much more greater if there was some more worlds from the previous games like The lion king, Atlantica, Halloween town, Aladdin .
I was expecting every world that we saw so far to be included to be complitly honest.Also Destiny Islands NOT playable? WTF Square Enix ?? Scala ad Caelum also, you were building the to this point and Na-Da. You better made some new worlds as a DLC or a New Game plus with more worlds. My 10 year old self had really big hopes, and we waited soo long for this game to get less worlds than any other KH game, I was playing on Proud mode and I was with the impression I was on Standard mode.
So summary: I like the graphics, loved the soundtrack, I did NOT like the worlds and that insane Mickie's head hunt.
I know this is not a review, more like a complaint, but please understand that this game was my everything and I hate to admit it, but it was disappointing.
Hope your next game is worth it, but I will watch walkthroughs before buying it.
Absolute perfection is the name of the game
jace-rynearson22 February 2020
I'll admit I was a little more pessimistic for this game than I was for the others, because oftentimes games with such a long development cycle have an unfortunate habit of being disappointing. But eventually, being a die-hard Kingdom Hearts fan, I eventually caved in after about 6 months and got it. And I've got to say, the only thing I regret about this game is waiting so long to get it.
It had everything I loved about Kingdom Hearts, the story was amazing, most of the worlds were better than ever, the gameplay was fun as ever, and I think it's probably the most emotionally intense Kingdom Hearts game yet. Not to mention, the voice acting is as great as ever, it's amazing that Haley Joel Osment returned to reprise his role after all these years, and you can still hear the heart (no pun intended) that he puts in his performance.
This game did have a few shortcomings though, namely the scaled down version of Twilight Town and Hundred Acre Wood, in addition to there not being and second episodes to the worlds like in KH2. Honestly though, with the latter, the worlds had pretty long single episodes anyway, and with the former, there was still plenty to do and the worlds, both new and old, were much more lively. A lot of fans criticized the lack of Final Fantasy characters (except the moogles), but I didn't mind all that much.
Honestly, any shortcomings it has by comparison to the previous ones are easily forgiveable to me because the rest of the game is so amazing. I'm already waiting for the next sequel because of the sort of cliffhanger in this games ending. Even though I think the series could've ended by KH2, at the same time, I'm glad it didn't, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten this magnificent addition to the series. It might not exactly reach the level of amazingness of the first two, but it does get pretty darn close. I don't regret the time I spent with this game.
It had everything I loved about Kingdom Hearts, the story was amazing, most of the worlds were better than ever, the gameplay was fun as ever, and I think it's probably the most emotionally intense Kingdom Hearts game yet. Not to mention, the voice acting is as great as ever, it's amazing that Haley Joel Osment returned to reprise his role after all these years, and you can still hear the heart (no pun intended) that he puts in his performance.
This game did have a few shortcomings though, namely the scaled down version of Twilight Town and Hundred Acre Wood, in addition to there not being and second episodes to the worlds like in KH2. Honestly though, with the latter, the worlds had pretty long single episodes anyway, and with the former, there was still plenty to do and the worlds, both new and old, were much more lively. A lot of fans criticized the lack of Final Fantasy characters (except the moogles), but I didn't mind all that much.
Honestly, any shortcomings it has by comparison to the previous ones are easily forgiveable to me because the rest of the game is so amazing. I'm already waiting for the next sequel because of the sort of cliffhanger in this games ending. Even though I think the series could've ended by KH2, at the same time, I'm glad it didn't, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten this magnificent addition to the series. It might not exactly reach the level of amazingness of the first two, but it does get pretty darn close. I don't regret the time I spent with this game.
It's very cool
thiagocastrobr21 June 2019
Good
emmettnijmeh3 March 2019
Good but after 13 years expected more.
adamlennard18 August 2020
It had been around 13 years since a new home console kingdom hearts game and I was exited. I brought the collections to replay older games and catch up what I'd missed as I was so exited but after playing the game I honestly feel a bit disappointed. To start with the positives the game looks beautiful, the combat is easy enough to pick up at first and doesn't feel overwhelming while still offering a lot. The new worlds are all good additions if not slightly repetitive in places. Additions look recipes and the gummy phone all add to the experience. The negatives are the story is just so complicated and I've played through the games and watched countless YouTube videos but still get lost. The game does feel a bit short and does feel light on the worlds front announcing all the new ones before the release was silly in my opinion I was hoping for at least one surprise. The final battle doesn't feel quite as epic as 1 and 2 either which also added to the flat feeling I felt.I will be fair the time between games led to a level of hype I don't think it could ever live up to. It's really a good game just not as good as 1 and 2 which to me are both 10/10 games.
Wow, 13 years for this
claimticket25 February 2019
Visually? This game is gorgeous.
Mechanics? Excellent.
Story? SHIIIIIT. Not just the wacko Nort stuff. All of it. Even the worlds. The story was painful. It's like they literally had 2 writers on this, and not even the best 2. It's like... They had the worst interns writing this.
It's bad. Fur coat no knickers.
Mechanics? Excellent.
Story? SHIIIIIT. Not just the wacko Nort stuff. All of it. Even the worlds. The story was painful. It's like they literally had 2 writers on this, and not even the best 2. It's like... They had the worst interns writing this.
