Kingdom Hearts III Review (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch & PC)

Kingdom Hearts boasts storytelling capabilities that, frankly, no other saga in the world could ever dare to imitate. But in the grand scheme of things, it all gets lost in translation. A network of keyholes; an alluring darkness; a young hero with the ability to seal doors and purify a tainted cortex of Disney worlds with the power of light. It should be a simple plot — and it could be an incredibly easy plot to evolve, given that Square has access to a treasure trove of intellectual property to work with. But Kingdom Hearts III doesn’t work to reinforce the simple narrative; instead, it opens up even more doorways, allowing for multiple strands, organizations, and unfathomable scenarios to take hold and bolster one of the most confusing tales ever conceived for a franchise. It should be a walk in the park. Yet, if Kingdom Hearts is anything at all, it’s the most perplexing RPG to ever grace the medium. And you know what? We can’t help but love almost everything about it.

The third mainline installment in the series might not accomplish its intended goal of linking the narrative between previous chapters to formulate a transparent, coherent story that corresponds with the third, but if we can bring ourselves to ignore its messy nature, then we can, in all fairness, appreciate most of the components that make it the perfect homecoming for returning fans that it so clearly is. Yes, it’s confusing, and yes, you do need to bury your head in a four-hundred page encyclopedia to understand most of what Kingdom Hearts wants to convey. But that isn’t to say that it’s a bad game. It’s merely learning how to accept the fact that, even with oh-so-many lectures on the lore, you will never understand the full extent of Kingdom Hearts, and that’s okay.

Mind-boggling plot aside, Kingdom Hearts III builds on the previous entries’ signature strengths in almost every way, with even larger worlds to explore, more complex audiovisual elements to soak up, and cleaner button-tapping combat mechanics that cater to even greater abilities and powerful combos. It’s still heavy on the button hacking, but with more technical details and flamboyance. Heck, the fact that you can activate an ability that allows for you to board an electric train or a galleon and fire laser pellets at Heartless sort of says it all. It’s glitzy, glamorous, and just a little odd. But at this point, nothing is out of the ordinary for Kingdom Hearts. If anything, a sparkling pirate ship is the least likely thing to arouse our curiosity. But that’s just one thing.

With the well overdue adoption of Pixar and a trove of beloved franchises, Kingdom Hearts III finally dips its toes into an entirely fresh catalog of sandboxes. Alongside the classic Disney worlds—Hercules and Pirates of the Caribbean, for example—you also have a plethora of original stories to explore, including Toy Story, Frozen, Tangled, Monsters Inc, and Big Hero 6, as well as several returning favorites such as 100 Acre Wood and Twilight Town. And, to give credit to Square, none of these worlds are short of material. In fact, with all of the individual arcs and backstories combined, you essentially have a lofty campaign that spans dozens of hours of play time. And that isn’t taking the post-game boss battles or secrets into account, either.

Of course, Kingdom Hearts III has some incredibly big boots to fill. Given that the original two-piece saga boasted some of the best moments in the franchise to date, the third chapter certainly has its work cut out for it. Yet, even with the weight of a stellar backbone on its shoulders, it still manages to emerge as its own full-fledged ARPG. It might not have the nostalgic feel of a classic Kingdom Hearts game, but it does, on the other hand, reinvent the wheel in the most effective ways conceivable, with a glossier visual palette, smoother gameplay transitions, and more depth in the role-playing department. With more synergies and combat styles to adopt and heaps of original mini-games to onboard, it doesn’t just imitate an old-school Kingdom Hearts sequence; it breathes new life into it for the sake of modernizing the image and appealing to new audiences.

Let it be said that, while most of the bits and pieces in Kingdom Hearts III provide a huge advantage for the series, there are several components that dampen the overall experience. Alongside a rather bland Gummi Ship mini-game that adds little to no value to the journey whatsoever, you also have a lot of pointless fetch quests that can often feel a little repetitive and dull. What’s more, with a limited amount of options for tweaking Sora’s characteristics, you never really have a full ARPG, but more of a lightweight iteration that, while still in possession of some brilliant ideas, still leaves a fair amount to be desired.

With all of the above said, Kingdom Hearts III is still an excellent APRG with some fantastic elements. It’s enough to make your brain ache, true, but if you can get over the fact that it lacks a certain level of open-ended transparency in its storytelling abilities, then you shouldn’t have an issue with seeing it for what it is: a lovable ode to Disney and all of the whimsical characters that make it so universally accessible. Is it the best Kingdom Hearts game of all time? Maybe. Either way, one thing’s for sure: it’s a step in the right direction for Square. Here’s hoping that the fourth will amount to even greater heights.

Verdict

Kingdom Hearts III might not do a great job of illuminating the overarching narrative with its brain-boggling twists and turns and seemingly irrelevant sandbox worlds, though it does take the series to even greater heights with even better gameplay elements and side stories, characters and, of course, the well overdue adoption of star-studded Pixar intellectual properties. It’s still a hot mess with a catastrophic plot I’ll admit, but to call it a bad ARPG just wouldn’t be true. It’s Kingdom Hearts. It isn’t perfect, but oh boy do we adore it even with its vast imperfections.

Suffice it to say that, if you’re relatively new to the Kingdom Hearts world, then you had better learn to take everything with a pinch of salt. If you’re hell-bent on sinking your teeth into a quality storyline, then you might want to buckle in and prepare yourself for one of the worst headaches of your life. If, however, you couldn’t care less about light, dark, or cloaked villains with ridiculous names, then you might just be able to switch off long enough to enjoy Kingdom Hearts III for the simple pleasures that come with it. Either way, I’d recommend giving it a shot. Paracetamol is pretty cheap, at least.