Jump to content

Kingdom Hearts III

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Kingdom Hearts 3)

Kingdom Hearts III
North American cover art.
Developer(s)Square Enix Business Division 3
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)
Producer(s)Rie Nishi
Designer(s)Tai Yasue
Programmer(s)
  • Hideki Matsuoka
  • Tomohito Hano
Artist(s)Tetsuya Nomura
Writer(s)
  • Tetsuya Nomura[1]
  • Masaru Oka
Composer(s)
[a]
SeriesKingdom Hearts
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
ReleasePS4, Xbox One
  • JP: January 25, 2019
  • WW: January 29, 2019
III + Re Mind
Windows
  • WW: March 30, 2021
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: February 10, 2022
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Kingdom Hearts III[b] is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the twelfth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, and serves as a conclusion of the "Dark Seeker Saga" story arc that began with the original game. 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 seven guardians of light as they attempt to thwart 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 and Pixar intellectual properties.

Concepts for Kingdom Hearts III began as early as 2005 after the release of Kingdom Hearts II in Japan, with the game's development not being officially announced until 2013, following years of rumors and speculation. The game features recurring gameplay elements from the series, while expanding parties to five characters total, introducing new "Attraction Flow" attacks that incorporate various Disney Parks attractions, and including minigames inspired by classic Mickey Mouse cartoons in the style of 1980s LCD games.

Kingdom Hearts III was released worldwide in January 2019 and received generally positive reviews from critics. Critics praised its visuals, soundtrack, art style, gameplay, and variety of combat options, while reception towards its plot and presentation was more mixed. It sold over five million copies within its first week of release, becoming both the fastest-selling and best-selling game in the series' history in North America.[3] A downloadable content expansion of the game titled Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind[c] was released on January 23, 2020, for PlayStation 4,[4] and on February 25, 2020, for Xbox One.[5] A version of the game bundled with the DLC titled as Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind was released on Windows via Epic Games Store and Steam on March 30, 2021, and June 13, 2024, respectively.[6][7] The same version was released on the Nintendo Switch via cloud streaming on February 10, 2022.[8]

Gameplay

Gameplay in Kingdom Hearts III is similar to its predecessors, with hack and slash combat,[9] which director Tetsuya Nomura stated 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.[10][11][12] He also revealed that the handheld games of the series were where he could experiment with the combat mechanics, and that some of the well-received additions could appear in Kingdom Hearts III.[10][11] Nomura noted that new gameplay elements are the "skeleton" of the game, saying development starts with a "fun element" for gameplay or system to then build the story and concept around.[13] Additionally, the development team "always want to try something new", taking previously introduced mechanics and making small "tweak[s]" to them so they are customized for Kingdom Hearts III.[14]

Sora returns as the main playable character, once again joined in the party by Donald Duck and Goofy,[15] with the ability to have two additional characters join the party for a total of five-player parties. This is 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.[16] Certain parts of the game have Riku and Aqua as playable characters.[17] Describing the gameplay, Nomura called the action "pretty frantic", as well as "really flashy and exciting. The enemy AI is a lot more intricate, too, and I think the gameplay will reflect that new dynamic balance."[18] Sora can 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.[19] Magic performs differently in underwater sections of the game, with Kingdom Hearts III introducing a new spell, Water.[20] Team-up attacks are also featured, which combine Sora and various party members into one attack.[21][22] Players can equip various abilities for Sora and his party members, with the system to do so "an evolution of sorts" from the system used in Kingdom Hearts II.[23] Character summons make a return from previous entries, this time known as "Links", where an additional character joins the battle to assist the player with specialized attacks.[24]

Sora performing an "Attraction Flow" attack that utilizes Disney Parks attractions, a new feature for Kingdom Hearts III

Sora faces Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed in the game,[25] with new variants of these enemy types appearing.[21] In addition to these traditional "smaller" enemies, the player faces giant bosses, which give "Sora greater freedom of movement and room to experiment with attacks—including the new theme-park-ride summon attacks,"[13] known as "Attraction Flow".[26] These attacks are inspired by the Disney Parks attractions Mad Tea Party, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters,[24] and Grizzly River Run,[27] and generic pirate ship and carousel attractions;[24][28] these attacks draw visual inspiration from Disney Parks' Main Street Electrical Parade.[24] Sora also has the ability to jump on certain enemies, such as ones shaped like a vehicle.[18] 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."[29] "Athletic Flow" allows the player to utilize the environment to access previously unreachable areas.[30] Co-director Tai Yasue stated this mechanic was created "to try something new" and "radically change the gameplay" for the Hercules world, which led to its use in the other worlds. As a result, each world was able to have "more height, scale and sense of discovery."[31]

Situation Commands also return from previous entries,[32] 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."[13][33] 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".[30] The Keyblade transformations active the various "Formchanges"[25]–Power, Guard,[34][35] Magic,[35] and Speed–[35] and change Sora's outfit,[35] similarly to the "Drive Form" mechanic in Kingdom Hearts II.[34] Various Keyblades are linked to each form;[35] for example, the Toy Story world Keyblade actives Power Form for Sora, with the Keyblade's transformations changing into a hammer and then into a drill.[36] There is also "Second Form", which changes Sora's battle skills rather than transform the Keyblade.[37] Unlike previous games in the series, players are able to quickly switch between different Keyblades seamlessly during gameplay rather than from the game's equipment menu,[38] and each Keyblade can be leveled up to increase their abilities.[9] Shotlocks also return, which use a focus meter that can target and lock on to individual enemies with the attack depending on which Keyblade is equipped.[25]

Each world offers a specific gameplay element,[39] such as first-person shooter "Gigas" mechs in the Toy Story world,[24] downhill sledding in the Frozen world,[20] and naval, underwater, and aerial combat in the Pirates of the Caribbean world,[40] which also features numerous smaller islands at sea which can be explored.[20] The Gummi Ship also returns as a means of travel between the different worlds of the game.[14] The mechanic has been split into two phases: exploration, which has been likened to being more open-world without a fixed travel route as in previous games;[41][42] and combat, which has increased its scale from previous games, with more enemies present.[41] Gummi Ship customization also returns,[23] with more options available than in previous Kingdom Hearts games.[31]

Various mini-games playable throughout Kingdom Hearts III,[43] including a cooking-themed game featuring Remy from Ratatouille,[43] and a music game in the Tangled world.[44] Additionally, the "Classic Kingdom" features over 20 games presented in the style of 1980s LCD games such as Game & Watch,[45][31] while the 100 Acre Wood world features puzzle games.[46] Members of the development team suggested each type of mini-game featured, with Nomura working on the "Classic Kingdom".[44] Kingdom Hearts III also has a "Memory Archive" feature, which has several short films explaining the basic story elements of the series from the previous games.[31]

Story

Kingdom Hearts
chronology

Setting

The story opens with the final scenes of Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, and serves as a conclusion of the "Dark Seeker/Xehanort Saga" that occurs in most preceding games.[18][47] Most of the worlds featured in the game inspired by Disney properties are new to the series,[48][49] including the Kingdom of Corona (based on Tangled),[50][51] Arendelle (Frozen),[52][53] San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6),[54][55] and the Pixar-based worlds Toy Box (Toy Story) and Monstropolis (Monsters, Inc.).[56][57][41][58] Two new original worlds created specifically for the game also appear: a limbo for dying hearts called the "Final World";[59] and Scala ad Caelum, a "seat of power" for past Keyblade wielders, where the game's final battle takes place.[60][17] Returning Disney worlds include tutorial stage Olympus (Hercules),[55][37][9] the Caribbean (Pirates of the Caribbean),[40][53] and the 100 Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh),[46] while original worlds include Twilight Town,[61] the Dark World,[62] the Land of Departure,[63] and the Keyblade Graveyard.[64] Worlds such as Yen Sid's Mysterious Tower,[65] Radiant Garden,[66] Disney Castle,[67] and the Destiny Islands[68] appear exclusively via cutscenes. The "Classic Kingdom" mini-games are inspired by classic Walt Disney Productions Mickey Mouse cartoons, including Giantland, The Karnival Kid, Musical Farmer, The Barnyard Battle,[45] The Klondike Kid, and Mickey's Mechanical Man.[69]

The Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Big Hero 6 worlds feature original stories, with the former set between the events of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and the latter two set after the events of their respective films.[70][54] This is different from previous worlds in the series, which have often loosely followed plot lines from the films on which they were based,[71] including the Tangled, Frozen, and Pirates of the Caribbean worlds.[44] 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".[71]

Characters

The main protagonist and playable character of the game is Sora,[49] a 15-year-old boy who uses a key-shaped weapon called the Keyblade to battle the forces of darkness. Sora is accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy,[49] the royal magician and knight captain of Disney Castle, respectively. The three are supported by other Keyblade wielders, several of whom they must rescue in preparation for their final confrontation with Master Xehanort,[49] the series' primary antagonist, as "guardians of light"; Mickey Mouse,[49] an experienced Keyblade Master who is Donald and Goofy's king; Riku,[49] a Master and Sora's best friend; Kairi,[29] another of Sora's friends, a Princess of Heart and a novice wielder; Aqua, a Master trapped in the realm of darkness; Ventus, a comatose boy whose heart has merged with Sora's; Terra,[72] a young man who was possessed by Xehanort; Axel/Lea,[29] a former member of Organization XIII and fellow novice with Kairi; Roxas,[73] Sora's Nobody, who merged his existence with Sora's; and Xion, a replica member of the Organization whose existence was erased from her friends' memories.