It's bad. Fur coat no knickers.
Fun gameplay on critical but terrible story
kupo776 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Lets face it Kingdom Hearts has never had an amazing story but every single game until 2010 has been incredibly and beautifully woven, people say they never made any sense but they totally did.. Until after 2010 when Dream Drop Distance came out, which introduced Time travel and a new phone game which carried on the mediocre storyline additions and Kingdom Hearts 3 is a sequel from THAT, not KH2.
This game is not for newcomers since the devs expect you to have played DDD and KHUX. I got my brother into playing Kingdom Hearts to my surprise and he ended up loving KH1 and KH2, got bored with BbS and jumped into KH3 and hasnt played it since it came out - Mind you i did not express frustration to him, he just said that he really disliked the bad pacing and the boring empty big corridors of worlds with nothing in it. And that is exactly how the KH worlds are post 2010: Empty large towery areas with barely anything to do but open chests etc
Now the positives are definetly some to KH3, the graphics are good although the character models are downgraded, Kairi looks like an alternate 10 year old version of the super cool lookin KH2 version which appeared older and more realistic. But ok the battle system is amazing as usual, too floaty but still fun as always. Some character were way better written and more lively than others. One of the few characters i liked were Axel,Demyx and Vexen. It was exciting every time they were on the screen, they have the best scenes in the game along with Vanitas and the Monster inc characters imo The Unversed was a nice addition to the Monsters world and was very fitting. My favorite world by far, i ended up liking Tangled also, but not much else.
Conclusion i loved playing the first 10 hours of the game, kinda like FFXV. Then i feel like they rushed the game too much and the terrible story addition starts at the end of the game, while every single character comes back, even the ones you thought were dead. And now everyone is alive and no one can die which is a bummer. I personally feel the series ended with Kingdom Hearts 2, nothing happens after that because its just overwriting money grab with hardcore Disney restrictions and alternate timelines/time travel and unneccessary conviluted story additions.
They pressed every single character in the series into one soup just like Pirates of the Caribbean 3 did (the worst one) and ironically its the one we are forced to watch in this game. If you want to play good Kingdom Hearts games they are plenty but they all happen before 2010, you will see notable difference in quality if you exclude graphical changes for the PS4.
This game is not for newcomers since the devs expect you to have played DDD and KHUX. I got my brother into playing Kingdom Hearts to my surprise and he ended up loving KH1 and KH2, got bored with BbS and jumped into KH3 and hasnt played it since it came out - Mind you i did not express frustration to him, he just said that he really disliked the bad pacing and the boring empty big corridors of worlds with nothing in it. And that is exactly how the KH worlds are post 2010: Empty large towery areas with barely anything to do but open chests etc
Now the positives are definetly some to KH3, the graphics are good although the character models are downgraded, Kairi looks like an alternate 10 year old version of the super cool lookin KH2 version which appeared older and more realistic. But ok the battle system is amazing as usual, too floaty but still fun as always. Some character were way better written and more lively than others. One of the few characters i liked were Axel,Demyx and Vexen. It was exciting every time they were on the screen, they have the best scenes in the game along with Vanitas and the Monster inc characters imo The Unversed was a nice addition to the Monsters world and was very fitting. My favorite world by far, i ended up liking Tangled also, but not much else.
Conclusion i loved playing the first 10 hours of the game, kinda like FFXV. Then i feel like they rushed the game too much and the terrible story addition starts at the end of the game, while every single character comes back, even the ones you thought were dead. And now everyone is alive and no one can die which is a bummer. I personally feel the series ended with Kingdom Hearts 2, nothing happens after that because its just overwriting money grab with hardcore Disney restrictions and alternate timelines/time travel and unneccessary conviluted story additions.
They pressed every single character in the series into one soup just like Pirates of the Caribbean 3 did (the worst one) and ironically its the one we are forced to watch in this game. If you want to play good Kingdom Hearts games they are plenty but they all happen before 2010, you will see notable difference in quality if you exclude graphical changes for the PS4.
Just OK
pwccabj19 June 2020
Whilst visually, its stunning. It fails on such a weak and childish storyline, coupled with questionable voice acting (the Capn Jack Sparrow voice is horrendous). I played to to completion, but i didn't get the same feelings of happiness and accomplishment that i got after playing the first two KH games. I doubt i'd ever pick this one up again. This game could have been soooo epic, but sadly, no.
Spoiler free
darkolazicbg7 March 2020
it is at least 80% cut scenes
Neptune1655 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I've been waiting for this game for long time when i try it i found it just as if you were watching a movie cut scenes are too much i want to play not to watch sadly the game is short at the start of the game you have to choose then choose again and again then you have to watch a lot of the cut scenes after a while you will be able to play after that the cut scenes come back again ... this is annoying
It's an interactive film
mlywithers7 August 2022
It's fun enough to play, when it actually lets you play. The amount of cutscenes is absolutely ridiculous. I tried to wait them out until I got any info I needed, then skip it. Seriously. I'd be sitting for 30 minutes of cutscenes. Just let me play! I started skipping them but now I have no idea what the plot is. Not that I really knew before since, as per KH tradition, it's pretty convoluted.
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