To say this game is breathtaking in the way it renders worlds and characters might be a little of an understatement. There are other games that present greater realism, but this one is perfectly suited for its premise and the worlds that it is based on. The characters feel more real than they have ever before outside of doing a live action play. The worlds are surprisingly easy to lose yourself in thanks to the way they are presented.
Most of us are used to the traditional 2D or 2.5D renditions of animated Disney films when it comes to the older worlds, but none of them are presented this way in KH. Instead, the designers fully rendered each world in 3D and presented all new story to the characters with the add-in of Sora. While the same story is repeated in some (Beauty and the Beast, as well as The Little Mermaid, are kind of hard to remix), there are little changes that allow for the new characters and villains to be introduced as players. The animations also present perfect mood depending on what is happening. The lighting is beautiful and you can feel when things are getting darker than expected.
Your battles feel intense and you may find yourself tempted to just lose yourself to exploring just to see what you can find. The realism has deepened by this game as well. The textures are easily notable and you can imagine more easily how things feel for the characters.

When we mentioned the music in this game, we weren’t kidding. While a lot of it is nostalgic to the movies they came from, there are plenty of new compositions to enjoy and originals meant for the games area’s that are not from the movies. There are even places where they get you involved in the making of the song and its performance. This is fun and challenging since you get to play a part in the very atmosphere of the game.
Of course, audio is extremely important when it comes to mood setting. Some games that draw in younger audiences, like this one doe, may not always seem to catch the darker moods, but this one does so without any apologies for it. The atmosphere is extremely important to relay any story, but when your characters are young or are tied to cartoons, it becomes even more important to relay the fact that this isn’t your typical ‘happy ending every time’ game. The music definitively promotes this sense. Some characters are bad to start with but are tragic and over time regain a sense of morality. The opposite also occurs throughout the series and there is a need to let the player know that the hearty is changing, and beyond visuals, music is a great way to do so.
Another mistake seen throughout games targeted to a younger audience that games tend to make is to not pull in good voice actors. This series doesn’t fall short when it comes to making the characters easily viewable. The actors portray emotion and substance and do not detract from the deeper content when it comes to the way they interact. You can tell when they have lost their way when they are sure of themselves and even when they are excited. There is no break that comes from someone seeming to not know their lines, or who are just reading from a sheet. We get the full package here, from music to voice. The story will compel you to want to reach the end and see what awaits everyone.
Even older audiences will find themselves entranced and humming some of the music as they move through the game.

When it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. While some complain that some of the mechanics to the gameplay should have been fixed or changed, we feel that the fact that the controls have remained steady throughout the series can be just as beneficial. The third game could have gone through and revamped the whole system and made a few things easier for gamers, but if you have been playing since the very first one, having it change eight games it might be even more frustrating.
The controls aren’t difficult to learn and once you have everything down you likely won’t find yourself struggling. Yes, each world has certain unique controls to its particular spot, but then, you can’t expect to have the same gameplay you have as a two-legged person as you would with a fin or as a four-legged lion. Each Disney world has its own unique set of rules for how things can work. Even going from Aladdin’s world to the world of Tangled or Frozen will have to differ. Genies may not exist in each, and Agrabah has a different landscape then Arendelle. In the end, it is about adapting to each world and what magic is available there.
The Gummi Ships are also their own unique part of gameplay because you don’t just fly them- you have to build them too! There are challenges to meet when flying between worlds as well, and some ships will prove better than others in completing those missions. One may require a bigger more powerful ship, while another will recall as little as you can imagine and to build for speed and maneuverability. Each ship has its best build choices, and while you have blueprints you can follow, you don’t have to build things according to what you have on them. You can design your own, and for us, this was one of the most unique and enjoyable parts of the game outside of the story itself.

This game is part of an ongoing narrative, and it isn’t even really just the third part. There are several previous games leading up to it and even a short movie. We won’t ruin all of it for you, but if you do want to see them in order so you can get the full picture, you can’t watch them according to release dates. Instead of leaving you to guess, we will give you the order right here: KH 1, Chain of Memories, KH2, 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, Re: Coded, Dream Drop Distance, 0.2, X: Back Cover, and finally 3. This will give you the entire story so far and having been a follower from the start, we definitely suggest checking out the whole thing.

For 3 we are introduced to the story of what happened to create the ongoing villain. Instead of giving us some horrendous story, we find out that it was simply a differing of opinions on how the Universe could best be guided to prosper. Two friends sit playing a game of chess and discuss the first Key Blade war. Both feel that its start is shrouded by mystery, but that it began due to the first Key Blade wielders. The two openly discuss what they think the future holds, and then we are transported to our games present.