Organization XIII returns as the game's antagonists, led by Master Xehanort, with different members from previous games such as past incarnations of himself, as established in Dream Drop Distance.[36] Kingdom Hearts III also introduces a new original character named Yozora, who features prominently in an in-universe video game commercial in the Toy Story world, and later in the secret ending. As with previous games in the series, a multitude of Disney characters appear in worlds based on their respective films and properties. Disney characters who serve as members of Sora's party include the returning Hercules and Jack Sparrow;[15][74] new to the series are Woody and Buzz Lightyear,[56] Sulley and Mike Wazowski,[41] Rapunzel and Flynn Rider,[75] Marshmallow,[76] and Baymax.[77] Characters that appear as summon "Links" for Sora include Dream Eaters such as the "Meow Wow" from Dream Drop Distance, Wreck-It Ralph from the film of the same name,[24] Simba from The Lion King,[78] Ariel from The Little Mermaid,[75] and Stitch from Lilo & Stitch.[67] Remy from Ratatouille (who is referred to in-game by his nickname of "Little Chef") appears in one of the game's mini-games at the bistro.[43]

Most Final Fantasy characters were excluded from the initial game release as Tetsuya Nomura felt that they would detract from the story,[79] and that the Kingdom Hearts characters needed less support than they did before;[80] the Moogle character returns as the item shopkeeper,[25] while the Re Mind DLC sees previous Final Fantasy characters appear.[81]

Plot

Yen Sid begins preparing seven Keyblade wielders as guardians of light to counteract Master Xehanort's plan of forging the χ-blade. Sora, accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, resumes his travels across other worlds to regain his "power of waking", the ability to restore lost hearts, which he lost after nearly being possessed by Xehanort.[d] Sora's group is antagonized by members of Organization XIII, who target the seven Princesses of Heart as substitutes for the guardians while seeking a new member for their thirteenth and final spot. Meanwhile, Riku and King Mickey search the realm of darkness to retrieve Aqua, while Kairi and Lea train as Keyblade wielders.

Sora and Riku are contacted throughout their travels by former Organization member Ienzo, who uncovers research notes from Ansem the Wise revealing that the hearts of Roxas and two others—later identified as Ventus and Xion—are dormant within Sora's heart. Sora suggests implanting Roxas's heart in an artificial Replica body made by Vexen, one of the Organization's reserves, after learning that the Organization's time-traveling members are using the same method to exist in the present. Meanwhile, the Heartless Ansem abducts Ansem the Wise from the realm of darkness, but Vexen rescues Ansem the Wise. Revealing himself as a double agent, Vexen enlists fellow reserve Demyx to deliver a spare Replica for Roxas to inhabit.

Riku and Mickey are attacked by Aqua, who has become corrupted by the dark realm's influence. Discovering Master Eraqus's Keyblade on the Destiny Islands, Sora uses it to enter the realm of darkness and aid his friends, defeating and restoring Aqua. Aqua then travels to awaken Ventus at Castle Oblivion, which she transforms back into the Land of Departure. When she is attacked by Vanitas, Sora rediscovers his power of waking and revives Ventus, who fends Vanitas off.

The seven guardians arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard to battle the Organization, only to be consumed by a swarm of Heartless summoned by the possessed Terra. Sustained by Kairi's power, Sora awakens in a limbo realm called the Final World, where a Chirithy guides him in restoring his fragmented body. He then uses the power of waking to revive his friends and travel back in time to the moment before their defeat, which is averted by the appearance of Terra's lingering will. In the guardians' ensuing battle against the Organization, Terra regains control of his body and reunites with Aqua and Ventus, while Roxas and Xion—the latter of whom was duplicated as the Organization's final member—regain their hearts from Sora and reunite with Lea.

After the other Organization members are defeated, Xehanort provokes Sora into attacking him by destroying Kairi's body, allowing Xehanort to acquire the χ-blade and unlock Kingdom Hearts. Sora, Donald, and Goofy hinder Xehanort by transporting him to his boyhood home of Scala ad Caelum, where they eventually defeat him. In Xehanort's dying moments, Eraqus's spirit emerges from Terra and convinces Xehanort to surrender the χ-blade. After sealing Kingdom Hearts, Sora decides to use the power of waking to save Kairi, despite being warned about the grave consequences of doing so. Afterwards, Sora's allies gathers at the Destiny Islands, where a revived Kairi stays beside Sora before he fades away.

In a post-credits scene, Organization member Xigbar summons the Foretellers and reveals himself to be Luxu, their fellow Keyblade apprentice. In a flashback to their youth, Eraqus and Xehanort—having finished a chess game reminiscent of Sora's final battle with Xehanort—begin a new game that predicts a battle with Luxu and the Foretellers.

Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind

Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind is a downloadable expansion set during and after the climax of the game. It is divided into three separate scenarios—"Re Mind", the "Limitcut Episode", and the "Secret Episode"—which are unlocked in sequential order after the original game is cleared.

The titular scenario depicts Sora's rescue of Kairi during the game's ending scenes. Assuming an incorporeal form, Sora travels back in time to the battle between the guardians of light and the Organization, passing through the guardians' hearts to reach Kairi. Despite his initial failure, Sora finds and assembles fragments of Kairi's heart in Scala ad Caelum before his past self's final battle with Xehanort, restoring Kairi. After revisiting the Final World to invite Chirithy to the realm of light, Sora visits his friends' worlds with Kairi before his disappearance.

The "Limitcut Episode" is set one year after Sora's disappearance; his allies have since led an ongoing search for him, while Kairi has entered stasis after volunteering as Ansem the Wise's test subject to help Sora. During a visit to Radiant Garden, Riku analyzes digital copies of Sora and the Organization's members programmed into Cid Highwind's computer, hoping to uncover clues to Sora's whereabouts through their battles. After the analysis proves inconclusive, Riku is approached by the Fairy Godmother to meet with Yen Sid, who has determined a method of finding Sora through Riku and two others.[e]

The "Secret Episode" focuses on Sora, who has become trapped in the Final World since his disappearance. There, Sora encounters Yozora, who claims to have been requested to save Sora, but questions Sora's identity and battles him atop a skyscraper in a modern-day metropolis.[f] If Sora wins, Yozora fades away before Sora returns to the Final World; if Sora loses, Yozora crystallizes him and goes to the Final World instead. Afterward, regardless of who wins, Yozora awakens in a car while a closing narration ensues in his and Sora's voices, with the battle's victor saying, "None of this makes sense to me."

