Kingdom Hearts 3D Review
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It has been a long time coming. Months of anticipation, months of speculation have finally come to an end. The road to Kingdom Hearts 3 has come to it's conclusion. The last stop on the road to KH3 is Kingdom Hearts 3D for the Nintendo 3DS. How does the last filler for Kingdom Hearts hold up? Is it a hit or miss? Or should we stay asleep?
Story - Sora and Riku enter the Sleeping Worlds to take the Mark Of Mastery Exam to become true Keyblade masters. Sora and Riku must travel to the seven sleeping worlds and unlock the keyholes in order for the worlds to wake up. However a new foe called "Dream Eaters" which have two forms Nightmare and Spirits are there to aid or stop them from achieving this goal. That is pretty much the story in a nutshell. If I say anything else it will be spoiling the experience. However I will say that the story definitely leads to Kingdom Hearts 3. In pure Kingdom Hearts fashion the story gets complex and knowledge of the previous games will be needed. Thankfully the game provides a glossary on all the previous games to get new comers and veterans up to speed. The story is all over the place in Kingdom Hearts 3D but it will all come together in the end.
Gameplay - The gameplay is probably one of Kingdom Hearts best. It maintains it's basic mechanics with a few new additions that make the gameplay more fun. The usual hack and slash, level up mechanics are in tact. However the new addition of the Flowmotion system is really fun to use and abuse. The Flowmotion system allows Sora and Riku to get the upper hand on the enemies by using the environment around them. Bounce off of walls and do a powerful attack, use the poles to do a spin move attack, and many more. The Flowmotion system also makes traveling through levels quicker. Another great addition is the use of Dream Eaters. The friendly companions replace Disney characters as you allies, even though the Disney characters are missed, the Dream Eaters surely make up for the absentees. Each Dream Eater has their own special abilities, strengths and weakness. You can have three Dream Eaters at a time, each aiding you in some shape or form. In addition to using the Dream Eaters you will also have to take care of them. I found this to be a game in itself. As Sora or Riku you have the responsibility of feeding the Dream Eaters, training theme, giving them new abilities and making sure they morale level with you is in sync. During my gameplay I didn't take care of them too much. It's not a huge factor but it will make battles a lot less stressful if you level them up properly and take care of them. Finally for the Dream Eaters throughout the game there are recipes scattered all over the seven worlds. These recipes can be use to create more Dream Eaters each with different set of powers. It's fun trying to find all the Dream Eaters and what recipes can be combine with others to make new ones. The last addition to the game is the Drop element. The Drop is used to switch the characters at anytime during the gameplay. I wasn't a big fan of it a first because it gives you a time limit on how long you can play with Sora or Riku. However I did like that it brought a strategy element to it on when you should drop and go to the next character. A little tip drop before you do a boss battle otherwise if your time is up, expect to fight that boss all over again. That was probably my biggest complaint about the game.
The game will take about 15 to 20 hours to beat depending on the difficulty. You travel to seven different worlds some new and some old. The level designs are good and pretty linear so you don't get lost like previous installments, but it does give you room to explore. Square Enix made great use of the touchscreen making it useful in battle, but not so much that it takes away from the original Kingdom Hearts design. Overall the gameplay is solid. The game sticks to the basic but gives us something new and refreshing.
Gameplay Video -
Graphics - Kingdom Hearts 3D is the best looking RPG on the 3DS. It might even be the best looking game on the 3DS next to Resident Evil Revelations. This game you must play in full 3D in order to get the feel of the game. The games strongest graphics is TRON Legacy. This is when the graphics can even rival some of the strongest Nintendo Wii games. Detail is the name of the game on this level the joys of the Lightcycles, the close up shots on Kevin Flynn are phenomenal. It truly will blow you away.
Sound - The voice acting is solid all around from Disney favorites like Mickey, Goofy and Donald. To the returning cast of Sora and Riku and many others who I won't spoil. The performances bring heart and add more emotion to the game with the help of the composition by Yoko Shimomura. The music is awesome as always from tracks like "Dearly Beloved", "Riku Theme", "Organization XIII" and many more. Most of the tracks are from previous games with some new orchestrated feel to it. The only disappointment is that Daft's Punk's music was not featured for the TRON Legacy level.
Replay Value - With recipes to gather, a secret ending to unlock and a New Game + mode. Kingdom Hearts 3D has a lot of replay value. The game story will have you playing it at least twice to grasp the full complex plot. This game is not a one trip deal.
