Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Blog Post: Kingdom Hearts 3D review: One of the best Kingdom Hearts entries to date

The Monster Hunter — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:22:00 GMT

Fans of Kingdom Hearts have been dreaming of Kingdom Hearts 3 for consoles for ages now. However instead of that, Square dropped a new Kingdom Hearts game for the 3DS. Many fans then became angry at Square for the distance they would have to go continue the story of the series once again. (Okay no more subtitle puns, I swear) Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS marks the next important plot point in the series since Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 2. Don't underestimate it for being on a handheld, this is one of the most enjoyable game in the series to date.

The story picks up right after Kingdom Hearts 2 and Re:Coded. Sora and Riku are summoned by Master Yen Sid to take the Mark of Mastery exam to become Keyblade masters in order to prepare for the inevitable showdown between Xehanort. To do that, the two must dive into seven Sleeping worlds (worlds that have not fully recovered from the darkness that covered them in Kingdom Hearts 1) and unlock the Sleeping Keyholes to awaken them from their sleep.

If you didn't understand anything that was stated above then don't fret. Although the series has had a past of having a complicated storyline (it still does) and being hard for newcomers to come in, This newest installment introduces a new system called Mementos which gives you a plot summary of all the Kingdom Hearts games up to 3D. Although its no replacement for playing these games and experience them by hand, it does a great job of letting the player learn/refresh their Kingdom Hearts history.

Another accessible feature of the game is the controls and gameplay. Several tutorials show up in the game and briefly, but effectively teach you how to play. Your standard actions; attack, examine, talk, etc., begin with A. B allows you to jump, X lets you use your commands(which I'll get into later) and Y is mainly your special skills like rolling and guarding. The camera is controlled with the L and R buttons or the Circle Pad Pro. Although the second Circle Pad would be helpful, The L and R buttons get the job done. Usually you won't need to mess with the camera though thanks to the faithful lock-on feature. The touch screen lets you change your party, displays your map and current objective.

Although the story has always been one of the important parts of Kingdom Hearts but gameplay is just as important. 3D follows previous Kingdom Hearts gameplay but adds several new features. The command system from Birth by Sleep and Re:Coded returns, allowing you to choose which magic spells, items, and moves you want to use. Your A.I. pals this time are both your friends and your enemies. Instead of having a Disney character accompany you, you'll use Dream Eaters, specifically helpful, friendly Spirits. First you have to collect materials from evil, dangerous Dream Eaters called Nightmares and then use those materials to create a Spirit. Almost every Nightmare can become a Spirit and each one has it's special abilities and powers it can do to aid you in combat.

Two other new gameplay mechanics make their way in this game: Flowmotion and Reality Shift. Flowmotion is a new skill Sora and Riku gain that allows them to use their surrounding to reach new heights, travel faster, and attack enemies in new ways. By going toward a wall and pressing Y, you can move freely between the areas by jumping from wall to wall and sliding down rails. It's not only helpful in battle but gives new platforming sections for the Kingdom Hearts games not seen before. The next new feature is the Reality Shift, which is basically little minigames you do on the touch screen to interact with the world or hurt Nightmares. The minigames are simple and never take more than a few seconds, allowing you to pull one off, let it fly, and then getting back in the action. Each world has a different Reality Shift and they're all simple and fun to pull off.

The last, but unfortunately worst new gameplay feature is the Drop system. The drop system is a gauge next to your health bar which displays how much time you have left until you "drop" or switch characters. You constantly switch between Sora and Riku regardless of the situation. Often times you'll drop during combat and will have to restart that battle over again when you switch back (this also goes for boss battles) Square's idea to make the two character's stories seem together only creates a mess. Although you can use items to give yourself more time, that takes up a command slot that you could use for something else. The drop system interferes with battle, exploring, and even story, forcing you to drop if you reach a certain point in the story.

On the bright side, the soundtrack and voice acting for the game is top notch. The composers for this game did a good job making new songs and remixing new songs. All the games cutscenes is fully voiced as well. Returning Kingdom Hearts and Disney casts never fail and even the The World Ends With You cast does a good job.

The graphics for Kingdom Hearts 3D is well done, matching, or possibly even better than Kingdom Hearts games seen on the PSP and PS2. The worlds are colorful and the character models are well done. Even Jeff Bridges's beard is beautifully done. It's easily one of the prettier games on the 3DS, especially with the enhanced 3D depth.

