Kingdom Hearts III

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2513 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,827 out of 2513
  2. Mixed: 328 out of 2513
  3. Negative: 358 out of 2513
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  1. SOLIDSNAKEN64
    Feb 4, 2019
    7
    This is a hard one for me to review, I have been a fan since the 1st KH came out and have been patiently waiting for 13 years for KH3. There are a lot of things that KH3 gets right but also alot of things that haven't been updated since KH2. I haven't finished the game yet but have put enough time in with KH3 to give my review. I'm about 18 hours in and about a little over halfwayThis is a hard one for me to review, I have been a fan since the 1st KH came out and have been patiently waiting for 13 years for KH3. There are a lot of things that KH3 gets right but also alot of things that haven't been updated since KH2. I haven't finished the game yet but have put enough time in with KH3 to give my review. I'm about 18 hours in and about a little over halfway through the game. First I want to point out that the graphics look amazing, hands down the best visually looking KH. I feel like nothing has changed from how the worlds are laid out. Everything is funneled through corridors, the environments are beautiful at times and then also empty hallways that you just keep running through. Gameplay is great, smooth and easy to use. The theme park summons are awesome to look at but eventually get repetitive as they are easy to summon every battle. I'm playing on the hardest difficulty - proud mode and I feel like I'm playing on easy, there is not much of a challenge even for boss fights. I really want to enjoy the story and there is some entertaining parts, but its definitely cheesy and cringey sometimes, also the story just seems to get more convoluted then it already was. The damn gummi ship is something they could get rid of and I wouldn't even bat an eye, it's such a **** filler mechanic that's not needed or even better since KH2. Is KH3 fun? Yes it definitely is if you've played the series before. veterans need to take of their nostalgia glasses you'll see that there are alot of things that could have been much better especially after waiting 13 years. New comers to the series I believe will be asking them self's what the f is this game made for little kids. KH3 is an ok addition to the franchise but it definitely felt like the dev's rushed this game out.… Expand
  2. frederik1478
    Jul 25, 2021
    7
    A good ending for franchise and I hope it will be,
    I love the Kingdom hearts franchise is the closest to my heart but I think this is a good place to just ended ,the Combat is not the best the serious but not the worst is a child of birth by sleep Kingdom hearts 2 body feels more like birth by sleep floaty kind of movement I'm not a fan of the world , I really love the ending and I will    A good ending for franchise and I hope it will be,
    I love the Kingdom hearts franchise is the closest to my heart but I think this is a good place to just ended ,the Combat is not the best the serious but not the worst is a child of birth by sleep Kingdom hearts 2 body feels more like birth by sleep floaty kind of movement I'm not a fan of the world , I really love the ending and I will say this is the third best kingdom hearts game,
    I loved it enough to get a Platinum trophy    … Expand
  3. kelonne
    Aug 27, 2019
    7
    Kingdom hearts iii is so so. I have played every title in the series.
    Kingdom hearts Iii story is somewhat boring, predictable. Story is a summary of many snap shots of the original movie/ story point jumps here and there (you probably wont understand if you haven't watch the movie before). Kingdom hearts iii explained and connect the gap between the series before.
    Story related game    Kingdom hearts iii is so so. I have played every title in the series.
    Kingdom hearts Iii story is somewhat boring, predictable. Story is a summary of many snap shots of the original movie/ story point jumps here and there (you probably wont understand if you haven't watch the movie before). Kingdom hearts iii explained and connect the gap between the series before.
    Story related game mechanics is interesting and new (robot riding in toy story, ship fight in pirate of the Caribbean) but very limited.
    There are a lot of mini games (optional), too many.
    There is not even many character from final fantasy series (compared to before, Cloud, Leon and so). I had this strong feeling this is a Disney only game.
    No arena and the fight with the must have legendary enemy Sephiroth is no more.
    Play till a point that I have to force myself to at least complete the story. Re-play value is low.
    Kingdom Hearts iii definitely doesn't worthy of 10/10 however it has many strengths and good improvement, definitely more than 5/10. My score is yellow region 7/10.    … Expand
  4. MonkiReviews
    Apr 24, 2021
    7
    A fun game, but it isn’t as good as I expected. I don’t know why, but I feel like the game play could be a little better. It is my favorite game in the series, but it isn’t my favorite game. It is fun, the story is good, and the characters are awesome, but it is missing pieces to make it amazing.
  5. SavageReviews1
    Feb 4, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have played every Kingdom Hearts game and i have been a fan since i was 11. After finishing the game i feel very conflicted. Every Pro i can think of has a Negative attached (I guess you can't have light without it casting a shadow).