Sora and his friends were successfully awakened and they have even managed to aide a ‘Heartless’ proving that what most consider as irredeemable is not always so. The group is out to try and rescue the Universe, each in their own way, but Sora has not got everything he needs yet to be at his best. Instead of going with the others, he has to train more and learn how to do everything again. This may irritate those of us who hate redundancy in a series, but things quickly take to the twists and turns we both expect and don’t have a guess what is in store because of.

Sora begins to revisit some of the old worlds, discovering that things have been done to twist the people in them. Some of those he had befriended don’t even seem to truly recall him and are only reminded after a long series of freeing them from the curses they are under. We also learn that Maleficent is back, and she has her own dark agenda to fulfill. Of course, we are not entirely filled in as to what it is exactly she is after, but we know that any time we have to face here there are going to be a lot of twists and turns involved.

Of course, we end up having a friend who eventually becomes lost in the chaos, and we spend a lot of time trying to retrieve those who we have gained along the way. This only deepens the hardship. One of the best parts of this game though could not come into play without it. Many games get us loving on a character or two that we never really get to enjoy to the fullest. (Who hasn’t wanted to play an NPC somewhere along the line?) KH breaks the rules yet again in this regard. We get to not only play as Sora but as Riku as well. This only intensifies the need to see everyone reunited and able to be together again. Since we aren’t going to spoil things, however, we’ll leave our narrative here for now.

The themes for this game may feel a little generic and childish at first glance. A lot of the story is based on friendship, love and not giving up. These themes, however, run deeper in this series than many others that are child-friendly. There is budding romance, but it has a lot of underlying tragedy involved and more often than not you will find yourself wanting to angrily yell at the way things go. You will want them to be happy, but no matter how many times things start to go right, it is like the universe just wants to prevent the perfect ending.
The courage to face one’s fears, admit your weaknesses and push on despite the fact it just doesn’t seem to be going your way creates an atmosphere that will have the player begging for that next part all the way to the end. Throughout the series, we have been faced with the fact that nothing is perfect, and even the best of us can often fall short trying to set things right. This third installment doesn’t deviate from this idea either. You won’t always find things going as they should or would if the world were perfect. No character is pure evil, nor are they purely good. All have both light and dark in them, and even when you learn to hate a villain, you’ll find yourself understanding them at one point or another.
This theme of not getting one without the other is a great example of what sets this game apart from others in its genre, and definitely deserves praise for not only how it pulled it off but for the wide audience it hit.

While this game might be fun to play with a partner, so far it has not yet introduced such a function. There is the suggestion from the developer that they are planning on it, but so far nothing has been done. This function would be introduced via an online mode.

Again, though the developer has suggested that they plan to implement an online multiplayer mode. What this will entail is not yet certain. There has been the talk of both a co-op and a PVP mode, but as of yet, neither have come about.

With as many upgrades, special levels, and new skills as there are to acquire throughout the game, its replayability is very high. From choosing your strength to simply wanting to hit that 100% completion for the game, players have every reason to return. Not only do you have those usual reasons, but there is also the Gummi Ship mode, where simply testing your skills at making the ‘perfect ship’ for every mission might draw you back as well.
Taking us even further in is the promise of a possible online mode for the game as well, which will have many players simply wanting to keep up on their skills just in case. If there does end up being a co-op or a PVP, most of us are expecting extra levels and abilities.

This game is fairly new, and with its popularity, we can expect a decent price tag attached to it. For the length of gameplay to just go straight through and not even count extra’s, we can say it is certainly worth the going price. Add to it that the replayability, extra’s and the possibility of true online multiplayer content only makes its tag all the more reasonable. Depending on whether you buy it new or used, and for what system, you can expect to spend anywhere between $35 and $80 USD. Shopping smart is a must with this, no one wants to get a game they can’t play after all, so just be sure that when you do buy it, you trust the source.

-Replay is definite
-Great music
-Great story
-Multi-platform
-Good for all ages

If you want something you can enjoy at any age, this game definitely covers the bases. It has action, story, puzzles, and creativity galore. The story will keep you entranced, and it has more than enough to do without adding in all the bonus content to keep you playing for hours upon hours. If you enjoy fantasy and deep emotional content all in one package, this game will definitely give it to you all in one. If you’ve been following this series from the start we can truly and honestly say, you will not be disappointed. If you are new to it, this game will likely get you hooked and even make you want to backtrack to learn all about it.