Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance is a good entry in the franchise, with some problems in terms of storyline and related with the camera. The Dream Eaters feature is well implemented and the mechanics still work, but unfortunatelly the game isnt as good as it should be.

Kingdom Hearts 3D has a really good game, perhaps even a great game, at its core. The slick central combat mechanics, sharp graphics, colourful neon-laced design, and childhood-baiting Disney properties all combine to present a game that is often a lot of charming, exciting fun. However, the adage still stands - less is more, and these positive attributes could be so much easier to enjoy if they weren't being broken up by bad writing, frustrating boss battles and a ludicrous excess of development.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is a game that surely will satisfy the owners of a 3DS looking for a Japanese RPG made by Square. It's not Kingdom Hearts III that many are waiting for and you will feel the limitations after developing a long term commitment (with added difficulties for beginners).

Yes, some things work better than others, but you'll learn to deal with the game's quirks in exchange for that old Disney magic, though if you're a big Kingdom Hearts fanatic, Square Enix already had your support.

By now the story has become so complex that only dedicated fans will understand what's going on. And it's them that will appreciate the new combat system that has come with Kingdom Hearts 3D.

Dream Drop Distance is a shining example of a good game that could have been great, if the developers had only taken the time to fix the mistakes and problems that have been plaguing it for years and years.

No, Disney isn't for everyone, but unless you're laden with a heart of stone, it's hard not to be taken in by Kingdom Hearts 3D's many charms.

One of the most uneven games we've played. But fans of the series should love it.

There's a mixture of novelty and intelligent ideas in Dream Drop Distance, that don't quite add up to an evolved form of what the series has shown us before. It's another sideways step for Kingdom Hearts, then, but undeniably a grandiose one.

Kingdom Hearts 3D is a great looking, solid game, held back by a few design choices which stop it from being as enjoyable an experience as it should be. If you are new to the series and want to know what it's all about, then try Kingdom Hearts I or II before diving into this one. However, if you are a series veteran then step this way, as there is still a lot of fun to be had if you can overlook the small gameplay problems.

Kingdom Hearts 3D is a no-brainer for fans, but those new to the series would be better served by playing almost any of the past titles or spin-offs.

A solid action RPG with tons of great mechanics. However, the mechanics have been over-combined, the game is very difficult and the controls should have been tuned up.

Dream Drop Distance favored new but underwhelming elements to the simplicity and multiple point of views of Birth by Sleep, and the result is somewhat annoying. Even though it remains the best episode to date on a Nintendo platform, Dream Drop Distance suffers from its forced alternance between its two main characters. On the bright side, the combat is fare more dynamic and enjoyable, and the worlds to explore absolutely gorgeous for a 3DS game.

Here's hoping Square Enix decides to perform some flaw-flushing open-heart surgery on the series before its next entry, because hiding the messy bits under arbitrary new systems clearly isn't doing it any favors.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from 3D, having never seriously partaken of this series before. The experience, with its annoying mechanics and impenetrable narrative, has soured me on trying any more. Fans of other Kingdom Hearts titles will probably have a completely different reaction as they have already learned to cope with the mechanics and have some clue what the hell is going on. Absent from this conditioning, I find I have no interest in learning what else this series has to offer.

Doesn't quite live up to its own potential, and is ultimately bogged down by some poor gameplay decisions. It borrows and repurposes core gameplay ideas from previous games, adds a few new ideas into the mix – but the end result doesn't quite shine as brightly as it should. At worst, it feels like a hodge-podge of ill-suited ideas glued together in the most superficial ways. But the storyline delivers a good conclusion to the previous side tracks and builds up a lot of anticipation for the next main game.