    +Combat is frantic, varied, fun and flashy.
    -All the combat options makes the game way to easy on proud mode, enemies become punching bags.

    +The Disney worlds are mostly fun and introduce different mechanics.
    -The Disney worlds feel more tacked on in this game than In previous entries. Why is Sora even visiting these worlds? They feel less crucial to Sora's development and they don't really move the main conflict forward. The pacing in this game is off.

    +The final conflict was full of action and it was great seeing all the characters working together.
    -The final conflict also felt rushed, underdeveloped and introduced a ton of questions and plot holes. For example, the Final World did not make any since to me and the time travel elements were equally confusing.

    + The ending had all of our characters happy and reunited!
    -Sora and Kairi return but Sora pulls a Luke Skywalker without any explanation and it ripped the rug right from underneath me. It was discouraging to spend over a decade with this series and these characters just to have Sora not get a happy ending.

    This is where the darkness prevails...

    -Kairi and Axel had barely any development.
    -Cut scenes were way too long and the amount of exposition dumps were ridiculous.
    -No real surprises in the story (Besides the ending which felt more cheap than interesting).
    -Too much time wasted setting up a future for the franchise instead of developing the current story. (Ex: Maleficent and Pete searching for the Box)
    -The final Boss was super easy and anticlimactic.

    I had a lot of fun playing this game but the story was a mess and didn't resonate with me like the other games did. Raised more questions than it answered and the Disney to Square ratio felt uneven and poorly paced.    … Expand
  6. Ellessar
    Feb 24, 2019
    7
    It’s a fun game, but I could see how new players would find this hard to jump into. The story could have been done a bit better and they could have done a better job brining new players up to speed on the story. Overall a fun game with enjoyable combat and a decent story.
  7. FelleBanan_ygsr
    Oct 24, 2019
    7
    Pretty good game, but a major dissapointment. The story pacing is awful and the combat is either way too easy or way too hard. Still pretty fun to smash heartless and other enemies though.
  8. Connorcox1997
    Feb 22, 2019
    7
    Its been a long time coming, but its finally here for the mega-hype for KH3. But do you think it lived up to the hype? Because, in my opinion, the hype surrounding the game, was much bigger and better than the actual game that we got. Now don't get me wrong I don't think the game is terrible, in fact, its still a good game but is it that exciting I mean the gameplay is excellent as inIts been a long time coming, but its finally here for the mega-hype for KH3. But do you think it lived up to the hype? Because, in my opinion, the hype surrounding the game, was much bigger and better than the actual game that we got. Now don't get me wrong I don't think the game is terrible, in fact, its still a good game but is it that exciting I mean the gameplay is excellent as in previous KH game, the worlds are fascinating at, and the story is alright. But the story is where the real problem is; it feels very rushed with the story for the first few hours, side mission in the middle, and going back to the story for the final hours of the game. The proud mode which is supposed to be the hardest mode in the game, but instead it's too easy. The game was letdown man; the game feels it was rushed out the door so that was we can get our hands on the game already. The game is also way too easy, and I understand it, its a Disney game with FF mixed in, but we're all adults here and ever since we played the first ever KH game, we expect the game to be a challenging man. And there are like six worlds instead of like ten world from the previous KH game, but they're going to be DLC in the future, so I'm expecting other worlds to explore. It's still a good game, and if you loved the game that's fine, but I think this game could have been a lot better. 7/10… Expand
  9. AlvaroK95
    Jan 2, 2020
    7
    Después de tantos años esperando, la culminación de la historia de Sora no satisface aunque no es mal juego en general.
  10. somebody123
    May 24, 2019
    7
    The game is pretty good but Kingdom Hearts 2 was more challenging in my opinion. I always play these games on Proud Mode and KH3 was the most easy in my opinion. Sora is extremely over-powered in this one, most of my losses in the game were due to Mini-Games. The difficulty is a bit disappointing in my opinion.