Conclusion: Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is one great game. The story is intersting and accessible to newcomers and the gameplay is one of the best in the series. Top it off with a great soundtrack and graphics and you have one amazing game on your hands. If you can cope with the drop system its a game that any 3DS owner will enjoy.

Pros & Cons list

Pros

+1.5 Interesting and accessible story
+1.5 Gameplay is exciting and has variety
+1.5 Soundtrack & voice acting
+0.5 Great graphics

Cons

-1 Drop system

Blog Post: KH:3D Required Playing for Fans and New Comers Alike

Nathan Powers — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:08:00 GMT

I played the original Kingdom Hearts when it was first released. I believe I was a junior in high school, and I followed the game from the first announcement, eagerly anticipating the release. As many remember, once it was released it was mind blowing. Nobody could have predicted it being as great as it was. The years went by and several more games were released, with only one big release, KH2, with other ones appearing on various hand held consoles. I played some, I skipped some. In the grand scheme of the story, I believe a couple, like Birth by Sleep and re:Coded are skippable. However, Dream Drop Distance is NOT. Square is clearly leading up to what we have been wanting for years, KH3. Whether you've played all the games or not, especially if not, 3D is a required play though for fans of the series looking for the next big installment.

The only hand held installment I finished was Chain of Memories. Clearly I have missed out on somethings, which leads me to my first point about 3D: this game tells you just about everything you need to know about the story. Square has done a remarkable job of tying all of the different stories and characters together, finally allowing us to understand everything that is going on in a simple manner. Sure, some of this is done in very detailed chronicles, in game summaries of previous games, which is perfect for me. You will quickly unlock all of these, and I enjoyed absorbing every bit of it. There is also a glossary section, covering characters, places, and objects such as the keyblade, X-blade, and the Keyblade War.

The graphics are some of the best I have seen on the 3DS, easily besting what we saw back on the PS2. I played the entire game, except for one of the final bosses due to eye strain from fighting him repeatedly for an hour, with the 3D all the way up, and it was fantastic. Of course it never adds anything to the game, and it occasionally distracts due to seeing double no matter your position, I wouldn't play it any other way.

While you will be tromping through worlds we have all seen before, such as Tron (which looks phenomenal), and Traverse Town, there are plenty new worlds to explore, such as a bit from Fantasia where you enter the world of the music, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Three Musketeers. As always, each world follows its own story arc, tying into the main story along the way. While I enjoyed some more than others (always hated Pinocchio’s world), they were all fun to fight through.

Due to the new Drop mechanic, you will be visiting each world twice, once as Sora and once as Riku. Sometimes you'll be tramping through the same area's as both, however some worlds are completely different for each character, telling a different part of the story of the world, and the story as a whole. I generally enjoyed this new gameplay toy. There is a timer, that when reaches zero, causes you to "Drop" and switch control to the other character. The only time I found this bothersome was if it occurred during boss fights, causing you to start the fight over.

The new flowmotion combat mechanic works wonderfully, giving you a wider range of attacks at any moment. Basically you slide or dash into something like walls, poles, or even bigger enemies, which triggers a flowmotion attack, causing big damage, often to a group of enemies. Using skills follows the typical KH guidelines - a deck of skills that you can pull off, each with their own cooldown timer. This would be my largest complaint with combat, as when you get 8 skills loaded up at once, it can be troublesome during a chaotic boss to cycle through them with the D-pad looking for Curaga, while also avoiding the enemy attacks.

I played through on normal difficulty and generally my gamer skills weren't really tested throughout until the very end, where you will fight several bosses in typical JRPG fashion it seems. One in particular, mentioned above, drove me insane, and though I've heard of people overleveling to defeat this guy, I persisted with what I had and tried some different load outs of skills, eventually besting him and shouting for joy, only to have my wife look at me like a complete idiot. Totally worth it.

I went in expecting a good game to tie together the story, hopefully allowing me to make sense of this giant web Square created. What I came out with was a game that was more than I expected. After about 23 hours, and that’s not doing much extra stuff, and even with the few qualms mentioned,I came away fully satisfied, drooling in anticipation for KH3.

Well done Square, keep up the good work.

