Kingdom Hearts III - NYCC 2018 Hands-On Preview

Kingdom Hearts III is one of the most highly anticipated games this and last generation. During NYCC 2018 we have the chance to try the game finally and see if the long development was worth the wait. And we can say, it was.

Kingdom Hearts III's demo provides players with 2 worlds, on based on Hercules and the other on Toy Story. The Hercules level has Sora facing off against the Rock Titan. Like in previous games Sora must weaken the Titan by hitting its legs before delivering fatal blows. On the way to the fight, we got the chance to face against numerous Heartless, all with individual designs that complement the world, and witness Sora's incredible power. 

Like in previous games Sora is nimble, powerful, and nearly unstoppable in the demo. The warrior has a wide selection of moves but most of them complement the freeflow system introduced in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. Sora can wall-run and dash, with a flash of color to complement his attacks. Then the insanity hits the fan when Sora summons Big Magic Mountain and takes control of a massive train to deliver the final blows against the Titan. Donald and Goofy provide much more support here, easily distracted targets and weakening them for Sora to take down.

Toy Story's world shows Sora's keyblade combat. The demo provided an insanely powerful Sora but with more interaction with the environment. Sora can walk on a ball dash on walls and issue commands with ease. Square Enix has finally included the ability to swap between keyblades, allowing players to equip different powered versions of the legendary weapon. What brings the entire game together is the graphics and atmosphere.

Both Hercules and Toy Story provides a unique setting with richly detailed worlds. Hercules made the entire battle with the Rock Titan feel like an epic journey as you wall-run up the mountain while rain and rocks rained from the sky, pummeling Sora to reach the final boss. Toy Story had Sora, Donald, and Goofy dawn toy-like bodies while fighting Heartless with similar features.

Kingdom Hearts III delivers on both gameplay and action. It's an outstanding title that captures the atmosphere and energy the franchise is known for without missing a beat. It may have been a long time coming but Kingdom Hearts III is every bit worth the wait.

Kingdom Hearts III launches on January 29th for Xbox One and PS4

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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