Final Grade A-/9.0 - Kingdom Hearts is back in full form and on full course for one epic conclusion. The set pieces are now in place for the grand finale. Kingdom Hearts 3D is an awesome experience with solid gameplay, solid music, and emotional story that will have you cheering for the heroes. This is one game you don't want to miss.
Story - Sora and Riku enter the Sleeping Worlds to take the Mark Of Mastery Exam to become true Keyblade masters. Sora and Riku must travel to the seven sleeping worlds and unlock the keyholes in order for the worlds to wake up. However a new foe called "Dream Eaters" which have two forms Nightmare and Spirits are there to aid or stop them from achieving this goal. That is pretty much the story in a nutshell. If I say anything else it will be spoiling the experience. However I will say that the story definitely leads to Kingdom Hearts 3. In pure Kingdom Hearts fashion the story gets complex and knowledge of the previous games will be needed. Thankfully the game provides a glossary on all the previous games to get new comers and veterans up to speed. The story is all over the place in Kingdom Hearts 3D but it will all come together in the end.
Gameplay - The gameplay is probably one of Kingdom Hearts best. It maintains it's basic mechanics with a few new additions that make the gameplay more fun. The usual hack and slash, level up mechanics are in tact. However the new addition of the Flowmotion system is really fun to use and abuse. The Flowmotion system allows Sora and Riku to get the upper hand on the enemies by using the environment around them. Bounce off of walls and do a powerful attack, use the poles to do a spin move attack, and many more. The Flowmotion system also makes traveling through levels quicker. Another great addition is the use of Dream Eaters. The friendly companions replace Disney characters as you allies, even though the Disney characters are missed, the Dream Eaters surely make up for the absentees. Each Dream Eater has their own special abilities, strengths and weakness. You can have three Dream Eaters at a time, each aiding you in some shape or form. In addition to using the Dream Eaters you will also have to take care of them. I found this to be a game in itself. As Sora or Riku you have the responsibility of feeding the Dream Eaters, training theme, giving them new abilities and making sure they morale level with you is in sync. During my gameplay I didn't take care of them too much. It's not a huge factor but it will make battles a lot less stressful if you level them up properly and take care of them. Finally for the Dream Eaters throughout the game there are recipes scattered all over the seven worlds. These recipes can be use to create more Dream Eaters each with different set of powers. It's fun trying to find all the Dream Eaters and what recipes can be combine with others to make new ones. The last addition to the game is the Drop element. The Drop is used to switch the characters at anytime during the gameplay. I wasn't a big fan of it a first because it gives you a time limit on how long you can play with Sora or Riku. However I did like that it brought a strategy element to it on when you should drop and go to the next character. A little tip drop before you do a boss battle otherwise if your time is up, expect to fight that boss all over again. That was probably my biggest complaint about the game.
The game will take about 15 to 20 hours to beat depending on the difficulty. You travel to seven different worlds some new and some old. The level designs are good and pretty linear so you don't get lost like previous installments, but it does give you room to explore. Square Enix made great use of the touchscreen making it useful in battle, but not so much that it takes away from the original Kingdom Hearts design. Overall the gameplay is solid. The game sticks to the basic but gives us something new and refreshing.
Gameplay Video -
Graphics - Kingdom Hearts 3D is the best looking RPG on the 3DS. It might even be the best looking game on the 3DS next to Resident Evil Revelations. This game you must play in full 3D in order to get the feel of the game. The games strongest graphics is TRON Legacy. This is when the graphics can even rival some of the strongest Nintendo Wii games. Detail is the name of the game on this level the joys of the Lightcycles, the close up shots on Kevin Flynn are phenomenal. It truly will blow you away.
Sound - The voice acting is solid all around from Disney favorites like Mickey, Goofy and Donald. To the returning cast of Sora and Riku and many others who I won't spoil. The performances bring heart and add more emotion to the game with the help of the composition by Yoko Shimomura. The music is awesome as always from tracks like "Dearly Beloved", "Riku Theme", "Organization XIII" and many more. Most of the tracks are from previous games with some new orchestrated feel to it. The only disappointment is that Daft's Punk's music was not featured for the TRON Legacy level.
Replay Value - With recipes to gather, a secret ending to unlock and a New Game + mode. Kingdom Hearts 3D has a lot of replay value. The game story will have you playing it at least twice to grasp the full complex plot. This game is not a one trip deal.
Final Grade A-/9.0 - Kingdom Hearts is back in full form and on full course for one epic conclusion. The set pieces are now in place for the grand finale. Kingdom Hearts 3D is an awesome experience with solid gameplay, solid music, and emotional story that will have you cheering for the heroes. This is one game you don't want to miss.