I give this game 8.5 Keyblades out of 10

Wiki: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Guides

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:32:00 GMT

Guides for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Blog Post: KH3 Intro: The Game

Anthony Oury — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 23:27:00 GMT

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Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Review By: Anthony Oury

-Game Specification Notes-

· For 3DS users and Kingdom Hearts fans

· Recommended age level (contains some obnoxiously childish themes and ideas at times): 8-32 years old

· Estimated Length: 30 hours with little replay incentive except for secret endings and bosses

· Range of Difficulty: Gives many options and my playthrough on medium mode was brutal in certain fights.

· Gimmick: Involuntarily switch between Sora and Riku every 10-20 minutes so that world plotlines can be “enjoyed” at the same pace.

Intro and Story 8.5/10

This section contains ludicrous amounts of Kingdom Hearts (KH) knowledge, you have been warned. This game simply put includes all of the story elements that Nomura is planning to put into Kingdom Hearts III. Many people won’t pay any attention to the several side games in the Kingdom Hearts series and only want to focus on the “main games”. The main point to get across is that this game makes EVERY game in the series important. It is shown clearly throughout the game’s plot that Kingdom Hearts III will reference other games in the series, but most importantly this game. This game is a starting point for the coming Kingdom Hearts III game, if you didn’t know, and it tells of Sora’s and Riku’s mission to go through 7 worlds to unlock some mysterious power for their future fight against the major antagonists known as Ansem/Xemnas/Xehanort/Terranort, and how every game in the series has had its part to play in a grand epic goal. Throughout the game you switch, or what they call “drop”, between playing as Sora and Riku. This was done so that as you play through one world you will be able to keep up with both halves of the story since each character goes through unique areas and takes parts at different parts in the world’s plot. The drop system can be annoying sometimes, but only truly becomes an issue in lengthy boss battles. However, leveling up your character and getting drop bonuses can help anyone overcome the drop system’s main issues, but there is no doubt that the game could’ve done without it all together as seen in Birth By Sleep. If you are not interested in the story then you are wasting your time playing this series or luckily, if you want to start playing the series now, this game will summarize and explain parts of all the past games. However, this game also expects you know a decent amount about Kingdom Hearts and the game suffers from this at the very start since technically the introduction for the game is entirely told from optional flashbacks. Also, characters will pop up that seem VERY random if you haven’t played certain games in the series which further makes this game more for the people who are already fans of the series. If you are a fan of the series this is a game as relevant as KH 1, Chain of Memories, KH 2, and Birth By Sleep(main games), and it will help understand the games you might not have played. Similar to other games in the series you somewhat care what happens to the characters and this game even references how most of the other games did not truly have “happy endings”. If you have never played a KH game in your life you will be destroyed mentally if you try to understand the story, but it is a solid game to pick up for your most likely limited 3DS collection.

Gameplay 8.3/10

When it comes to gameplay it tries and succeeds in combining the best elements of past games. The main game it picks up from would be Birth By Sleep with the flowmotion and dives being reminiscent of the surges and storms, but being connected to the world more than your moves. The command deck structure is back in which you assign attacks to a small menu and scroll through it to use you special attacks during battle. There is no shortage of moves you can learn; you can acquire these skills through buying, finding treasure, and getting Link Points (LP) to power up your Dream Eater. The lengthy matches will put a strain on your ability to keep up with the action as you wait for your attacks to reload, but this is helped by creatures called Dream Eaters. They act as your partners and you power them up through an simple menu option. Your choices in Dream Eaters majorly affects how battles will be done since you get more powerful creatures as you go through the game, but they will not learn moves as fast as your first creatures did. It is hard not to mention that these creatures start being similar to pokemon real fast as you will get out of them what you “put into them” with the option of choosing what food, games, and activities you can use to power them up. There are definitely plenty of options to use in battle, but if you want to have an easier time in the game it is recommended that you grind to higher levels and collect treasures in worlds that you like. The fights overall feel similar to Birth By Sleep and there is no shortage of boss fights as the storyline amps up to the more serious tones toward the end of the game which is common in KH games. I would consider Birth By Sleep to be the better gameplay game, but if you are at all a fan of playing Riku YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. Riku’s bosses tend to be a bit fast paced and straight forward with Riku facing opponents calmly and decisively, whereas Sora can seem to be overwhelmed by his opponents in odd scenarios and focuses more on the story within the world. It would be understandable however if someone found the two’s fighting and storylines to be nearly identical, depending on how and at what pace one plays the game. Some reviewers have complained about the console controls and game aiming, but to me it’s part of the difficulty and learn curve. The gameplay’s “repetitiveness” to me is as good as you make it, and helps when you like the game’s story or characters.

