It seems like a super obvious thing to be excited for Kingdom Hearts III. When I was asked to whip up this editorial, I hopped onto it like Sora hopping around on a Dreameater. As I sit down to write it through, a swirl of emotions takes hold.
I like to joke that I have waited over a decade for Kingdom Hearts III. While it may be true that it has been 12 years since the last numbered entry came out in the States, I have had no problem finding and playing a Kingdom Hearts game. Even though we’ve been blessed with numerous spin-offs, I really have been waiting half my life for a game called Kingdom Hearts III.
dec·ade⁰ˈdekād/⁰noun
⁰The period of time it takes to make Kingdom Hearts 3. Maybe.— Max Roberts (@MaxTheWhite) September 17, 2015
Ever since I saw the original Kingdom Hearts at a neighborhood friend’s house around the age of 8, I’ve been hooked on the series. As corny as it sounds, there is truly something magical about the Kingdom Hearts games; this fever dream from Square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura grips its players, myself included.
Outside of the seemingly eternal wait, Kingdom Hearts III will be packing a lot for fans. It’s a natural evolution of the series’ PS2 roots and looks like a sort of chicken noodle soup for video games; comforting, familiar, including a few new ingredients, but still within the wheelhouse of its identity.
After well over 15 years, the Xehanort saga will finally come to a close to the delight (and relief) of fans. For as convoluted as the story has become, I enjoy it immensely. The story in Kingdom Hearts III is arguably the element I am most excited for, especially for being relatively dark on the game. For reference, we even whipped up a guide to help you avoid spoilers now that the game is out in the wild.
When it comes to actually playing the game, it looks and feels like video game comfort food. After refining the series’ formula over the past decade, the gameplay still looks and feels rooted in the PS2 era in a familiar way. Combined with the new attractions and transformations, Kingdom Hearts III will take me back to that wonderful time where sequels came out rapidly and with a slew of shiny new features. It’ll be like chicken noodle soup for my Kingdom Hearts nostalgia.
New worlds are another big highlight for me when it comes to my maximum hype for Kingdom Hearts III. While the amount of worlds may be smaller than previous games, the ratio of new worlds is staggering. Over half the worlds confirmed are brand new to the series, while two more are new parts of previous franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean. Getting Pixar worlds included has been a dream of mine since Kingdom Hearts II had Woody and Buzz models in the game’s code. The fact they look and sound so much like the source material is an incredible feat, too.
And honestly, do we really need to play through the same worlds and stories for the umpteenth time? I don’t really want to save Neverland or Agrabah again. The chance for exploring new properties and their stories is way more exciting to me as a fan of the series than retreading old ground.
Kingdom Hearts III being released in just 9 days from this publication still doesn’t feel real. Heck, I played the game last month and it doesn’t feel real. In the end, I’m just excited for Kingdom Hearts III to finally be in my hands and on shelves. I yelled so much when Kingdom Hearts III was revealed at E3 2013 that I woke my parents up. My first feature I ever wrote was about how the sequel skipped an entire console generation. Kingdom Hearts is why I got a PSP and a 3DS. The series is beyond near-and-dear to me, and I cannot wait to experience Kingdom Hearts III and all it has to offer.
Kingdom Hearts III will (finally) release for PS4 and Xbox One on January 29, 2019. If you’re looking forward to the series’ big finale later this month, there’s still time to pre-order the game on Amazon now.
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