Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III is an 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.

Setting
Most of the worlds featured in the game based on Disney properties are new to the series, such as the Tangled-themed Kingdom of Corona, the Big Hero 6-themed San Fransokyo, and worlds based on Toy Story and Monsters, Inc., though returning worlds appear, such as the Hercules-themed Olympus, Mysterious Tower and the realm of darkness. Twilight Town, which also returns, serves as a tutorial stage at the beginning of the game.

Nomura revealed the Tangled world was the first determined to be in the game, as the development team wanted to include Rapunzel due to her strong personality and her hair, saying, "she is able to utilize her hair in such a way where she’s whipping it around. She can even use it for attacks, and that was just so appealing, and we thought it would make for such great gameplay". The Big Hero 6 world features an original story. The Toy Story world also features an original story set in the Toy Story universe between the events of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. This is different from previous worlds, which loosely follow plot lines from the films which they are based. Members of Pixar Animation Studios assisted with the world's creation. On the amount of worlds featured in the game, Nomura noted the development team focused on creating "rich gameplay in an individual world... designed so players can take their time and enjoy the gameplay that’s available" opposed to having "multiple different little worlds". The game will not feature any worlds based on Final Fantasy.

Since the release of Kingdom Hearts II in 2005, The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm. When asked if any of these properties would appear in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said he contacts Disney after he hears of an acquisition, though noted that "Disney's pretty honest [on the possibility of an inclusion]. If the situation is really difficult, they’ll say, it’s really difficult. If it’s impossible, they’ll say it’s impossible." He later stated, that even though the Disney Company had acquired these properties, Disney Interactive Studios may not necessarily have the ability to license the content due to existing deals, such as Disney's deal with Electronic Arts for Star Wars games. Co-director Tai Yasue added that they were "looking at all of Disney, the new ones as well" when choosing worlds for the game, including worlds based on Marvel Comics and Star Wars. He expanded, saying, "We have to come up with a world that has a lot of originality. We want variety... so we don’t want too many of one sort of world, that would look the same. For each world there has to be some meaning for it, in the plot... Also, gameplay-wise, is that world something that would make gameplay fun?" In July 2015, at D23 Expo 2015, the Marvel world based on Big Hero 6 was revealed. Two years later, at D23 Expo 2017, it was revealed that Kingdom Hearts III would feature a world based on the Pixar film Toy Story, making it the first Pixar film to be featured in the series. Nomura had hoped to include a Toy Story world in the franchise since Kingdom Hearts II, saying he felt "Sora really fit in and matched well with that world" and being "able to execute that into the game is something I’m really excited for." The second Pixar world in the game, based on Monsters, Inc., was revealed at D23 Expo Japan 2018.

Characters
Sora will once again be the protagonist of the game, while supporting characters Riku, Kairi, Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey, Master Eraqus, and Lea also return. Returning antagonists include Master Xehanort, his Heartless Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, his Nobody Xemnas of Organization XIII, his youthful incarnation, Young Xehanort, and Marluxia, all of whom make up members of the new Organization XIII, and Vanitas. Disney characters that return include Maleficent and Pete. Disney characters who serve as members of Sora's party include the returning Hercules, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and Sulley and Mike Wazowski, who are new to the series. Characters that appear as summons for Sora include Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

Additional Disney character appearances include Hades, with new characters Baymax, Hamm, Rex, Sarge and the Bucket O' Soldiers, the Squeeze Toy Aliens, and Boo joining.

Final Fantasy

 * Sora
 * Riku
 * Kairi
 * Roxas
 * Namine
 * Hayner
 * Pence
 * Olette
 * Axel
 * Xion
 * Ventus
 * Aqua
 * Terra

Mickey Mouse and Friends

 * Mickey Mouse
 * Minnie Mouse
 * Donald Duck
 * Daisy Duck
 * Goofy
 * Pluto
 * Chip and Dale
 * Huey, Dewey and Louie
 * Scrooge McDuck
 * Pete

Disney Classic

 * Jiminy Cricket
 * Master Yen Sid
 * Maleficent
 * Merlin

Winnie the Pooh

 * Winnie the Pooh
 * Piglet
 * Roo
 * Tigger
 * Rabbit
 * Gopher
 * Lumpy

Hercules

 * Hercules
 * Megara
 * Phil
 * Pegasus
 * Zeus
 * Hades
 * Rock Titan
 * Ice Titan
 * Lava Titan
 * Wind Titan

Tangled

 * Rapunzel
 * Flynn Rider
 * Pascal
 * Maximus
 * Mother Gothel

Frozen

 * Anna
 * Kristoff
 * Elsa
 * Olaf
 * Sven
 * Marshmallow

Big Hero 6

 * Baymax
 * Hiro Hamada
 * Honey Lemon
 * Go Go Tomago
 * Wasabi
 * Fred

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

 * Captain Jack Sparrow
 * Tia Dalma
 * Will Turner
 * Elizabeth Swann
 * Joshamee Gibbs
 * Captain Hector Barbossa

Toy Story

 * Woody
 * Buzz Lightyear
 * Rex
 * Hamm
 * Sarge
 * Green Army Men
 * Little Green Men

Monsters, Inc.

 * James P. Sullivan
 * Mike Wazowski
 * Boo
 * Randall Boogs

Premise
Continuing from Dream Drop Distance, Sora, Donald, and Goofy will attempt to search for seven guardians of light and the "Key to Return Hearts", while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders, in an attempt to stop Master Xehanort's plan to balance the light and darkness, which may ultimately lead to the final showdown between Sora and Master Xehanort. By the start of the game, Sora has completed his Mark of Mastery, which he was attempting to do at the end of Dream Drop Distance.

Kingdom Hearts III will serve as the final chapter of the "Dark Seeker/Xehanort" saga, with Nomura revealing that the plot of the game will pick up "immediately after the events of Dream Drop Distance." He also added that the plot will examine the seven lights and thirteen darknesses coming together for the final battle, but that everyone that is expected to fulfill these roles may not.

Final Fantasy World

 * Dive to the Heart
 * Destiny Islands
 * Twilight Town
 * Mysterious Tower
 * Radiant Garden
 * Land of Departure

Disney World

 * Disney Castle: Mickey Mouse and Friends World.
 * Hundred Acre Wood: Winnie the Pooh World.
 * Olympus: Hercules World.
 * Kingdom of Corona: Tangled World.
 * Arendelle: Frozen World.
 * San Fransokyo: Big Hero 6 World.
 * The Caribbean: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End World.
 * Toy Box: Toy Story World.
 * Monstropolis: Monsters, Inc. World.