Graphics 9.2/10

The graphics seem to be among the best on the 3DS although the quality drops a little when watching in 3D. I would say the graphics are basically the same as in Birth By Sleep, and in no way noticeably better, not that it is a bad thing. The worlds are replicated into the game perfectly and the stories follow each movie very accurately (albeit shortened of course, no musical numbers).

Music 9/10

The music is classic KH themes and fighting songs with a small tweak in some areas, but there is a noticeable lack of originality in that there are maybe 2 happy songs, 2 battle songs with variations, and 1 classic unchanged theme. There are better songs toward the end of the game worlds, including some of the darker, mysterious themes from Birth By Sleep and KH2. The big issue to address would be that you WILL get annoyed from the Dream Eater song that plays when going into the Dream Eater portion of the menu.

Final Thoughts

It would be a good idea to find a cheaper price if you could, but that goes without saying when buying any game. The game isn’t as emotional/depressing as Birth By Sleep or Chain of Memories, but some might find this a good or bad thing. I mainly liked this game since it had such a focus on Riku instead of Sora, who I like, but we have played as him for 4 games already, and Riku always seemed to be more badass in past games. As said before, this is for KH fans exclusively, but due to the limited 3DS library I would say it is a must buy due to its high quality and enjoyable settings.

Blog Post: Kingdom Hearts: Pikachu, I choose you!

Princess_Anastasia — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 02:34:00 GMT

I've been playing Kingdom Hearts since KH II. Don't ask me about KH I: that's a whole other story with bitter memories. Anyway, I've been eagerly awaiting KH 3D for a while, but hit a KH funk while I played other games. I didn't even play the game when I first got it; it sat on my shelf for a bit till I felt like playing it.

My very first blog post on this site was about the Dream Eaters and my laments about the Pokemon cross-over.

So far, the storyline is fantastic. We jump right into the story, and the catch-up is told as flashbacks. It's quite refreshing.

The use of the command deck from Birth By Sleep was a great move; so far, that's been the best battle system yet. However, the addition of Pokemon to aid Sora and Riku instead of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy really threw me off. I hated having to learn (and re-learn) everything I knew on how to play the game. The only thing worse is Re: Chain of Memories and its horrendous card-based battle system.

I haven't made much use of the Pokemon. I refuse to. But I'm moving along quite nicely so I think I'll stick to that plan unless something happens to make me change my mind.

Looking forward to all the spoilers and set-ups for KH III. Now that will hopefully be a game worth looking into!

Blog Post: An Interesting Entry and a Strange Welcome for Newcomers

Trecil — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:49:00 GMT

Recently, I played and beat Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance on the Nintendo 3DS and after a few days away from the game I think I have formed a good idea of how to describe it to interested buyers. I will begin with the story.

Story: The story begins right as Kingdom Hearts' main protagonists, Sora and Riku, begin a test placed upon them by the Disney character Yen Sid (the Sorcerer from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in the Disney movie Fantasia) dubbed the "Mark of Mastery." For those of you who are new to the series, Sora and Riku are what the series calls Keyblade Wielders which means what it literally sounds like, people who wield swords that are designed to act as not only weapons but also keys. This "Mark of Mastery" is a test Keyblade Wielders must go through before they can be titled Keyblade Masters. As GI put it in an article for a former Kingdom Hearts game, it's basically like when Jedi Apprentices become Jedi Masters. Yen Sid gives Sora and Riku this challenge because while they both have accomplished great things in the series so far, neither of them have had any "real" training in his opinion and pretty much states that if they both travel to seven Disney worlds, only then will he declare them Keyblade Masters. Once they achieve this rank, Yen Sid believes they will then be ready to take on the series' constant antagonist, Master Xehanort, who was a Keyblade Master that succumbed to darkness. That is all I'll share about the main story.

For those who have never played a Kingdom Hearts or maybe have only played a few of the games, the game offers a summary of all the key events in each of the previous games when something happens in KH3D that pertains to that required knowledge. This makes this entry a little more open to newcomers story wise and saves you some trouble of searching for whats happened so far on the internet if you become interested.

