Kingdom Hearts is infamous for its convoluted timeline and extraordinary story. The franchise is designed painstakingly to take players on a journey as mind-boggling and wondrous as its universe that ties together decades of Disney and Final Fantasy themes and characters. Here are a few thoughts I had on Kingdom Hearts 3:

Game Play (4/5)

The controls feel very nice during combat. I love the keyblade transformations and how each keyblade provides a unique style of game play. The magics and summons are beautiful and useful. I also really enjoy the new action commands and attraction rides. I feel right at home since I have played the series. That said, I am used to Sora, the protagonist, starting off the game with no abilities and working his way into becoming an over-powering keyblade wielder; but this time, it is as if Sora starts out with over-powering strength and his prowess only intensifies as the game progresses. The game play on regular (intermediate) mode is way too easy for me, but I am fine with that because it was my first play through. I was disappointed that Proud (hard) mode is just as easy. Unfortunately, there is no critical mode to push me to my gaming limits or to even present me with a somewhat legitimate gaming challenge. Albeit I thoroughly enjoy the gameplay, as a completionist gamer, I am a little disappointed in how easy KH3 is to complete.

New Worlds (5/5)

I am very pleased with the new worlds in KH3. Surprisingly, there are only nine worlds this time around; however, each world is roughly the size of three worlds in past games. These worlds seem endless! The level of detail and its intricate graphic quality is certainly Disney and Square Enix brand worthy. The Caribbean is my favorite world. There is so much to do there and it is the biggest map by far. The graphics are outstanding and appear more lifelike than the other more cartoonish worlds. The Caribbean stood out from the rest (also my favorite keyblade).

Gummy Ships (5/5)

The gummy ships in the past have been unappealing to say the least and aggravating to say the most. This time, they got it right. Thankfully, you do not have to do much with this system. You still use the gummy ship to fly between each world, but you can fast travel between worlds you have already been to. The maps for these areas are massive and give you the freedom to fly around in space and do whatever you want. It’s not a linear road like in past games. I am so impressed with how awesome this feature has become. I look forward to the next evolution of the gummy ships.

Story Development (3/5)

This topic is a bit tricky. Overall, I loved the story arch. KH3 concluded the saga and I am happy that I can move on after waiting so long for this final title of the series. With that said, I did find qualms in how the story progressed through the gameplay. Perhaps a bit unsettling is how each world is disconnected from the main storyline. I found the most engaging moments of the story to be at the end of the game, which made every one feel like filler story except for the final world. I do like that each world is more true to its origin than in past games, but I also feel like that makes the individual worlds feel isolated from the KH3 story. The individual worlds simply did not contribute to the main story in any significant way. I am okay with the game being as convoluted as it is, as a fan I come expecting that. After all, this is the essence of Kingdom Hearts.

Post Game (3/5)

I am disappointed in the post game play. The absence of a critical mode is a major deficit. The post game content consist of the usual grindy stuff but I feel like it takes less time to grind all the synthesis, recipes, etc this time around. This complaint brings me back to the game being too easy. I did like the mini-games that are present. Most of them are a step up from past games because the worlds are new. I have no idea why they bring back Winnie the Pooh in this iteration. Even for KH3 it feels out of place— it feels rushed and thrown in. The mini-games for Pooh are also not as fun (I wish they would use it for DLC instead so they could have spent more time on it).

Overall Score (4/5)

Overall, I recommend this game to anyone who loves Disney, Pixar, Final Fantasy, JRPGs, or has played the other titles in this series. If you are new to the series, I recommend playing the other games in the series first or at least watching a YouTube video that explains the convoluted timeline that is the Kingdom Hearts story. You will be lost if you do not. The game play is simple for veteran gamers, and the story development and post game play are quirky, but the worlds are excellent and it maintains the majesty that is Kingdom Hearts. Game on!