    But I felt like game brought out the most of what I like about the series,    The game is pretty good but Kingdom Hearts 2 was more challenging in my opinion. I always play these games on Proud Mode and KH3 was the most easy in my opinion. Sora is extremely over-powered in this one, most of my losses in the game were due to Mini-Games. The difficulty is a bit disappointing in my opinion.

    But I felt like game brought out the most of what I like about the series, which was the crazyiness of the battles, it really feels like a cartoon or something.
    The thing that impressed me most was the graphics and cutscenes though, a lot of them feel exactly like the movie, it might be the best graphics i've seen, at least in terms of cutscenes.

    Its a good game but not the best in the series in my opinion.    … Expand
  11. Naedeslus
    Feb 18, 2019
    7
    Kingdom Hearts III has a strong opening, Sora is supposed to be weaker and while if you never played any game outside of KHI and KH II you will be a bit on the ‘lost’ side but the story so far didn’t feel overly complicated. It felt like it was taking it very safe as if they wanted it to be open to new players rather then giving those who have been a part of the Dark Seeker Saga since theKingdom Hearts III has a strong opening, Sora is supposed to be weaker and while if you never played any game outside of KHI and KH II you will be a bit on the ‘lost’ side but the story so far didn’t feel overly complicated. It felt like it was taking it very safe as if they wanted it to be open to new players rather then giving those who have been a part of the Dark Seeker Saga since the beginning.

    This isn’t overly a bad thing at first, the overall plot remains the same but there are noticeable pacing issues with the story. After the first two worlds, one being a very good world and a fan favorite and the other feeling too stilted and cut back from its inception in Kingdom Hearts II, the story takes a serious backseat. No longer are they really worried about taking out the main antagonist, instead Disney takes over. It’s obvious Disney probably paid Square Enix a lot to keep to the source material.

    It’s a shame because the other games didn’t really have this issue. Sure they usually followed the plot but they always worked in the overall theme of the games into the plot. The stakes were high, here it doesn’t even really matter that much. Don’t get me wrong, the Disney worlds are fun but a lot of them felt like filler.

    The other games, while having this issue to an extent made them quicker. You could do them pretty fast and get on with the story, sure you had to return to them but by then, you don’t’ feel like they’re overstaying their welcome. Their pacing was perfect, especially in the second game. The story does pick up at the last act but by then it feels like a lore dump. Here is where new players would feel the most lost because it waits to the actual last 4 hours or so to get good and it gets really good. The problem is, it should’ve built these moments up. The middle section of KHIII feels like a huge missed opportunity and I’m still wondering what Nomura was thinking. To be honest though, the last 4 hours are fantastic and well worth trudging through 18 hours to get there.

    So the pacing is pretty bad but how is the rest of it? The voice acting is top notch and so is the music. While I did miss the theme of the series, Simple and Clean, the new theme songs are actually not bad! They’re not as memorable as Simple and Clean or Sanctuary but they’re enjoyable. The remixes of previous games are great as well.