The story itself may be interesting to KH fans but I can see how throughout the majority of the game, it may come off as a little to typical. One thing newcomers should be aware of is that the KH series has no issues with professing its belief in the power of friendship and while this idea may charm when it involves Disney characters, it can grow stale. Thankfully the two characters you will play as have different personalities so the "my friends are my power" blows can be softened when you see how Sora and Riku handle their interactions with other characters differently. Sora is the type of character where if you're his friend, you can do no wrong even if you do something to hurt him. His smile can be contagious but his ignorance can be overwhelming. Riku is more of the straight-man where, for the most part, conversations are serious albeit a little too "woe is me" at times, for the most part in the beginning. The drop system in the game allows you to interchange between these two so once you've had a little too much of one guy, you can get a perspective with the other.

Gameplay: Combat in this game is a dream, no pun intended. Its got the basic KH real-time fighting and has brought back the command deck which allows you to use special abilities on the fly. As well as this, the new method of mobility named Flowmotion is just as fun to use in combat as it is to get around. You can zip around the battlefield and retreat when you need to but as much fun as I had with it, mishaps show their ugly head when your battling a boss in close quarters. You may accidentally activate Flowmotion when you roll into a wall causing your character to enter, admittedly a very brief, animation that may allow your enemy a free hit. However, this occurrence was very rare in my playthrough but is still something to be mindful of.

The game also features the new mechanic of Dream Eaters which are basically the "Collect 'em All" hook. You find the ingredients to make different Dream Eaters and then train them to build your own stats as well as learn new abilities. They certainly add to the replayability and also the strategy of the game, since different ones give you different abilities while equipped. With their designs and personality, they fit in well with the KH universe.

Remember the drop system I mentioned earlier? Well, while it was used well enough with the story and in concept, it hampered the gameplay for me. All to often I would find myself in a boss fight only to be forcibly placed in the shoes of the other character, later to return to the former character and have to restart the boss fight from the very beginning. The game gives items and abilities to reduce drop time but would it have been that difficult to make it so you wouldn't have to drop during a boss at all?

Visuals & Sound: This game is one of the better looking games on 3DS and the music lends itself well with the environments. The characters' voices all have their own personalities and I wouldn't describe any of the acting as mediocre or bland. That doesn't mean the characters are amazing and can't get bothersome, but just that their voices lend well to their personality

Overall I give this game an 8.00. It can certainly be a fun game at times and as a long-time KH fan I would say it delivered. However, it wasn't without its flaws with the drop system hampering my gameplay at times and like any game, it will slowly but surely lose its luster (I say that knowing it is inevitable but currently I am still having fun with the extra content after beating it). For you newcomers you may be dissuaded by the somewhat kiddie dialogue between characters at times, but if you can look past the occasional bad lines you will find a deep story about two friends looking out for one another and maybe even a warmth from the end experience. Of course, if none of that sounds appealing, the gameplay is still there and offers a fun ride for owners of the 3DS. So to conclude, is it perfect? No. Is it near perfection? Probably not. But as far as a KH fan should be concerned, this is a welcome entry and to 3DS owners who aren't really KH fans but are looking for a new game, I would strongly recommend checking out the demo on the Nintendo Shop and seeing what all the hype is about.

Blog Post: The Best Yet?

RadiantChaos — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:50:00 GMT

For years, fans have been waiting for Kingdom Hearts III. They have often scoffed at the many handheld installments in the series thus far. And while the more dedicated fans have found plenty of enjoyment in the most recent installments, most fans have just shrugged them off. But much like with Birth by Sleep, anyone who has enjoyed a game in the past of this series would be doing themselves a disservice to skip this game.

The game picks up right after the events of KHII - don't let the younger-looking Sora and Riku fool you. It wastes no time in presenting you with your main quest: to pass the Mark of Mastery exam and become a Keyblade master. The story also throws in many references to Birth by Sleep and 358/2 Days. Even if you haven't played those installments, though, no need to fret - this game features reports that summarize past games excellently.

