Does Kingdom Hearts 3D Play Like a Dream? - Preview
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 07 June 2012 / 3,628 Views
Oh Kingdom Hearts, you’re such a tease. No one knows what the hell is going on in terms of story anymore yet you keep drawing us back in for more because of your sweet Disney crossover RPG-action. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance was one of the most engrossing games I played at this year’s E3. By that I mean it was both a lengthy demo and really fun to play.
Once I booted up the demo I had a choice to play as either Sora or Riku. I chose Sora and took control of the game in some sort of training arena reminiscent of the Coliseum level in Hercules. Sora walked forward to find Mickey, Donald, and Goofy dressed as the Three Musketeers. Sora recognized King Mickey for who he was but apparently none of the three familiar characters had any recollection of who he was. The three Disney stalwarts were excited because they were just newly designated Musketeers but once they were assaulted by foes, Goofy and Donald ran away leaving Mickey by himself. Of course Sora, being the stalwart friend that he is, jumped in to help fight off the Dream Eaters.
Combat is just how Kingdom Hearts should be; fast, flashy, and fun. You attack by pressing the A button and scroll through commands using the D-pad that can then be activated by pressing the X button. Sora had a number of advanced abilities including Cura, Icebreaker, and Slot Edge. You could lock onto enemies by clicking the L and R shoulder buttons in unison, which centers the camera on Sora as he targets a specific foe. Once I chained enough combos together a command appeared on the touchscreen prompting me to slide the stylus (or more likely my finger) downward. When I did so the screen became a comic book panel and presented more touch commands for me to follow. Once I completed this minigame, combat resumed as normal except I had managed to vanquish a few foes for my trouble.
The world the demo takes place in is called The Country of the Musketeers. The story concerning this world revolves around the kidnapping of Princess Minnie. Sora offers his friendship and services to the Musketeers to help them protect the princess. The next sequence took place atop a moving carriage carrying the princess which comes under attack from a dinosaur Dream Eater. This pseudo boss fight involved attacking the dinosaur when it came up close to chomp on me. When it drew back it launched fire and wind projectiles which Sora could deflect with appropriately timed strikes. The most effective tactic was using a technique involving balloons that would hone in on the enemy and inflict massive damage.
Once that encounter was over, the Beagle Boys swooped in and knocked the Musketeers off the carriage. Not deterred, the Musketeers push forth to a tower to save the princess. I fought through multiple areas filled with enemies but I could just run past them if I so desired. This eventually led to a showdown with all three Beagle Boys. The story only got more winding from there. Goofy humorously disposed of the Beagle Boys before Mickey was captured by the nefarious Captain Pete. Eventually the chase led us to a showdown at the opera house. Interestingly, once I died as Sora I resumed the game as Riku whose adventure seemed to intersect with Sora’s storyline. Riku’s combat was very similar to Sora’s except his magic and abilities were much darker in tone. Riku pursued Pete and the Beagle Boys on his own and went through his own unique story moments.
The Nintendo 3DS is technically the most graphically advanced platform Kingdom Hearts has ever been on so the visuals are not only on par with that of the PS2 games, but in certain cases exceed them. The 3D works wonderfully. The natural visual exuberance that is Kingdom Hearts is even more captivating in 3D. Sora slashes the Keyblade at foes with a style that has him zooming all over the battlefield with a real sense of depth. The cutscenes were also a joy to behold in the 3rd dimension. They are the real deal, with full voice acting and even some great moments of physical comedy.
My extended playthrough of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance inspired a lot of confidence within me. This may be the most definitive Kingdom Hearts release since the PSP’s Birth By Sleep. Plus, if you think about it, Kingdom 3D: Dream Drop Distance does have Kingdom Hearts 3 in the title. That counts for something, right? Right? Kingdom Hearts will make its 3DS debut on July 31st.