Development

After Square Enix finished development of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, Tetsuya Nomura was approached by Disney, who expressed interest in a sequel. In regard to a possible release of Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said "We have various ideas, but we're not at the point where we can say that." He added that due to the development of Final Fantasy XV—titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII at the time— which was being developed by the Kingdom Hearts II team, it was "physically impossible at the present. I feel that it's not the right time to talk about the future of Kingdom Hearts."[83] In response to questions about the secret film in Final Mix, Nomura noted that it was of a "new series" in Kingdom Hearts rather than Kingdom Hearts III. When asked about Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura noted that fans and partners alike were interested in its release, and would work to "realize it" as soon as possible.[84] In the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania guide book, Nomura announced three upcoming titles, one of which was Kingdom Hearts III. However, Final Fantasy XV was still his primary focus, preventing him from starting production on Kingdom Hearts III.[85] He later noted that Kingdom Hearts III would not see a release until after 2012, due to his continuing work on Final Fantasy XV, regardless of the tenth anniversary of the series occurring in that year.[86] The Nintendo 3DS video game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was announced to connect to Kingdom Hearts III, both in terms of gameplay system and story.[87]

Sony announced Kingdom Hearts III for the PlayStation 4 with a teaser trailer at its E3 2013 event in June 2013.[88] Square Enix later confirmed the game's cross-platform release for the Xbox One as a port of the PlayStation 4 version.[89][90] Though some development and concepts for the game began during the seventh generation of video game consoles, it was always intended that the game would release during the eighth generation.[91]: 65  Unlike Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, which were developed by Square Enix's Product Development Division 1 team, Kingdom Hearts III was developed by Square Enix's 1st Production Department, who developed Birth by Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and worked on the HD 1.5 Remix collection and Square Enix's Business Division 3.[92][93] Rie Nishi serves as the game's producer.[94] The game began using the in-house Luminous Studio engine to develop the game after some initial development tests had been done using Unreal Engine 3.[91]: 66 

Directly after E3 2013, Nomura claimed that Kingdom Hearts III was announced early, based on where the game stood in development. He continued by saying, planning alongside Final Fantasy XV".[95] Kingdom Hearts III is not intended to be the final game in the series,[47] and serves as the final chapter of the "Dark Seeker/Xehanort" saga.[18][47] Series producer Shinji Hashimoto stated in September 2013 that since Nomura was director of both Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV, it was expected that there would be a significant gap between the release of the two, "as [they] want each game to be perfect in terms of quality." Hashimoto also reiterated Nomura's statements about the game's announcement at E3 2013, as "the company thought it was about time it addressed speculation about the long-awaited conclusion to the trilogy."[96] A short teaser for the game appeared at the end of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix trailer at E3 2014. Yasue revealed that the sequence seen in the teaser was the opening scene for the game. He added that it was created by Nomura, who had "a real clear picture of [what] the starting sequence" should be, and that the text seen and heard was going to "be a real integral part of the story".[97] As Nomura stopped working on Final Fantasy XV, focusing his attention on other projects, including Kingdom Hearts III.[98] Nomura revealed that the game had switched to using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, due to a "variety of reasons", with the development team having the full support of Epic.[99]

In January 2015, Yasue revealed that working on HD 2.5 Remix simultaneously allowed the developers to learn all the best qualities from the series to aid in creating III. Additionally, he stated the Kingdom Hearts team was sharing knowledge with the Final Fantasy XV team to expand the game and get the most out of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[100] A gameplay trailer was released during the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour in Los Angeles in mid-June 2017.[15][101] The possibility of a Nintendo Switch version of the game might be created, but wanted to focus on the development and promise of completing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions was thought.[102] Nomura noted the long development was due to internal Square Enix corporate decisions, such as changing to the Unreal Engine 4 about a year into the game's development, which led to "extensive delays" and "a bit of time that needed to be rewinded and started over", and "certain timing and resources challenges within Square Enix", despite submitting and getting approved a plan for when more personal resources would be needed on the project. Regarding downloadable content (DLC) for the game, Nomura stated that "nothing is set in stone" regarding it, but he told the development team to "be prepared to be able to accommodate for something like that. We can't suddenly develop a system where we're accommodating for downloadable content. So it's not confirming or denying either way, but just so that the development team will be prepared".[103] He would later add that he wanted to have some sort of additional content for the game, but nothing in depth had been discussed. Nomura was open to potentially adding customizable accessories, as was able to be done in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage with Aqua, as that feature does not return for Kingdom Hearts III.[104] Nomura also preferred DLC to expand or change the game over releasing a Final Mix version as had been done with some past entries in the series.[44]

At D23 Japan 2018, Square Enix revealed the game was being developed in three sections, with approximately three worlds in each section. At that time, the worlds in the first section were said to be 90 percent complete and development of the middle section at around 60 percent. No update was given on the final section of the game, though Nomura stated its contents were "something he's always wanted to do and put into Kingdom Hearts, ever since the days of working on Final Fantasy... It is bound to surprise everyone."[41] In April 2018, the "Classic Kingdom" mini-games were revealed for the game, while also announcing the games would be playable in the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Union χ.[45] A selection of the mini-games were made available in Union χ in its "χ3" mode added in September 2018, which enables players to obtain the "Starlight" Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts III by completing certain objectives.[105] By June 2018, the secret film for the game had been created. Additionally, Nomura revealed the development team was concerned with the size of the game and if it would fit on the game disc. To help with this, the team was turning some of the cutscenes into pre-rendered films to help reduce load times.[44] Nomura had requested the use of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in the game, which he called his favorite Disney character, but was denied such a proposal.[106][107]

At E3 2018, Nomura also provided an update to the development of the Big Hero 6 world, revealing all the gameplay had been created, with the cutscenes still needing to be completed.[53] At X018, a world based on Winnie the Pooh was revealed.[46] Shortly after, it was reported that the character of Winnie the Pooh would be censored in China. This was due to the Chinese government banning any depictions of the character after the character's appearance had been compared to that of Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping.[108] To improve the Gummi Ship gameplay, a criticism in previous entries, the development team who created the scrolling shooter 1997 game Einhänder was brought in to handle this portion of the game, along with other programmers and engineers who have worked on driving games.[42] Development of the game was completed by November 20, 2018.[109]

World selection

Nomura revealed the Tangled world was one of the first determined to be in the game, as the development team wanted to include Rapunzel due to her strong personality and her hair, finding it fitting for the gameplay.[26] The Pirates of the Caribbean world was included because Nomura wanted at least one world based on a live-action Disney film, stating that the Caribbean location allowed for "interesting" gameplay opportunities.[110] He also chose to have the world be based on the third film, At World's End (2007), over other films in the series, particularly Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, because Dead Man's Chest is "setup" for At World's End and the game would "have to end [the story] in the middle as well".[40] The world also mimics the color palette from the film, being "deliberately washed-out", with the sky, for example being more grey-blue over "[t]he typical fantasy blue".[91]: 64 

Since the release of Kingdom Hearts II in 2005, The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm. When asked in 2013 if any of these properties would appear in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said he contacts Disney after he hears of an acquisition, though he 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."[111] 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.[112] Yasue added that they were "looking at all of Disney, the new ones as well" when choosing worlds for the game, including worlds potentially based on Marvel Comics and Star Wars properties. He expanded, saying, each world needed originally to stand out.[113]

Nomura had hoped to include a world based on Toy Story 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."[71] Nomura felt Pixar worlds were extremely important to include in Kingdom Hearts, specifically one based on the film Toy Story, and stated he considered not making Kingdom Hearts III if he could not get the rights to use Pixar properties from Disney. This world was the first submitted to Pixar for approval shortly after the completion of Kingdom Hearts II, with Nomura presenting them a general outline of the story he had planned for the world. It would take Pixar "several years" to approve the story and character designs, as Nomura and Square Enix were negotiating through Disney, not with Pixar directly.[91]: 58, 61 

Nomura noted the approval process for each world was more difficult than with earlier games, because many of the worlds are based on some of Disney's more contemporary films, making it harder to take creative license with the worlds.[60] He explained, "Previous to Kingdom Hearts III, I think these companies kind of saw it more as like, secondary rights permissions. They saw it more as a product, like you would a branded toy or something."[91]: 61  Continuing, Nomura noted, "Because we are working with more recent titles, the staff who were on the original project are the ones we go to for approvals. For instance, Frozen. The staff is still there and they work with us on Frozen. Because we go directly to the creators, they have the most passion for their titles."[60]

Design

In June 2013, Nomura discussed the updated visuals, saying that the development team tried to return the character's texture to the original "paintbrush art from Disney productions". The resulting visuals were referred to as the Kingdom Shader. Nomura felt it might not seems a massive change, it was still a notable evolution of previous visuals.[18] Nomura also revealed that Sora is the same proportions as in previous games; however, they "muted the volume on his hair—it's not as wild." Regarding updating Sora's look from his Kingdom Hearts II design, Nomura noted that outfit's popularity, but felt the desire to change it since the game is the first numbered sequel since II's release. He added that the basis for the resulting design is a mix between Sora's costumes for Kingdom Hearts II and Dream Drop Distance, one that is "a lot more sleek and sporty" in order to make him look more acrobatic.[26] Riku and King Mickey also received updated outfits.[62] When asked about Noctis Lucis Caelum' similarities with Yozora, Nomura stated that while he noted there are several similarities between the two characters, they hold no connections.[114] Roxas and Xion, popular characters from Kingdom Hearts II and other games in the series, were originally not planned to appear, but positive response to their characters led to their inclusion.[115]