    The gameplay is fun but there are some issues. Sora is supposed to be weaker. You’d think that normal difficulty would present some sort of challenge, but it doesn’t. I didn’t grind at all, just fought enemies as I saw them, and it wasn’t hard at all. I died maybe 2-3 times and that was at the final bosses. I usually don’t mind easier games and tend to play them on easy mode if I find they’re too much of a struggle but here Normal felt like an Easy mode. I’d hate to see how easy Beginner mode really is. Even if you’re bad at games, Normal probably is the way to go since it gives you so many tools to win.

    There are these summons called attractions. While at first, they seem fine enough but there just isn’t enough of them and sometimes they feel like immersion breakers. I avoided them after a few times. They made the combat too easy and there really should be an update that lets you turn them off for the entire game. The combat is fun but I found the combat in KH2 better, mostly for reaction commands. Here it’s flashy but it didn’t have the great moves the second did. It does have super moves you can use but it could’ve used more. After using the same ones for most of the game it got a bit old. It would’ve been nice to have more to use. Still, not a bad combat system and I did like it.

    The worlds are a bit too big as I stated before. It would’ve been nice to have them cut off about an hour of content in the worlds. Some of them felt too open for their own good and the pacing hurt because of it. While this is a weird request but I feel if they had done this they could’ve expanded on the worlds that actually were too short.

    All and all, the pacing is pretty bad, the combat is easy but is it worth it? Yeah. It’s fun. That’s what’s important. It’s a good game, it’s just not the best in the series. If you’re a fan, play it. If you’re not, this won’t change your mind. If you never played a KH game before? I’d recommend playing a few and then checking this one out.

    All and all, it’s in a weird place review wise. It’s closer to a 7.5 than an actual 7 but still, it could’ve been better, but I don’t’ regret my purchase. I did enjoy it despite its flaws.    … Expand
  12. TheFirm34
    Feb 5, 2019
    7
    The visuals, the worlds, the characters and the combat make this game a 8/10. The convoluted story and awkwardly music-less cut-scenes here and there make this look and feel kinda dated and overly "Japanese". By Japanese I mean; those moments in Square Enix games where charatcers are on screen staring at each other and saying "Huh?", "Whaa!?" and "Ohh..."

    If you can live with some of    The visuals, the worlds, the characters and the combat make this game a 8/10. The convoluted story and awkwardly music-less cut-scenes here and there make this look and feel kinda dated and overly "Japanese". By Japanese I mean; those moments in Square Enix games where charatcers are on screen staring at each other and saying "Huh?", "Whaa!?" and "Ohh..."

    If you can live with some of the small faults, it's a super fun game. Just don't expect God of War or Last of Us level of storytelling and presentation.    … Expand
  13. steven310250
    Feb 3, 2019
    7
    Honestly, I expected more interaction with the characters reuniting. Nope, we don't get much interaction out of Xion, Roxas, Axel, Aqua, Ventus, Terra.

    They built up Kairi to be this bad ass keyblade wielder, promising to protect Sora this time, became the damsel in distress for the **** 3rd time. Story wise is ok, isn't the greatest story they're hyping it to be. Sora journeying his    Honestly, I expected more interaction with the characters reuniting. Nope, we don't get much interaction out of Xion, Roxas, Axel, Aqua, Ventus, Terra.

    They built up Kairi to be this bad ass keyblade wielder, promising to protect Sora this time, became the damsel in distress for the **** 3rd time.

    Story wise is ok, isn't the greatest story they're hyping it to be. Sora journeying his way to find the power of waking....only to not find it, but after saving Aqua and her fighting with Vanitas. Sora gets a call from Ventus from within telling him it's been inside him all this time.......You mean to tell me I went through all that **** and it's been in me all along?! When I could've been with Riku and Mickey saving Aqua as fast as possible instead of wasting my time saving a bunch of Disney movie characters....Just what the **** man.

    Xehanort doesn't even interact with the characters that much but instead his stupid butt ugly heartless, unverse, nobody minions and weeaboo cronies are doing the medling with Sora and his gang.

    Nomura then pulls a Naruto Shippuden and reveals Xigbar to be the "real" puppet master pulling the strings all along.

