Kingdom Hearts III

***Kingdom Hearts III*** is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the twelfth installment in the ***Kingdom Hearts*** series, sequel to ***Kingdom Hearts II***, and the final chapter in the Dark Seeker saga. Set after the events of ***Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance***, returning protagonist Sora is joined by Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey and Riku in their search for the seven Guardians of Light and the "Key to Return Hearts" as they attempt to thwart Master Xehanort's plan to bring about a second Keyblade War. Their journey has them cross paths with characters, and visit worlds based on different Disney properties and Square Enix's ***Final Fantasy*** franchise.

Concepts for the game began as early as 2006, after the release of ***Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix*** in Japan, with the game not confirmed to be in development until E3 2013, after years of rumors and speculation. ***Kingdom Hearts III*** sees many returning gameplay features from the series, while introducing new "Attraction Flow" attacks that incorporate various ***Disney Parks*** attractions. The game was built using Unreal Engine 4, and is scheduled for release in 2018.

## Gameplay

Gameplay in ***Kingdom Hearts III*** is similar to its predecessors, with director Tetsuya Nomura stating that the combat would be along the lines of the system seen in ***Kingdom Hearts II***, with an evolution similar to what was seen from ***Kingdom Hearts*** to ***Kingdom Hearts II***, and closely tied to the gameplay in ***Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance***. He also revealed that the handheld games' combat was a place he could experiment and try new things, and that some of the well received additions may appear in ***Kingdom Hearts III***. Nomura noted that new gameplay elements are the "skeleton" of the game, saying, "When creating a ***Kingdom Hearts*** game, we start with a gameplay system that I think would be a fun element, and once we have an idea of what kind of gameplay or system we want in place, we flesh out the story around it, surrounding the basic concept of what kind of fun we’re going to have with this new installment." Additionally, the development team "always want to try something new", taking previously introduced mechanics and making small "tweak[s]" to them so it is customized for ***Kingdom Hearts III***.

Sora returns as the main playable character, once again joined in the party by Donald Duck and Goofy, with the ability to have two additional characters join the party, for a total of five-player parties, an increase from previous main entries in the series, where players were limited to two additional party members at any given time along with Sora. Another main playable character will be available in the game, with King Mickey being considered, and multiplayer elements also being considered. Describing the gameplay, Nomura called the action "pretty frantic", "really flashy and exciting. The enemy AI is a lot more intricate, too, and I think the gameplay will reflect that new dynamic balance." Sora can once again perform magic, with a new, powerful tier of each spell available to him, similar to what Aqua has available to her in ***Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep*** – A Fragmentary Passage.

New gameplay elements include new enemy types, traversal elements such as wall running and jumping, summons, Keyblade transformations, and team-up attacks, which combine Sora, Donald and Goofy into one attack. Sora faces Heartless and Nobodies in the game, while Dream Eaters also make an appearance. In addition to these traditional "smaller" enemies, the player will face giant bosses, which give "Sora greater freedom of movement and room to experiment with attacks—including the new theme-park-ride summon attacks," known as "Attraction Flow", such as "Mad Tea Party", "Big Magic Mountain", "Pirate Ship", and "Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters". Sora also has the ability to jump on certain enemies, such as ones shaped like a vehicle, and mechs, which are called Gigas. Regarding traversal, Nomura noted the new mechanic, called "Athletic Flow" in Japanese, was refined from the Flowmotion mechanic from Dream Drop Distance, which players felt was "a little too free... and it was kind of hard to control on their end." "Athletic Flow" allows the player to utilize the environment to access previously unreachable areas.

Situation Commands return from previous entries, which can trigger the Keyblade transformations. Nomura revealed that Keyblade transformations were conceived as early as the development of ***Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix*** and would be similar to Aqua's ability in ***Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep*** saying, "Each Keyblade transformation is unlocked by clearing all missions in one of [the game's] worlds, and each individual world offers its own unique Keyblade transformation." He further elaborated stating there were two forms each Keyblade can take, with "multiple layers in terms of transforming" starting with one transformation and achieving the second after "successfully connect[ing] your combos". The Keyblade transformations have also been referred to as "Drive Forms" (a term which was used for a similar mechanic in ***Kingdom Hearts II***). They are: the Olympus Keyblade known as Guard Form. The Keyblade is transformed into a shield (Counter Shield) and then a Pegasus leading a chariot; the ***Toy Story*** world Keyblade known as Power Form. The Keyblade changes into a hammer (Hyper Hamer), and then into a drill (Drill Punch); the Monsters, Inc world Keyblade, which first changes into claws (Quick Claws) and then yo-yo's (Twin Yo-Yo's); the Kingdom of Corona Keyblade, where it becomes a magical staff (Mirage Staff) and can summon a massive tower; another form with Double Arrowguns as the first transformation, and Magic Launcher as the second; and Second Form, triggered with the Kingdom Key, where Sora reverts to his outfit from ***Kingdom Hearts II***. In Second Form, the Keyblade does not shift, but new battle skills are available. Shotlocks also return.

The Gummi Ship also returns as a means of travel between the different worlds of the game. The mechanic has been split into two phases: exploration and combat. Exploration has been likened to being more open-world, while the combat has increased its scale from previous games, with more enemies present.

## Sound Files

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