Speaking on the designs of the worlds, Nomura said the updated graphical capabilities allowed the development team "to depict the world[s] of the original film[s] as close to [their] original form as possible" after previously creating worlds to be "a stylized Kingdom Hearts world".[116] Disney shared basic polygon information with the development team, who ultimately had to remake all of the characters, animations, and environments from scratch.[91]: 65 [117] Members of Pixar assisted with the creation of the worlds based on Toy Story and Monsters, Inc.,[71][56][118] and for the Pixar characters in the game, Pixar shared their actual character models with Square Enix and had the original character designers consult on the game "to make sure everything looked as true to the films as we could make it."[57] The design team would talk weekly with Disney, sharing their assets to receive feedback, with Disney sometimes asking "for minute alterations such as insisting a character show less teeth, having their eyelids move differently or their line of sight adjusted". The line of sight notes, which came from Pixar, "were instrumental in raising the general quality of the animation throughout" according to the development team.[91]: 65 [117]

Supporting characters can explore an environment on their own if Sora idles momentarily, sometimes triggering additional cutscene moments. For example, Rapunzel responds if an Aero spell is cast on a group of dandelions. Speaking specifically to interactions such as this with Rapunzel, Yasue said "finding and activating these moments builds trust with" her and can lead "to additional combat scenarios and treasure opportunities".[20]

Audio

Music

Series mainstays Yoko Shimomura (left) and Hikaru Utada (right) returned to provide music for the game.
Main article: Music of Kingdom Hearts

The game's soundtrack was composed by long-time series composer, Yoko Shimomura,[94] and features additional contributions from Takeharu Ishimoto and Tsuyoshi Sekito.[119] Shimomura felt pressure over working in the title since it was Square's first numbered game after several years. She wanted fans to look forward to the game, believing its content would appeal to the audience.[120] The soundtrack includes a highly altered version of the track "Dearly Beloved" in order to fit the ending of the "Seeker of Darkness Arc".[121] The soundtrack was released on November 11, 2022,[122] the album of which contains 8 CDs. The soundtrack that plays during Xemnas, Ansem and Xehanort, "Forza Finale" ("last force" in Italian) was composed by Yasunori Nishiki, of whom Shimomura was a fan.[citation needed] Due to the game being released worldwide, the team decided to localise titles in multiple languages.[123]

As with the first two main Kingdom Hearts games, it has a theme song written and performed by Hikaru Utada, titled "Chikai" in Japanese and "Don't Think Twice" in English.[124] It serves as the game's ending theme.[125] An additional theme, titled "Face My Fears" by Skrillex, Poo Bear, and Utada, is used for the opening of the game.[126] Skrillex, a fan of the series, originally intended to remix "Don't Think Twice", before creating "Face My Fears", which also has a Japanese version. Both "Face My Fears" and "Don't Think Twice" were released on January 18, 2019.[127][125]

Utada requested that the producer Skrillex produce a remix of the song "Chikai" for Kingdom Hearts III, since it was known that he was a fan of the game. He proposed to instead make a completely new song. Utada agreed to collaborate with him and songwriter Poo Bear to write the song.[128]

Voice cast

Haley Joel Osment returned to voice the lead character Sora in the English cast.

Kingdom Hearts III only features English and Japanese voice acting and lip syncing, despite previous entries in the series having dubbing in other languages. Nomura noted that the development team wanted to prioritize a global simultaneous release for the game, and given the time and resources for recording the dialogue, this would not have been possible with additional language recordings.[129] Though the game has both English and Japanese voice acting, it does not have the ability to switch between them, as the development team found this feature difficult to properly support.[44] A version of the game with Chinese subtitles will also be released.[130] Kingdom Hearts III has full voice acting in optional dialogue moments outside of cut scenes, which is a first for the series.[131]

In the Japanese voice cast, Akio Otsuka, the voice actor for Xehanort's Heartless "Ansem", replaced his late father Chikao Ohtsuka, who played the villain Master Xehanort. Miyu Irino returned to voice Sora and Vanitas as he faced more issues during recordings of the game. After finishing the game, Irino wondered if he might properly portray Sora in sequels due to his age gap. Mamoru Miyano also returned to voice Riku and his replica persona with similar difficulties to his more drastic age gap. Miyano reflected that Riku had to act more positive, especially when interacting with his replica, since he understood his mindset. Risa Uchida provided the voice for Kairi and Xion again, noting that Kairi had a more mature perspective such as when she befriends Axel; in contrast, Uchida felt that Xion was more relatable.[132] Olaf received a new Japanese voice actor in an updated patch following the arrest of his original Japanese voice actor, Pierre Taki.[133]

Haley Joel Osment returned to voice Sora in the English version. Due to Sora's lack of growth across the franchise, Osment faced the challenge of properly giving him the tone of a teenager. In retrospect, Osment found the idea of ending Kingdom Hearts III as an emotional moment as, while the series would not end with this installment, the narrative would give proper closure to the story started by the antagonist Xehanort.[134] Tony Anselmo and Bill Farmer – who portrayed Donald Duck and Goofy in English[135][136] were overjoyed with their multiple redesigns when the characters traveled to other worlds.[137] Other actors include David Gallagher as Riku/Riku Replica, Bret Iwan as Mickey Mouse, and Alyson Stoner as Kairi and Xion.[138] Jason Dohring, Willa Holland, Jesse McCartney and Mark Hamill reprise their roles as Terra, Aqua, Ventus, and Master Eraqus from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, respectively; McCartney also reprises his role as Roxas. Dylan Sprouse appears in the Re Mind downloadable content as the voice of new character Yozora, and was overjoyed with his character due to him liking Japanese role-playing heroes.[139] Rutger Hauer voices Master Xehanort, replacing Leonard Nimoy after his death in 2015; following Hauer's death in 2019, Christopher Lloyd portrayed the character in the Re Mind downloadable content.[140]

Release

Kingdom Hearts III was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 25, 2019, in Japan and other Asian countries,[141][130][44] and on January 29, 2019, elsewhere.[142] In July 2017, at D23, it was announced that the game would release in 2018.[56] Almost a year later, at an additional performance of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour in Los Angeles, the game's North American release date was revealed to be January 29, 2019.[142] Nomura spoke to moving the game's release date outside of 2018, stating the development team had been told the original release date they had considered was not "good timing in the year" to release the game, especially considering "differences in holiday lengths and how stores behave in different regions". In addition, Square Enix requested the game be released as simultaneously as possible between Japan and the rest of the world, and not wanting to move up the release at the expense of development, resulted in the January 2019 date being chosen.[53] The game's epilogue was planned to be added to the game on January 26 for Japan and January 30 elsewhere, while the secret ending content was planned to be added worldwide on January 31, 2019.[143] This was done in order to help prevent them from leaking beforehand, since Nomura called them "the biggest spoilers" in the game.[144]

A deluxe edition of the game features an art book, steelbook case, and collectible pin. Another edition, exclusive to the Square Enix store, includes Bring Arts figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy in their Toy Box outfits in addition to the deluxe edition contents.[145] A limited edition Kingdom Hearts III-themed PlayStation 4 Pro and DualShock 4 controller was released on January 29, 2019, exclusive to GameStop and EB Games in North America.[146]

Following the release of the game, Nomura confirmed the development of post-launch downloadable content, saying that the development team's current "top priority is on making DLC for KH3" with the intention of releasing a single content package of DLC in lieu of a separate "Final Mix" version like previous titles in the series.[82] A DLC episode entitled Re Mind was officially announced in June 2019, with a slated release on January 23, 2020, for the PlayStation 4 and February 25, 2020, for the Xbox One.[4][5]

The game was released with all downloadable content included for Windows on March 30, 2021, via the Epic Games Store.[147] It was later released on Steam after three years of exclusivity on June 13, 2024.[7]

A cloud-streamed version of the game for Nintendo Switch including the Re Mind DLC was announced in October 2021 to coincide with Sora's inclusion as a playable character in the Switch-exclusive crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the 20th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, and was released on the Nintendo eShop alongside cloud versions of the 1.5+2.5 HD Remix and 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue collections on February 10, 2022.[148][149][150]

Reception

Critical response

Kingdom Hearts III received an 83/100, indicating "generally favourable reviews", according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[151][152] Game Informer called Kingdom Hearts III "the series at its strongest", a game that "provide[d] satisfying answers to the biggest question marks" of the series, praising the combat and gameplay, but panning the sidequests, Gummi Ship mode and general "repetitiveness" of the final worlds.[156] Writing for IGN, Jonathon Dornbush praised the technical advancements for the game and combat. GamesRadar was generally positive, but also panned the Gummi Ship game mode for its "blandness". VideoGamer panned it in general, finding it too simplistic and repetitive.[164]