The story itself is excellent, complete with many Disney characters as well as the original characters you've come to know and love. Sora and Riku really mature as characters, and whoever your favorite character is, they most likely appear at some point. A few plot twists exist, but for the most part they are easy to see coming. Nonetheless, they still add to the tension of the plot and really prepare things for KHIII. The voice acting is excellent as always - as to be expected from a cast that includes Leonard Nimoy.

The gameplay is the same action-packed fiesta as always, and really does a great job of improving on past mechanics while adding new ones. The Deck Commands from BbS return, and insure that your frequent casting of Firaga doesn't interfere with your need to cast Cura. Limits, combination attacks introduced in KHII, return with the new Dream Eater allies. The best part of the gameplay in by far Flowmotion, which feels similar to the Reaction Commands of previous installments, but allows you to walljump off of almost any surface in the game. Combat always feels fresh thanks to the large arsenal of attacks at your disposal.

The Dream Eater system works fairly well; it's nice to be able to customize your party to such a full extent. I became addicted to making new Dream Eaters and unlocking new abilities for myself through the Link system. It is somewhat annoying that this roundabout way is the only reliable way to unlock abilities and commands, but it's still fun even if it can be frustrating.

The graphic are absolutely gorgeous - you'll hardly notice the lack of Antialiasing on the 3DS. The 3D effect is nice, albeit not useful or necessary. In fact, the effect is sometimes disorienting during combat; as such, I tended to turn the 3D up only during cutscenes. The soundtrack is perhaps the best in the series to date; some tracks are jazzy while others are techno. Plenty of the tracks are reminiscent of older games, and the remixes of TWEWY songs are cool as well.

Ultimately, the game suffers from a few annoyances. For starters, the drop gauge always degrades too fast. While I like the idea of switching between Sora and Riku, the drop gauge tended to get on my nerves. Additionally, there are a few difficulty spikes at the end, especially on Riku's side - he's forced to fight three bosses in a row right before his two final bosses. The game does provide a checkpoint system between the battles in case you die during one of them, but if you find that you are too low of a level to successfully beat the later battles (like I did), you'll end up having to leave and come back later to fight all three bosses again. It's not the end of the world, but it sure frustrated me. Lastly, there isn't as much post-game content as is typical for these games, so the longevity isn't as good as it often is.

Ultimately, I would call this the best handheld entry to date, which is saying something considering how great Birth by Sleep was. In my recent blog, however (found here), I debated over which game in the series was the best thus far. Though there are many ways that Dream Drop Distance is better than Kingdom Hearts II, I would still say that the second console installment is the better game - its larger world, many extras, and compelling story make it hard to beat. Nevertheless, fans of any of the Kingdom Hearts games should pick this title up immediately - especially if they want to play the incoming Kingdom Hearts III.

Blog Post: KH3D

Frank Masi — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:38:00 GMT

KH3D is a powerful and worthy addition to the franchise. With its new Flowmotion combat, useful and customizable partners, and a great story-advancing plot, it is a great title for 3DS. But there are some points for improvement. It did have AR card functionality, but it is nowhere near its full potential. Only people who pre-ordered the game or got the Mark of Mastery Edition will actually have any cards to scan. Every card but one can only be scanned once per play through/save file, with the reusable card being a podium for your Spirits (friendly Dream Eaters). But if you do have the cards, the Spirits they unlock are super-powerful and can be unlocked at the very beginning of the game, giving you huge advantages. Now, the Spirits themselves were a great idea, but are complicated, require repetitive mini-games/Nintendogs-style "attention", and don't do much damage. But on the flip side, they can unlock special abilities, rare combat/magic commands, and can occassionally "link" with Sora or Riku for powerful attacks. These two things are the only major annoyances throughout the game. The new Flowmotion combat system lets you perform powerful environmental attacks anywhere, and even letting you use large Nightmares (enemy Dream Eaters) against smaller ones. Reality Shifts are also a great new combat feature that let take control of Nightmares and some objects and use special attacks or gain environmental advantages such as new areas or larger jumps. While the game does advance the franchise plot, it also helps refresh your memory of the series, and also makes for a great starting point for new players.

