The Kingdom Hearts series is, without a doubt, my favourite series of video games. Kingdom Hearts 2 is my favourite game and so, realistically, has set the bar for all other titles in the series. While KHDDD is not at the level of KH2, it is still a worthy game of the series and definitely improves upon some of the filler content we Kingdom Hearts fans have had to put up with in recent years. The premise of the game is that Sora and Riku (the protagonists) are called up to take their Mark of Mastery exam and so, Keyblades in hand, go to a series of worlds based on Disney films and have to wake these sleeping worlds up. So, how does this game shape up?
Gameplay
Generally speaking, Kingdom Hearts entails a great deal of mashing the 'A' button. You can use whatever spells you like, or whatever attack you like, but at the end of the day it is all going to involve hitting 'A' as hard and fast as you can. Nevertheless, this game inserts new elements to the gameplay which does make things more exciting in this respect. Firstly, you can leap off walls, street lights, enemies, sky scrapers, potted plants...OK, you can leap off basically everything. Anyway, you leap off these objects into enemies, producing a stronger attack than a usual tap of 'A'. The second main change is that you can do this thing called a 'Reality Shift' whereby you sometimes get the option to perform a special move on the touch screen, in the form of a mini game which does extra damage to the enemy. So, what do I think of these two new features? Honestly, I think they're a nice addition to the system. It adds something extra, makes more use of the scenery and so in this sense is a good addition. The issue I have with the object leaping is that in a sense it kind of ends up making a usual 'A' mash redundant because it's a stronger attack and really easy to pull off. The Reality Shift is useful for, say, really strong enemies, but for weaker enemies you can never be bothered to use it because it's quicker just to slam 'em a couple of times with the Keyblade than going through the whole minigame. The final new addition is the 'Drop Gauge'. Sora and Riku go around each world at the same time, albeit in different universes of the same world. The 'Drop Gauge' is basically a timer which, when it runs out, you go to the other character and then play their part of the story until their gauge runs out and then you go back to the first character. To an extent this is fine - it means the story can progress at the same time, without having to play each world twice (once as Riku and once as Sora). However, it's a pain in the ass when you 'Drop' in the middle of a boss fight and sometimes just during normal gameplay you'll be doing stuff, such as finding treasure and then you Drop out. I like exploring worlds thoroughly and so getting interrupted doing this can be frustrating. So these features are cool, but they do have their issues.
Dream Eaters
The enemies in this game are called 'Dream Eaters' and they're these Spirit things that come in all shapes and sizes, from a cute kitty to demon T-Rex. These are the things you fight, replacing the Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed of previous games. I like them - they have unique designs and make for some interesting fights. Then, you can make your own Dream Eaters to use and fight by your side. This replaces previous games where Donald and Goofy fought by your side, alongside the hero or heroin of the Disney world you were in. Honestly, I don't like this replacement; for example, it would have been so fun to fight with Quazimodo by your side, but this isn't allowed. This aside, it's cool to make Dream Eaters, trying to collect all the types and raising them. It definitely has a Pokemon feel to it and I do like this. In KH3 (when it arrives) I want the old system back, but for this game (although annoying) I did like collecting these Dream Eaters. So, overall, Dream Eaters are cool, but only as a one-time thing.
Worlds
Arguably the coolest thing about these games is they are Disney themed (not Pixar) and so, as a Disney fan, I find this to be a winning formula. There are new worlds in this game - such as a world for 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', and for the most recent 'Tron' film, amongst other new worlds. What I like is that a lot more effort seems to have gone into them compared to the (fairly) recent 'KH Birth by Sleep'. No expense has been spared in producing these worlds and for this I am very appreciative. You are also put back in 'Traverse Town' (a world those familiar with the series will know about) and in this world are characters from the game 'The World Ends With You'. OK, this is cool for fans of that game and it's nice to see the characters in it. But frankly, it's just plain old Traverse Town with these characters in it which I felt to be a bit of a let down. It needed a more personal touch which was not given. My second irk with the worlds is how lonely they feel. No, you never see citizens in KH games but you at least get the main protagonist of that Disney film going about with you. Here, that protagonist will be in a cut scene and then they'll jog off somewhere and you dont' see them till the next cut scene, so you're wandering about a whole world on your own, with only your Dream Eaters for companionship. I can deal with this for this game but it is not something I want to see more of in KH 3. These negative points aside, I like that there are several new worlds, the production of them is fantastic and graphically it is the prettiest thing to look at on the 3 DS so far.
Story
The basic premise is Sora and Riku go about waking up these sleeping worlds and kicking up some Dream Eaters in the process and all the while there is an important sub-plot which forms the premise for KH3. I thought I understood what was going on, but then things get really complicated. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil things, but there are a couple of points where I really was lost. I am not a fan of the Daily Mail, but its reviewer of this game said it 'made about as much sense as a chicken tikka pizza' and at parts, I had to agree with this. By the end, I knew what was happening and that KH3 is going to be so good, but in terms of how we got to the ending, I did find myself confused at points.
Conclusion
Basically, I think this is a sweet addition. Compared to the atrocity that was 'KH Re: Coded' the series has come a long way and it's actually a sequel, as opposed to filler or a prequel and so progresses the story. I have issues with it, but against KH 2 I am likely to have issues with any future KH game. Nevertheless, these issues do not render the game bad and in reality it is a very fun, engaging game to play which really sets the stage for what is likely to be the last of the series, KH 3. It has parts which should be incorporated into KH3, but there are also parts which should be sent to the Keyblade Graveyard. I do understand issues I have read concerning the game, but it remains the best title on the 3 DS so far and is a must-buy for fans of the KH series.
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