Critical response to the narrative was mixed, with both RPGamer and GamesRadar finding the visuals of the Pirates of the Caribbean world awkward to watch due to Square's attempt to emulate realism.[159][162] Despite panning the narrative as "incomprehensible", VideoGamer.com found the Toy Story worlds and Pixar in general the most entertaining.[164] GameRevolution enjoyed the Disney worlds, complimenting both their narratives and visuals.[157] The more complex subplots was also generally praised, but DenOfGeek claimed it was "confusing".[165][163][156] The absence of Final Fantasy characters in the initial release of the game, apart from Moogles, were criticized by fans.[154][166][156] GameRevolution and EGM found that the Organization XIII as final stage villains made the narrative accessible to most gamers and praised the voice acting, especially Haley Joel Osment as Sora, and Richard Epcar and Paul St. Peter as Xehanort's alter egos.[163][162][161][159]

Sora's characterization was praised for retaining likable heroic traits,[167][154] though Polygon felt Sora's characterization was "off", lacking change.[168] RPGamer said Sora's hero's journey is mostly shown in the climax.[162] His fate in the ending was the subject of analysis due to his apparent death after saving Kairi to the point GameRevolution stated that Kingdom Hearts III did not give the audience the happy ending they expected despite ending Xehanort's arc.[169][170][171] The ending was generally praised for its bittersweet character endings, although GameSpot claimed that "heavy-handed storytelling... inevitably culminates in battles that are impressive set-pieces but feel cheap and spammy to play" with the story wrapping up "in an incredibly unfulfilling way."[158]

Sales

In its debut week, the game topped the EMEAA (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia) charts, in terms of both unit sales and gross revenue.[172] In Japan, the game debuted at the top of the Media Create charts with 610,077 retail sales, above Resident Evil 2.[173][174] It also debuted at the top of the UK charts, with Kingdom Hearts III more than doubling the launch week sales of Kingdom Hearts II.[175]

In North America, it was the top-selling game in January 2019,[176] and the third top-selling game in February 2019 (behind new releases Anthem and Jump Force).[177] Kingdom Hearts III is the overall top-selling game in North America during the first two months of 2019, exceeding the sales of Kingdom Hearts II by over 80% during the same time span.[178]

On February 4, 2019, Square Enix announced that more than 5 million copies were sold, becoming the fastest-selling title in the franchise,[179] less than two weeks after its release.[172]

On April 11, 2022, Kingdom Hearts III was revealed to have reached a total of 6.7 million units as of September 2021 surpassing Kingdom Hearts total of 6 million to become the current best selling title in the series.[180]

Accolades

Kingdom Hearts III was nominated by IGN for the Best Game of E3 2018, Best PlayStation 4 Game of E3 2018, Best Xbox One Game of E3 2018, and Best Action Game of E3 2018.[181] It also won the Momocon E3 Choice 2018 Game Award, and was nominated for Unreal's E3 awards.[182]

Year Award Category Result Ref(s).
2018 Game Critics Awards Best RPG Won [183]
Gamescom Best Role-Playing Game Nominated [184]
Golden Joystick Awards Most Wanted Game Nominated [185]
Gamers' Choice Awards Most Anticipated Game Nominated [186]
2019 Japan Game Awards Award for Excellence Won [187]
Golden Joystick Awards Best Visual Design Nominated [188]
Titanium Awards Best RPG Nominated [189]
Best Soundtrack (Yoko Shimomura) Nominated
The Game Awards 2019 Best Score/Music Nominated [190]
Best RPG Nominated
2020 New York Game Awards Statue of Liberty Award for Best World Nominated [191]
47th Annie Awards Best Character Animation - Video Game Nominated [192]
23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Role-Playing Game of the Year Nominated [193]
NAVGTR Awards Game, Franchise Family Nominated [194][195]
Original Dramatic Score, Franchise Won
Song Collection Nominated
Song, Original or Adapted ("Don't Think Twice") Nominated
SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Animation Won [196][197]
Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019 Best Music Nominated [198]

Re Mind

The DLC received "mixed" responses based on the review site Metacritic.[199] IGN criticized the new boss characters were too difficult to defeat as there are few ways to level up.[203] GameSpot and GameInformer called it a director's cut, with the former praising the inclusion of Riku, Aqua and Kairi as playable characters, but criticizing how the main fighting area, the Keyblade Graveyard, had poor design in contrast to other worlds previously seen in the franchise.[202][201] JXV said that the high difficulty of the boss fights the DLC offers was Square's response to gamers' criticism in regards to the easy difficulty of the actual game as well as the return of quick time events from the previous game, Kingdom Hearts II.[204] Destructoid liked the inclusion of new playable characters and how the new bosses seem to be a response to the easy difficulty.[200] Comic Book Resources regarded Data Xehanort and Yozora as the most challenging bosses in the entire game.[205]

In regards to the narrative, GameInformer found it disappointing as, while the game allows the player to explore a new area and see more Final Fantasy characters, they are not properly followed. Still, they felt the new cutscenes helped to improve the game's final act, making the story more enjoyable.[201] Destructoid enjoyed the new cutscenes that expand on the game's final battle between Sora's group and Xehanort's forces, especially because Kairi is given more screentime and plays a more pivotal role in the outcome than in the original game. Unlike GameInformer, Destructoid praised the new boss characters as fighting them provided the reviewer more fun.[200] IGN felt that the narrative was hard to follow as the game ends on a more open nature than the original game.[203] GameSpot was more critical to the story, labeling it as "filler" and that it lacks the Disney and Pixar worlds that made the game enjoyable.[202]

Notes

  1. ^ Theme song "CHIKAI/Don't Think Twice" was composed and performed by Hikaru Utada. Opening Theme "Face My Fears" was composed by Utada, Skrillex and Poo Bear, and performed by Utada. Additional music was contributed by Shotaro Shima and Kenichiro Fukui.
  2. ^ Japanese: キングダム ハーツIII, Hepburn: Kingudamu Hātsu Surī
  3. ^ Japanese: キングダム ハーツIII リマインド, Hepburn: Kingudamu Hātsu Surī Rimaindo
  4. ^ As depicted in the 2012 game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
  5. ^ In Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, the two are identified as Kairi and the "Nameless Star" encountered by Sora in an optional cutscene in Kingdom Hearts III.
  6. ^ Tetsuya Nomura has acknowledged the city's resemblance to Shibuya as featured in The World Ends with You.[82] The city is identified in Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory as Quadratum, set in a parallel reality to Sora's world.