Blog Post: Kingdom Hearts III Is Coming: The Game

Bryan Vore — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 06:00:00 GMT

While some players won’t tune into the Kingdom Hearts series again until the title includes a “III,” others keep up with the new installments no matter what. Dream Drop Distance is one of those titles that reaffirms your faith in Kingdom Hearts (like Birth by Sleep) rather feeling like an obligation (like Re:coded). If you’ve passed up other non-numbered entries, this game provides an extensive journal brimming with plot summaries and character info. It’s not easy to boil-down a 10-year-old series as convoluted as Kingdom Hearts can sometimes be, but Dream Drop Distance does a great job.[Excerpt]

The story picks up after Re:coded with Sora and Riku tasked by Yen Sid (the sorcerer from Fantasia) to take the Mark of Mastery exam, become keyblade masters, and grow powerful enough to face the coming of villain Master Xehanort. To pass, they must awaken seven sleeping worlds based on Disney properties, as per usual.

Some levels are new to the series, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, while stages based on Tron: Legacy and Pinocchio feel new since you’re dabbling in different areas that weren’t in the previous games. The stages are entertaining and introduce creative exploration mechanics via “reality shifts,” like drawing a line on the touch screen to zip up to higher platforms, or doing a music minigame to open new areas. I was skeptical of the Three Musketeers level due to its basis on a 2004 straight-to-DVD movie, but its swashbuckling nature ultimately fits well into the flow of the game. Nonetheless, I’m concerned that Square Enix is willing to turn to the bottom of the barrel like this. What’s next? Stages from An Extremely Goofy Movie? Maybe Cinderalla III: A Twist in Time?

Combat this time around is based entirely around dream eaters. These colorful creatures, based on animals like elephants, cats, and dinosaurs, serve as your primary enemies (nightmares) and allies (spirits). Rather than catching them all like Pokémon, you craft them using recipes. They level up by fighting at your side or via a variety of minigames. In turn, they each have a custom ability board that serves as Sora and Riku’s primary upgrade mechanic.

Power ups like health and damage boosts are only active when that creature is in your party, while spells and support abilities like longer attack combos stay with you forever. Petting and feeding spirits to get the most out of them is cumbersome, and I felt obligated to constantly check my boards and deal with pesky loading. Some kind of alert that you could put on abilities you’re gunning for would have alleviated much of this frustration, since I enjoyed the ability board system overall.

On the battlefield, spirits are on par with past AI companions, which means they are slightly useful. Normally, they chip off a little damage here and there and cause a distraction for groups of enemies. Sora teams up with them for a dual attack that provides a nice, invincible reprieve from tense battles, while Riku incorporates them into powered up blade attacks. The latter can do massive damage, but Riku’s fancy attack animations make it tricky to trigger cure spells if you run into an emergency.

The mix of physical attack specials and magic is effective once you get the right combo. You’re always unlocking something new, and I loved experimenting and finding surprisingly powerful abilities. The new flowmotion attacks allow you to perform environmental specials at almost any time with no cooldown time. These moves are integrated smoothly into the traditional battle system; you’ll spring off a wall and drill into an enemy, spin around a pole and smash foes in a wide area, or grab stunned nightmares and toss them across the map.

Since you’re playing as both Sora and Riku, Square Enix decided to have more of a back and forth of control this time rather than entirely separate campaigns like in Birth by Sleep. I’m torn on this new “drop” mechanic that forces you to change characters when a timer runs out. It allows you to keep up with both characters’ stories regularly, and it creates cliffhangers similar to TV episodes, but switching characters can be disorienting and annoying. The negative side of the drop system is softened by several options to extend your timer, but there are a few gates throughout the game that force you to drop to proceed.

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I found the standard difficulty mode to be a nice pleasant stroll without the need for too much grinding. This all screeches to a halt at one of the final bosses. Not only is the fight disproportionately hard, it also includes a timed touchscreen minigame that shoots you back to an earlier stage of the fight if you fail. After getting destroyed over and over, I went off to grind levels for a few hours and optimized my spirit loadout. Upon my return, I handled this boss easily, but remained resentful of this difficulty-spiked roadblock.

Fans who are tired of Kingdom Hearts side-stories should be glad to know that this is definitely the last game before Kingdom Hearts III. I’m not going to tell you why, but the fact is made very clear. If you want to know the setup for the next big entry, you have to play this game to find out what’s in store for the conclusion of the Xehanort arc. You could just watch some cutscenes online, but you’d be cheating yourself out of a lot of fun.

[Curious about how Dream Drop Distance works with the Circle Pad Pro add-on? Read this.]

File: Kingdom Hearts 3DS E3 2012