    Anyway, the story is just a complete 180 turn for the worst. It's not great, it's just a giant convoluted mess. Not enough character interaction, it tries to be about building characters and their story, but Normura just doesn't give enough time to flesh out these characters. After saving them, they're just "ok what ever, nobody cares for you anymore" type of ordeal.

    Well they're setting up for the next Kingdom Hearts game and I really want to see more interaction with the wayfinder trio, nobody trios interact with one another.

    Now story aside, the gameplay is fun, easy, hack and slash. Much easier than the other games. All of the bosses are an embarrassment to the other kingdom hearts titles. Wtf was that Scala Ad Caelum boss fight with the 13 darknesses. That hide and seek **** was stupid as hell.

    The game is very short compare to Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. I felt that this game was rushed. I finished it very quickly compare to the other titles.

    Oh and some of the lines felt very off to me especially Hiro in Big Hero Six world. The acting direction for him, just what happen to him? As I recall from watching the film, I don't remember him being way over the top. Speaking of which, there's barely interaction with the disney characters and Sora. Especially Frozen's world.

    Gummiship, hell no. I hated that part of the game.

    I had fun with the game, but the story, lack of character interaction, and ridiculous cheesy plot twists just sometimes put me off of the game. The gummiship too, it's just not fun anymore.

    Would I replay it again? Sure, but not for a VERY,VERY, VERY LONG TIME. I might come back in 8 years. When Nomura eventually gives up on convoluting this damn franchise and give it a proper ending. Then sure, I'd come back.    … Expand
  14. Mancin_D_Lucas
    Feb 14, 2020
    7
    the game is very pleasant, the disney worlds are finally full of details, the fights are pleasant, shame about the plot set aside until the end and then all in a hurry.
    Ridiculous level of difficulty.
  15. raul10murillo
    Feb 20, 2019
    7
    No ha sido lo que esperaba, tantos años esperando y al final nos traen esto.. han jugado con nosotros.. no es mal juego, tiene cosas buenas, pero no se puede comparar con el 1 o el 2, nisiquiera podria decir que es el tercer mejor juego de la saga, no tiene unos pocos fallos, tiene bastantes y de peso, lo bueno queda en un segundo plano, justo lo contrario de lo que sucedia con el 1 y elNo ha sido lo que esperaba, tantos años esperando y al final nos traen esto.. han jugado con nosotros.. no es mal juego, tiene cosas buenas, pero no se puede comparar con el 1 o el 2, nisiquiera podria decir que es el tercer mejor juego de la saga, no tiene unos pocos fallos, tiene bastantes y de peso, lo bueno queda en un segundo plano, justo lo contrario de lo que sucedia con el 1 y el 2, DECEPCIONADO… Expand
  16. cremadiscampi
    Jun 24, 2020
    7
    The graphics are good, especially in certain levels of the game.
    The soundtrack is great (Kingdom Hearts always deliver good music).
    The story is mediocre. The gameplay is pretty fun, but a downgrade from Kingdom Hearts 2 apart from some small details. The game definitely feels rushed and incomplete and the DLC doesn't really fix it. It's not the best game of the saga, but an ok game    The graphics are good, especially in certain levels of the game.
    The soundtrack is great (Kingdom Hearts always deliver good music).
    The story is mediocre.
    The gameplay is pretty fun, but a downgrade from Kingdom Hearts 2 apart from some small details.
    The game definitely feels rushed and incomplete and the DLC doesn't really fix it.
    It's not the best game of the saga, but an ok game neverthless.    … Expand
  17. AndyJane
    Jan 30, 2019
    7
    Don't listen to sad little man-children like metacritic user ONLYONEHERE. People like him, jump on metacritic on the launch day of any high profile game and rate the game 0/10. His 'reviews' all have the same structure, the same complaints, and it's blindingly obvious he hasn't played any of the games he talks about, just parroting the same rhetoric over and over. Very few, if any gamesDon't listen to sad little man-children like metacritic user ONLYONEHERE. People like him, jump on metacritic on the launch day of any high profile game and rate the game 0/10. His 'reviews' all have the same structure, the same complaints, and it's blindingly obvious he hasn't played any of the games he talks about, just parroting the same rhetoric over and over. Very few, if any games are worth 0/10 in the very same way as 10/10 reviews - it's illogical and childish to review things this way. Like many sad review-bombers, he has an agenda based around artificially altering the median user score. Metacritic do nothing to curb this kind of behaviour, and as a result, have become a laughing stock instead of a trusted review site.