References

  1. ^ Cecily (January 24, 2019). "Nomura discusses unlocking KINGDOM HEARTS 3's secret ending and future simultaneous releases". KH Insider. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Leamax (March 13, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts III music interviews with Keiji Kawamori, Takeharu Ishimoto, and Tsuyoshi Sekito". KH13. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Arielle (April 23, 2019). "KINGDOM HEARTS 3 remains best-selling game of 2019, best-selling game of franchise". KH Insider. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Square Enix (June 10, 2019). Kingdom Hearts III - E3 2019 ReMind DLC Trailer - PS4. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Romano, Sal. "Kingdom Hearts III DLC 'ReMIND' launches January 23, 2020 for PS4, February 25 for Xbox One". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  6. ^ Kim, Matt T.M. (February 12, 2021). "Kingdom hearts Is Coming to PC In March". IGN. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Parrish, Ash (May 21, 2024). "Square Enix will let Kingdom Hearts cook on Steam". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Purslow, Matt (October 5, 2021). "Kingdom Hearts Series Coming to Switch as Cloud Games". IGN. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Polanco, Tony (July 16, 2018). "Hands-On: Kingdom Hearts 3 is Fun Even if You've New to the Series". Geek.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Splechta, Mike (June 26, 2013). "Tetsuya Nomura discusses Kingdom Hearts 1.5, Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy 15". GameZone. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Square Enix (June 25, 2013). Square Enix Presents E3 2013 – Day1 [#03] – KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 ReMIX Interview. YouTube. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  12. ^ Martens, Todd (July 26, 2013). "Tetsuya Nomura is ready – at last – for 'Kingdom Hearts 3" to progress". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. ^ a b c Corriea, Alexa Ray (June 16, 2015). "Kingdom Hearts III Shows Sora at His Most Powerful". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  14. ^ a b Wallace, Kimberley (July 15, 2017). "Gummi Ship Confirmed For Kingdom Hearts III". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c Yin-Poole, Wesley (June 11, 2017). "New Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay trailer shows off Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  16. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon; Schwartz, Terri (July 15, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Director Hints at Second Playable Character". IGN. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  17. ^ a b Madsen, Hayes (December 17, 2018). "Every Secret in Kingdom Hearts III's New Trailer You Probably Missed". Twinfinite. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d e Gifford, Kevin (June 19, 2013). "Kingdom Hearts 3 detailed by game director Tetsuya Nomura". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  19. ^ Osborn, Alex (July 16, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Director Confirms Gummi Ship Will Return, New Magic Ability Tiers". IGN. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  20. ^ a b c d Dornbush, Jonathon (January 17, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Preview: A Sea of Possibilities". IGN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Futter, Mike (June 16, 2015). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Sends Sora And Friends to the World of Tangled". Game Informer. Game Stop. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  22. ^ Fillari, Alessandro (May 18, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Shows The Series' Charm Has Not Gone Away". Game Spot. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  23. ^ a b Dornbush, Jonathon (June 19, 2018). "E3 2018: 6 Gameplay, Story Details We Learned From Kingdom Hearts 3's Director". IGN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  24. ^ a b c d e f McWhertor, Michael (May 18, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 is a whimsical spectacle full of Disney cheer". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  25. ^ a b c d e McCarthy, Caty (January 24, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Review". USgamer. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  26. ^ a b c Romano, Sal (June 16, 2015). "Tetsuya Nomura and Tai Yasue talk Kingdom Hearts III and Unchained Chi at E3". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  27. ^ Jonathon Dornbush (May 21, 2018). "E3 2018: How Kingdom Hearts 3 Recaptures That Disney Magic". IGN. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  28. ^ Ratcliffe, Amy (June 10, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III Release Date Announced and Ratatouille Revealed". Nerdist. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  29. ^ a b c Dornbush, Jonathon; Schwartz, Terri (July 18, 2017). "8 Cool Things We Learned About Kingdom Hearts 3 at D23 Expo". IGN. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  30. ^ a b Wallace, Kimberley (July 16, 2017). "Nomura Reveals More on Kingdom Hearts III's Keyblade Transformations And Summons". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  31. ^ a b c d Asarch, Steven (January 2, 2019). "'Kingdom Hearts 3' Co-Director Is Sorry Fans Had To Wait So Long". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  32. ^ Pramath (January 15, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 To Have Situation Commands". Gaming Bolt. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  33. ^ Nakamura, Toshi (June 20, 2013). "Here Are Some Things To Expect in Kingdom Hearts 3". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  34. ^ a b Dornbush, Jonathon (October 27, 2016). "A Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts 3' Two New Screenshots". IGN. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  35. ^ a b c d e Foster, George (June 15, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3: 10 Things We Learned at E3 – 8. A New Drive Form Revealed". What Culture. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  36. ^ a b Dornbush, Jonathon (July 15, 2017). "A Deep Dive into The Kingdom Hearts 3 D23 Expo Trailer Gameplay And Story Details". IGN. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  37. ^ a b スズタク (July 21, 2017). "『キングダム ハーツIII』は『トイ・ストーリー』抜きでは考えられなかった。野村さんが武器変形やフォームを説明" (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  38. ^ Massongill, Justin (May 18, 2018). "Finally! We've Played Kingdom Hearts 3". PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  39. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (June 11, 2018). "E3 2018: Kingdom Hearts 3 Pirates of the Caribbean World Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  40. ^ a b c Minotti, Mike (June 22, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III director explains why Pirates of the Caribbean is back". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  41. ^ a b c d e Pereira, Chris (February 10, 2018). "New Kingdom Hearts 3 Trailer Shows Monsters Inc. World, New Gameplay Details Revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  42. ^ a b Dornbush, Jonathon (January 21, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Gameplay Deep Dive With Its Co-Director". IGN. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  43. ^ a b c Wallace, Kimberley (June 12, 2018). "Nomura on Kingdom Hearts III's Final Fantasy Characters, Aqua's Popularity, And Ratatouille". Game Informer. Game Stop. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  44. ^ a b c d e f g Romano, Sal (June 20, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III volume being too great is a concern; DLC planned, but no Season Pass". Gematsu. Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  45. ^ a b c McWhertor, Michael (April 16, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 has Game & Watch-style minigames inspired by classic Disney". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  46. ^ a b c Hussain, Tamoor (November 10, 2018). "New Kingdom Hearts 3 Trailer Is Full of Pooh". Game Spot. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  47. ^ a b c Sterling, Jim (March 25, 2010). "Kingdom Hearts 3 confirmed, more KH games coming". Destructoid. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  48. ^ Romano, Sal (June 23, 2015). "Kingdom Hearts III has mostly new worlds, release window internally decided". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  49. ^ a b c d e f "Square Enix Announces Next Generation Development of Kingdom Hearts III" (Press release). Los Angeles: Square Enix. June 11, 2013. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015 – via PR Newswire.
  50. ^ Riendeau, Danielle (June 16, 2015). "Watch the Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay trailer". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  51. ^ Kingdom Hearts [@KingdomHearts] (August 14, 2015). "The Heartless Dandelions make quite an entrance in Rapunzel's Kingdom of Corona in the #kingdomhearts III trailer!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2015 – via Twitter.
  52. ^ Kohler, Chris (June 10, 2018). "Disney's Frozen Is A World in Kingdom Hearts III". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  53. ^ a b c d Dornbush, Jonathon (June 12, 2018). "E3 2018: Kingdom Hearts 3 Director Comments on Delay to 2019, Why We Haven't Seen Big Hero 6's World". IGN. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  54. ^ a b Silva, Marty (August 16, 2015). "D23 2015: Kingdom Hearts 3 Adds Big Hero 6 World". IGN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  55. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III Goes To Infinity And Beyond". Square Enix. July 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  56. ^ a b c d Frank, Allegra (July 15, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 gets a new trailer and its first Pixar-based world". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  57. ^ a b Wilson, Aoife (May 18, 2018). "Toying around with Kingdom Hearts 3". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  58. ^ "Kingdom Hearts III – Worlds". Square Enix Japan. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  59. ^ Moore, Andy (February 13, 2019). "How to Unlock the Ultima Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts III". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  60. ^ a b c Futter, Michael (June 13, 2018). "'Kingdom Hearts' Director Tetsuya Nomura Worked Hard to Bring You Those Pixar Levels". Variety. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  61. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (July 17, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts III's Confirmed Weapons, Locations, And Keyblades". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  62. ^ a b Foster, George (February 10, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3: 10 Major Reveals From D23 2018 – 4. Riku And Mickey's Outfits Revealed". What Culture. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  63. ^ Dunsmore, Kevin (December 19, 2018). "Here's Every World Launching in Kingdom Hearts III". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  64. ^ Stretch, Andrew (November 10, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Winnie The Pooh Trailer Analysis – Can This Game Come Out Yet?". Tech Raptor. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  65. ^ Dunsmore, Kevin (December 18, 2015). "Square Enix Releases New Kingdom Hearts III and 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Footage". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  66. ^ Kingdom Hearts [@KINGDOMHEARTS] (December 14, 2018). "Having regained their humanity, Ienzo and Lea appear to have joined our heroes! Ienzo dedicates himself to his research in Radiant Garden while helping Sora and his allies. Meanwhile, Lea now wields a Keyblade, and throws himself into daily training alongside Kairi" (Tweet). Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018 – via Twitter.
