Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is an exciting adventure through the world of Disney and a spin-off in one of the most popular RPG series of all time. Bouncing through time and attempting to prevent the return of the evil Master Xehanort, heroes Sora and Riku return as they take their Mark of Mastery exam and travel to various lands. With a mixture of hack and slash action with a new tactical recruitment feature, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance offers all the fun of the console games but in handheld form!

Main Game Features

• Play as both Sora and Riku
• Explore 7 unique worlds
• Recruit enemies to fight for you in battle

Story

Set after the events of Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance focuses on Sora and Riku as they attempt to complete their Mark of Mastery Exam before Master Xehanort returns. In order to pass their test, the pair must travel to seven worlds that have been destroyed by the Heartless and restore them to their former glory. In order to do so, they'll have to battle new enemies, recruit allies, and share information as they explore parallel dimensions. As is common in the Kingdom Hearts series, the worlds you explore are mostly based on Disney movies, with Dream Drop Distance offering several new worlds. You'll travel through worlds based on Tron: Legacy, Fantasia, Pinocchio, and many more.

However, the story in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is far more complex than that seen in a Disney movie. While the general plot surrounding Sora and Riku's exam is simple enough to follow, the plot often gets lost in the complex backstory. There are tons of other characters and events to consider, especially when tying this plot back to previous games, as time travel makes it even more confusing at points. Thankfully, understanding the story is not key to having a fun time with this game, so you can still have a blast without ending up with a headache.

Gameplay

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance follows the gameplay trend of the first few games while also including improvements seen in spin-offs like Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. After the tutorial, you'll enter one of the seven available worlds, playing as both Sora and Riku. As you explore each world, you'll encounter Heartless enemies and new foes called the Dream Eaters, which you must defeat using attacks and other special moves. Up to three Dream Eaters can be recruited as spirits to fight at your side during battles, opening up new attacks and strategies. In a way, spirits are much like pets, as you'll need to feed them and play with them to unlock new abilities.

There are also various new additions to the hack and slash combat, including mechanics like Flowmotion which allows you to bound off of walls and grind on rails. The Reality Shift mechanic also lets you vastly change aspects of the environment, which can help you solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. In addition to the main story mode, you can also play Flick Rush, which pits your team of spirits against an opponent's. By combining the series' signature combat with some fun new ideas, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance makes a marked improvement on the standard gameplay loop.

Conclusion

Although the story is notably convoluted and some areas feel too linear, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is a great way to experience your favorite Disney worlds in a new way. Recruiting and upgrading spirits is a neat concept that works well during combat, while the ability to swap between Sora and Riku at any time keeps things from becoming stale.

Pros

• Action is fun and flashy
• Great environments based on Disney movies
• Drop minigame is unique

Cons

• Story can be very confusing
• Levels are mostly linear
• Battle system takes a while to understand