Kingdom Hearts III, the long-awaited game that finally released back in 2019, ruffled a lot of feathers when it came out. People were displeased with the floaty combat, over-reliance on the new attraction system, and the story. While these are all valid complaints, I do feel that this game gets a very bad reputation. It is nowhere near as bad as some people would lead you to believe.
First and foremost, if you are going into this game after playing Kingdom Hearts II, you will be completely lost when it comes to the story. Although the game is titled Kingdom Hearts III, there are still a whopping six games that released in between Kingdom Hearts II and III. That's a lot of missed context. Newcomers to the series, or even casual fans of it may be forgiven for thinking they could just jump right in to this game and get brought up to speed, but this is not the case. A lot of people who claim the story in this game is "bad" come from this camp. I think it's a little unfair to critique a game's story if you are unfamiliar with the previous entries. As far as the story goes, I liked it. I think it's a fitting conclusion to the Xehanort saga - nearly every main character still in play here gets either a satisfying conclusion or continuation. It's impressive how many story lines get a proper ending in this game.
Moving on to the gameplay - I agree with the complaint that the game feels a bit floaty. What most people mean by this is that while playing as Sora, you spend most of your time fighting enemies in the air, floating around from hoard of enemies to hoard of enemies. Combat lacks some of the weight it had in previous entries, which is a bit disappointing. To make matters worse, the new ride attraction commands trivialize most fights. They are neat the first few times you use them, but get old quick - there just isn't enough variety to make them feel special. Thankfully, there's now an option to turn them off outright, but you have to play the game through on the hardest difficulty, Critical Mode. It would have been nice to include this option outside of Critical Mode. At least you don't have to use them in combat, but it's still annoying.
One final note about combat I'd like to discuss is the abilities. There are some great abilities that are locked behind the ReMind DLC - which I think is a very short-sided thing to do. I'll touch on the ReMind DLC in a little bit, but locking any meaningful abilities behind a DLC pack is really anti-consumer.
Where Kingdom Hearts III improves upon it's predecessors is it's presentation. Graphically speaking, this is a beautiful game. Each world is stunning - for the first time in the series, it really feels like you are actually in a Disney film. The Toy Story and Pirates of the Caribbean worlds are especially impressive. Exploring these worlds is also majorly improved. You can spend hours running through these worlds collecting everything - it's a lot of fun.
As far as boss fights go, the game does a pretty good job. I will say, the game as a whole is much easier than previous titles. Outside of Critical Mode and the ReMind DLC, this game doesn't really present a big challenge. I never once got stuck on a boss or an area of the game due to difficulty - a rare occurrence in a franchise like Kingdom Hearts which is known for its' difficulty spikes.
Another element that is always discussed when talking about the Kingdom Hearts games is their post-game content. While the first two games have some of the post-game content in any game I've ever played, Kingdom Hearts III does falter a bit here as well. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to do after the credits roll (getting the Ultima keyblade, fighting the secret boss, doing Gummy Ship missions), but nothing here feels new or exciting - it's starting to feel a little by-the-books, which is concerning.
Lastly, I'd like to talk about the ReMind DLC, which came out about a year after the game's release. The ReMind DLC offers an alternate take on the game's ending, with new cutscenes, bosses, and an expanded final world. You essentially play through the game's final area one last time, with some pretty big differences. I will say, I do think this portion of the DLC is a bit boring. Outside of a few events and cutscenes, the fights remain largely the same. Once you enter the final world and are able to explore it more thoroughly, the DLC starts to feel more worth-it in my opinion. The new final battle is exciting as well, and gives a certain neglected character some time to finally shine.
In addition to the story expansion, ReMind also added what many consider to be the highlight of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix - the Data Organization fights. Suped-up versions of Organization XIII that you can fight at your leisure. It's a welcome addition to the game, and is easily the highlight of the DLC. If you can defeat them all, you're treated to a new super secret final boss, as well as a teaser for the next game. This new secret boss is insanely hard, but also extremely fun. It feels good knowing that Square Enix can still churn out bosses like this, especially considering how easy the rest of the game has been.
So overall, is Kingdom Hearts III a good game? Yes. Is it the best game in the series? No. Should you play it? Yes, but only if you've played the other games. It's a great ending to a long saga, and feels very rewarding if you've stuck with these games. ReMind is a must-play, it adds a lot of value to the game, even if some of the early parts of it feel a little repetitive. Now if only we can get Kingdom Hearts IV in the next 10 years.