  67. ^ a b Murphy, Eoghan (December 14, 2018). "New Kingdom Hearts 3 Screenshots Showcase Jiminy Cricket, Chip and Dale, Stitch, and More". Dual Shockers. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  68. ^ Kingdom Hearts (September 17, 2018). KINGDOM HEARTS III – TGS Big Hero 6 Trailer (Closed Captions). YouTube. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  69. ^ Kingdom Hearts [@KINGDOMHEARTS] (January 18, 2019). "These Classic Kingdom mini-games may look humble, but are not to be taken lightly. Play them through Sora's Gummiphone in #KingdomHearts III, or get a sneak peek at some in #KHUX now! [Photos of the games The Klondike Kid, Mickey's Mechanical Man, and Mickey's Kitten Catch]" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
  70. ^ Foutch, Haleigh (August 29, 2017). "Producer Roy Conli on 'Born in China', Joining the 'Frozen' Family & 'Kingdom Hearts III'". Collider. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  71. ^ a b c d Wallace, Kimberley (July 16, 2017). "Nomura Shares More Details on Kingdom Hearts III And Its Toy Story World". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  72. ^ Stretch, Andrew (November 10, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Winnie The Pooh Trailer Analysis – Can This Game Come Out Yet?". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  73. ^ Madsen, Hayes (September 18, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III's New Trailer Shows Off Big Hero 6, Davy Jones, and Roxas". Twinfinite. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  74. ^ Statt, Nick (June 11, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III's multiple E3 trailers have pirates, Olaf, but few concrete answers". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  75. ^ a b McWhertor, Michael (February 10, 2018). "New Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer shows off Monsters Inc. world". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  76. ^ Glagowski, Peter (June 20, 2018). "Square Enix has no plans for a season pass with Kingdom Hearts III". Destructoid. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  77. ^ Melrose, Kevin (September 10, 2018). "New Kingdom Hearts III Trailer Calls in Big Hero 6". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  78. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (June 14, 2018). "Even Kingdom Hearts' creator gets a little confused about the story sometimes". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  79. ^ McCarthy, Caty (June 13, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts Doesn't Need Final Fantasy Like it Used To, Tetsuya Nomura Says". Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  80. ^ Boom, Daniel Van. "Final Fantasy characters return to Kingdom Hearts in KH3: ReMind DLC". CNET. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  81. ^ a b Dchiuch (March 4, 2019). "The big Tetsuya Nomura interview from Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania has been translated in full". KH13. Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  82. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (October 30, 2006). "Nomura on Kingdom Hearts III". IGN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  83. ^ McElroy, Griffin (February 6, 2010). "Nomura working to 'realize' Kingdom Hearts III, explains Sora's furry origins". Joystiq. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  84. ^ Fletcher, JC (March 25, 2010). "Nomura mentions three more Kingdom Hearts games in interview". Joystiq. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  85. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (September 28, 2010). "No Kingdom Hearts 3 By 2012". IGN. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  86. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 17, 2010). "Kingdom Hearts 3D will connect with III". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  87. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (June 10, 2013). "Kingdom Hearts 3 coming to PS4". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  88. ^ "E3 2013: Kingdom Hearts III Heading to Xbox One". IGN. June 11, 2013. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  89. ^ "Sony Unleashes a Smackdown in an E3 To Remember". Game Informer. Vol. XXIII, no. 244. GameStop. July 2013. p. 17. Square Enix teased the long-awaited third entry in the Kingdom Hearts series, as well as Final Fantasy XV (the newly branded name for Final Fantasy Versus XIII). While those titles aren't PS4 exclusives, we learned that Sony's console is the lead platform, with the Xbox One version effectively built as a port.
  90. ^ a b c d e f g Simpkins, Jen (February 2019). Brown, Nathan (ed.). "Hearts and minds". Edge. No. 328. United Kingdom: Future plc. pp. 56–69.
  91. ^ Ishaan (June 11, 2013). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Being Developed By Square Enix's Osaka Studio". Siliconera. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  92. ^ "第3ビジネス・ディビジョン キャリア採用 Square Enix – Recruiting -". Square Enix. March 25, 2017. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  93. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III in 7/4 Famitsu Weekly!". KHInsider. June 18, 2013. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  94. ^ Weaver, Timothy (June 13, 2013). "Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced too early, says Tetsuya Nomura". PlayStation Universe. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  95. ^ Karmali, Luke (September 10, 2013). "Expect a Wait Between Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV". IGN. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  96. ^ Schreier, Jason (June 11, 2014). "This Is The Intro To Kingdom Hearts III". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 12, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  97. ^ Juba, Joe (September 17, 2014). "Tetsuya Nomura No Longer Directing Final Fantasy XV". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  98. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (October 7, 2014). "Kingdom Hearts III Is Being Made with Unreal Engine 4". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  99. ^ MacDonald, Keza (January 23, 2015). "The Kingdom Hearts Remakes Were 'Good Training' For Kingdom Hearts 3". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  100. ^ Marnell, Blair (June 11, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Trailer Features Hades And Teases The Return Of [Spoiler]". Nerdist. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  101. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew; Schwartz, Terri (July 15, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Director: Switch Version 'Maybe' Possible After Xbox One, PS4 Versions Are Released". IGN. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  102. ^ Rougeau, Michael (July 17, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Director Tetsuya Nomura Explains What Took So Long". Game Spot. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  103. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (June 13, 2018). "E3 2018: Kingdom Hearts 3 Director on Potential For DLC, 1.5 + 2.5 Collection Coming to Xbox One". IGN. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  104. ^ Romano, Sal (September 7, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III Classic Kingdom minigames now playable in Kingdom Hearts: Union χ". Gematsu. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  105. ^ Hoggins, Tom (March 10, 2017). "Kingdom Hearts 3: Tetsuya Nomura on working with Disney and catering to fans both old and new". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  106. ^ Cecily (March 10, 2017). "Nomura & Shimomura Joint Interview for KH Orchestra". KH Insider. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  107. ^ Henry, Jasmine (November 21, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3: Why is Winnie The Pooh Censored?". GameRant. Archived from the original on November 24, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  108. ^ McWhertor, Michael (November 20, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally done, Tetsuya Nomura says". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  109. ^ Wallace, Kimberley (June 12, 2018). "There Are More Worlds To Kingdom Hearts III Than We've Seen So Far". Game Informer. Game Stop. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  110. ^ Silva, Marty (June 12, 2013). "E3 2013: Kingdom Hearts' Creator Speaks on Disney's Recent Acquisitions". Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  111. ^ Minotti, Mike (June 16, 2015). "Star Wars in Kingdom Hearts III? Nomura says it's complicated". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  112. ^ MacDonald, Keza (December 2, 2014). "Marvel and Star Wars are "Not Off-Limits" for Kingdom Hearts 3". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  113. ^ "Kingdom Hearts III Verum Rex and Final Fantasy Versus XIII Are Different Stories Says Nomura". Siliconera. March 27, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  114. ^ "Xion and Roxas Reappeared in Kingdom Hearts 3 Because of the Fans". Siliconera. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  115. ^ Wallace, Kimberley (September 2017). "Kingdom Hearts III Reaches for the Stars". Game Informer. Vol. 27, no. 293. GameStop. pp. 65–67. With Kingdom Hearts III, I feel like we were able to recreate the world of the original CG film pieces close to its original quality in terms of its graphics and the look of the different worlds," Nomura says. "Up until then, we created the worlds so that it looks like it is a stylized Kingdom Hearts world, but now with Kingdom Hearts III, we were able to depict the world of the original film as close to its original form as possible.
  116. ^ a b Skrebels, Joe (February 11, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3: The Challenges and Rewards of Working With Disney". IGN. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  117. ^ Donaldson, Alex (May 21, 2018). "Best of 2018: How Pixar and Square Enix collaborated to bring Toy Story and Monsters Inc to Kingdom Hearts 3". VG247. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  118. ^ "石元丈晴氏×野村哲也氏が初対談！『ディシディアFF NT』サウンドトラック発売記念インタビュー". Famitsu (in Japanese). February 28, 2018. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018. English translation via "Nomura confirms Takeharu Ishimoto and Tsuyoshi Sekito are working on Kingdom Hearts 3 Soundtrack". KH Insider. March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  119. ^ "Kingdom Hearts Composer Talks Orchestra World Tour, Kingdom Hearts III". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  120. ^ "KINGDOM HEARTS: Memories of Dearly Beloved with Yoko Shimomura". Square Enix. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  121. ^ "KINGDOM HEARTS". Square Enix. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  122. ^ "『キングダム ハーツ3』の作曲チームに聞くサウンドトラックの魅力、『キングダム ハーツ』らしいサウンドとは". Famitsu. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  123. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (February 10, 2018). "Listen To Kingdom Hearts III's Theme Song By Utada Hikaru". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  124. ^ a b Beckwith, Michael (September 28, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Opening Song Created By Skrillex and Utada". GameRant. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  125. ^ Groux, Christopher (September 22, 2018). "'Kingdom Hearts 3' Opening Theme Written By Skrillex, Utada Hikaru & Poo Bear". Newsweek. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  126. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (September 28, 2018). "Utada Hikaru And Skrillex Team Up For Kingdom Hearts III Music". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  127. ^ "Hikaru Utada's "Face My Fears" Co-written With Skrillex Announced As Opening Theme For Game "KINGDOM HEARTS III"". Hikaru Utada Official Website. September 28, 2018. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  128. ^ Alonso, Álvaro (August 22, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 – Entrevistamos a Tetsuya Nomura, director de la saga" (in Spanish). Hobby Consolas. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018. English translation via KHInsider Archived November 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  129. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III (Japanese・English Version), the Official Sequel to Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts Series, and PlayStation®4 Pro Kingdom Hearts III Limited Edition Confirmed to Be Released Additionally, Kingdom Hearts III (Chinese subtitle Version) Localiation Confirmed!" (Press release). Sony Interactive Entertainment Hong Kong Limited. November 22, 2018. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  130. ^ Sullivan, Lucas (May 18, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 plays, looks, and sounds just like you hoped it would". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  131. ^ Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania. Square Enix. 2019. p. 51.
  132. ^ "Olaf's Japanese Voice Actor Pierre Taki will be replaced in a future update patch for the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts III". KH13 · for Kingdom Hearts. March 14, 2019. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  133. ^ "Haley Joel Osment on Growing up in Kingdom Hearts". USGamer. January 16, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  134. ^ "Star-Studded Voice Cast Unveiled For Disney And Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts III" (Press release). Square Enix. PR Newswire. September 26, 2018. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  135. ^ "Celebrities and Industry VIPs Among The First To Play in the Kingdom Hearts Worlds of Disney and Pixar" (Press release). Square Enix. May 21, 2018. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  136. ^ "Haley Joel Osment on Growing up in Kingdom Hearts". D23. January 29, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  137. ^ "Alyson Stoner comments on voicing Kairi in Kingdom Hearts III: "This was the most fun out of all of them...You'll see why!"". KH13.com. November 26, 2018. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  138. ^ Sprouse, Dylan (January 23, 2020). "Spoilers for @KINGDOMHEARTS ReMind ahead: Very happy to announce that I voice Yozora in the dlc. I have lived out my edgy JRPG character fantasies from when I was a kid in one of the most nostalgic franchises for me. I even got to say "Sorry, but I don't lose." I'm over the moon!pic.twitter.com/RPKZutwi44". Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  139. ^ "The 5 Best Things About Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind (& The 5 Worst)". The Gamer. January 27, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  140. ^ Romano, Sal (June 10, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III launches January 25, 2019 in Japan and Asia, January 29 in North America and Europe". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  141. ^ a b Wallace, Kimberley (June 10, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III Finally Gets A Release Date". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  142. ^ Romano, Sal (January 11, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts III launch updates schedule announced". Gematsu. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  143. ^ Good, Owen S. (December 16, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 leaks, director pleads for community not to share spoilers". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  144. ^ Glagowski, Peter (June 11, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts III gets two collector's editions and one has action figures!". Destructoid. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  145. ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 14, 2018). "Kingdom Hearts 3 limited edition PS4 Pro coming Jan. 29". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  146. ^ "Kingdom Hearts series coming to PC on March 30". Gematsu. February 11, 2021.
  147. ^ "Three Kingdom Hearts Games Are Coming To Switch, But They're All Cloud Versions". Nintendo Life. October 5, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  148. ^ "Kingdom Hearts Series Coming to Switch, 20th Anniversary Event Detailed". ComingSoon.net. October 5, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  149. ^ "'Kingdom Hearts' Switch Cloud Release Date Announced". Collider. January 21, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  150. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  151. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  152. ^ "Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  153. ^ a b c Carter, Chris (January 28, 2019). "Review: Kingdom Hearts III". Destructoid. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  154. ^ Schaefer, Emma (February 1, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts III Review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  155. ^ a b c d Wallace, Kimberley (January 24, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Review - A Main Attraction Worth Waiting For". Game Informer. Game Stop. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  156. ^ a b Russell, Brandon (January 29, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  157. ^ a b Hussain, Tamoor (January 24, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Review". Game Spot. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  158. ^ a b c Weber, Rachel (January 24, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Review: "I'm not sure how I lived without its Mickey Mouse shaped madness in my life"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  159. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (January 24, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  160. ^ a b "Review: Kingdom Hearts III". HarcoreGamer. January 28, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  161. ^ a b c d "Kingdom Hearts III Review". RPGamer. February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  162. ^ a b c "Kingdom Hearts 3 Review: A Disney Adventure Like No Other". DenOfGeek. February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  163. ^ a b Wise, Josh (February 1, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 review". Videogamer.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  164. ^ "Kingdom Hearts III PlayStation 4". Anime News Network. February 6, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  165. ^ "Kingdom Hearts 3: Where Are the Final Fantasy Characters?". Game Rant. February 6, 2019. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  166. ^ Muncy, Julie. "Playing Kingdom Hearts III Feels Like Coming Home". Wired. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  167. ^ Frank, Allegra (January 24, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts 3 ends the series with a whimper". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  168. ^ "Latest Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind Trailer Shows Off Final Fantasy Characters, Kairi In Battle, And More". GameInformer. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  169. ^ "Kingdom Hearts 3 ending explained - What do all those endings really mean for the future of the series?". GameInformer. May 13, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  170. ^ "Kingdom Hearts 3 Ending explained What happens to Sora in the final scene?". GameRevolution. February 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  171. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III crowned at top of EMEAA charts in debut week". GamesIndustry.biz. February 8, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  172. ^ "Media Create Sales: 1/21/19 – 1/27/19". Gematsu. January 30, 2019. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  173. ^ "「KINGDOM HEARTS III」61万本，「バイオハザード RE:2」25万2000本の「週間販売ランキング＋」". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). January 30, 2019. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  174. ^ "Kingdom Hearts III conquers UK charts with impressive debut week". GamesIndustry.biz. February 3, 2019. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  175. ^ Kato, Matthew (February 20, 2019). "Kingdom Hearts III Takes NPD January". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  176. ^ "NPD: Anthem was the best-selling game in February". GamesIndustry.biz. March 20, 2019. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  177. ^ "February 2019 NPD: Anthem and Jump Force top software sales". VentureBeat. March 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  178. ^ "'Kingdom Hearts III' (ALL) Sells 5 Million Units, Becomes Fastest Selling Title In Franchise's History". WorthPlaying. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  179. ^ "野村氏がファンの疑問へ直接回答！ボイスキャストも駆けつけた「KINGDOM HEARTS 20th ANNIVERSARY EVENT」展示＆ステージをレポート｜Gamer". www.gamer.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  180. ^ "Best of E3 2018 Awards". IGN. June 15, 2018. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  181. ^ KH13.com [@KH13com] (June 12, 2018). "It's only the first day of E3 and Kh has already won Momocon E3 Choice 2018 Game Award, and nominated by IGN for Best of E3 and is also a candidate for Unreal E3 Awards 2018!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  182. ^ Watts, Steve (July 5, 2018). "Resident Evil 2 Wins Top Honor In E3 Game Critics Awards". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  183. ^ Keane, Sean (August 22, 2018). "Gamescom 2018 award winners include Marvel's Spider-Man, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". CNET. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  184. ^ Hoggins, Tom (September 24, 2018). "Golden Joysticks 2018 nominees announced, voting open now". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  185. ^ Glyer, Mike (November 19, 2018). "2018 Gamers' Choice Awards Nominees". File 770. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  186. ^ Craddock, Ryan (September 13, 2019). "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Dominates The Japan Game Awards 2019". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  187. ^ Tailby, Stephen (September 20, 2019). "Days Gone Rides Off with Three Nominations in This Year's Golden Joystick Awards". Push Square. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  188. ^ "Titanium Awards 2019". Fun & Serious Game Festival. March 9, 2017. Archived from the original on November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  189. ^ Winslow, Jeremy (November 19, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Nominees Full List". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  190. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (January 2, 2020). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  191. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (December 2, 2019). "Annie Awards: 'Frozen 2,' 'Missing Link' Lead Year of Surprises and Snubs". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  192. ^ Chalk, Andy (January 13, 2020). "Control and Death Stranding get 8 nominations each for the 2020 DICE Awards". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  193. ^ "2019 Nominees". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. January 13, 2020. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  194. ^ "2019 Winners". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  195. ^ Grayshadow (February 17, 2020). "2020 SXSW Gaming Awards Nominees Revealed". NoobFeed. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  196. ^ Grayshadow (March 25, 2020). "SXSW 2020 Gaming Award Winners Revealed". Noobfeed. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  197. ^ Sato (April 18, 2020). "Here Are the Winners of the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019". Siliconera. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  198. ^ a b "Kingdom Hearts III Remind PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  199. ^ a b c Carter, Chris. "Review: Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind". Destructoid. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  200. ^ a b c Wallace, Kimberley. "Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind Review". Game Informer. Game Stop. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  201. ^ a b c Petite, Steven. "Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind Review - Don't Remind Me". Game Spot. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  202. ^ a b c Dornbush, Jonathon (January 28, 2020). "Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind Review". IGN. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  203. ^ a b Anagund (January 28, 2020). "Kingdom Hearts III : ReMIND". Webedia. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  204. ^ "The 10 Hardest Bosses Of Kingdom Hearts III, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. February 18, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Kingdom Hearts III.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Kingdom_Hearts_III&oldid=1253202368"