First and foremost, if you are going into this game after playing Kingdom Hearts II, you will be completely lost when it comes to the story. Although the game is titled Kingdom Hearts III, there are still a whopping six games that released in between Kingdom Hearts II and III. That's a lot of missed context. Newcomers to the series, or even casual fans of it may be forgiven for thinking they could just jump right in to this game and get brought up to speed, but this is not the case. A lot of people who claim the story in this game is "bad" come from this camp. I think it's a little unfair to critique a game's story if you are unfamiliar with the previous entries. As far as the story goes, I liked it. I think it's a fitting conclusion to the Xehanort saga - nearly every main character still in play here gets either a satisfying conclusion or continuation. It's impressive how many story lines get a proper ending in this game.
Moving on to the gameplay - I agree with the complaint that the game feels a bit floaty. What most people mean by this is that while playing as Sora, you spend most of your time fighting enemies in the air, floating around from hoard of enemies to hoard of enemies. Combat lacks some of the weight it had in previous entries, which is a bit disappointing. To make matters worse, the new ride attraction commands trivialize most fights. They are neat the first few times you use them, but get old quick - there just isn't enough variety to make them feel special. Thankfully, there's now an option to turn them off outright, but you have to play the game through on the hardest difficulty, Critical Mode. It would have been nice to include this option outside of Critical Mode. At least you don't have to use them in combat, but it's still annoying.
One final note about combat I'd like to discuss is the abilities. There are some great abilities that are locked behind the ReMind DLC - which I think is a very short-sided thing to do. I'll touch on the ReMind DLC in a little bit, but locking any meaningful abilities behind a DLC pack is really anti-consumer.
Where Kingdom Hearts III improves upon it's predecessors is it's presentation. Graphically speaking, this is a beautiful game. Each world is stunning - for the first time in the series, it really feels like you are actually in a Disney film. The Toy Story and Pirates of the Caribbean worlds are especially impressive. Exploring these worlds is also majorly improved. You can spend hours running through these worlds collecting everything - it's a lot of fun.
As far as boss fights go, the game does a pretty good job. I will say, the game as a whole is much easier than previous titles. Outside of Critical Mode and the ReMind DLC, this game doesn't really present a big challenge. I never once got stuck on a boss or an area of the game due to difficulty - a rare occurrence in a franchise like Kingdom Hearts which is known for its' difficulty spikes.
Another element that is always discussed when talking about the Kingdom Hearts games is their post-game content. While the first two games have some of the post-game content in any game I've ever played, Kingdom Hearts III does falter a bit here as well. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to do after the credits roll (getting the Ultima keyblade, fighting the secret boss, doing Gummy Ship missions), but nothing here feels new or exciting - it's starting to feel a little by-the-books, which is concerning.
Lastly, I'd like to talk about the ReMind DLC, which came out about a year after the game's release. The ReMind DLC offers an alternate take on the game's ending, with new cutscenes, bosses, and an expanded final world. You essentially play through the game's final area one last time, with some pretty big differences. I will say, I do think this portion of the DLC is a bit boring. Outside of a few events and cutscenes, the fights remain largely the same. Once you enter the final world and are able to explore it more thoroughly, the DLC starts to feel more worth-it in my opinion. The new final battle is exciting as well, and gives a certain neglected character some time to finally shine.
In addition to the story expansion, ReMind also added what many consider to be the highlight of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix - the Data Organization fights. Suped-up versions of Organization XIII that you can fight at your leisure. It's a welcome addition to the game, and is easily the highlight of the DLC. If you can defeat them all, you're treated to a new super secret final boss, as well as a teaser for the next game. This new secret boss is insanely hard, but also extremely fun. It feels good knowing that Square Enix can still churn out bosses like this, especially considering how easy the rest of the game has been.
So overall, is Kingdom Hearts III a good game? Yes. Is it the best game in the series? No. Should you play it? Yes, but only if you've played the other games. It's a great ending to a long saga, and feels very rewarding if you've stuck with these games. ReMind is a must-play, it adds a lot of value to the game, even if some of the early parts of it feel a little repetitive. Now if only we can get Kingdom Hearts IV in the next 10 years.