    Kingdom Hearts 3 isn't much of a departure from previous games aside from missing some of the JRPG characters of the previous games. Colourful and bright visuals, RPG-lite gameplay, lots of varied locations. Fans' expectations are always inflated when a game is lost in development hell for so long so it's likely to disappoint some fans, but overall it's a solid game. Some people will of course give it 0/10 because they hide behind internet anonymity to behave like losers, and some people will , for the same reasons, rate the game 10/10 because they refuse to see any flaws and are in denial.    … Expand
  18. endofsea
    Jan 31, 2019
    7
    I hesitantly recommend this game, but only if you don't mind a huge cliffhanger. Half the plot was just advertising the next installment in the series. It's also incomplete in many areas, but that's just the standard these days. So yeah.
  19. OpusGamer
    Feb 1, 2019
    7
    I finished this very awaited title this morning. I really appreciated the experience, and it's also huge nostalgia for me. I remember being 14 years old when i got Kingdom Hearts 2 for christmas, and the gameplay and content was gold. Even though i really liked Kingdom Hearts 3 it feels like it was a bit rushed... and also lacked content in relation to retail price. I managed to finish theI finished this very awaited title this morning. I really appreciated the experience, and it's also huge nostalgia for me. I remember being 14 years old when i got Kingdom Hearts 2 for christmas, and the gameplay and content was gold. Even though i really liked Kingdom Hearts 3 it feels like it was a bit rushed... and also lacked content in relation to retail price. I managed to finish the main storyline in 26 hours and i am no pro gamer. I wil try to break the game down, with all its pros and cons.
    13 long years since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 and i think we all have been very eager to get our hands on Kingdom hearts 3. The story feels well written even though a lot of things are very hard to explain, the relation between heartless, nobodies, the organisation and of course kingdom hearts. The story is very linear, and there are some extra content wich will keep you entertained besides the main story. But as i mentioned earlier i do lack content and elements from kingdom hearts 2, for exampel the wide range of equipment and the ability to craft objects. One other thing is that it felt like they had some problems with music rights. The pirates of the Caribbean arch does not have its original score and i think that there is one other world as well. I do also miss some characters that have been totally excluded, no final fantasy characters at all. Well it can not be easy for the developpers to meet the expectations, but again 13 years, so i definitely feel like they could have made improvements. The controls feels very sharp even though during some fights the camera angle really went bananas. But if you have played any other title in the series it will feel very natural. I do like the fact that they have included game mechanics from other titles such as kingdom hearts birth by sleep. The dialog is okay but nothing extraordinary, but it does feel like a rushed job at some points. It was a really bold move of the developpers to switch to unreal engine... which could be one of the reason to why it feels rushed and the lack of content. But visually the game looks really nice, the light and textures gives you a very nice visual.

    Pros:
    Nice visuals
    Sharp control
    Good game mechanics
    User friendly

    Cons:
    Lack of content
    Linear story
    Removed elements from earlier titles
    Short overall gameplay

    Well to summarize everything... Kingdom hearts 3 is a very easy game to set up and to play, there are lots of turtorials and the game is very forgiving. The story feels well written but everything feels a bit rushed and short. Since i am a huge fan of the franchise i felt it was worth the money, but honestly i don't think that it's worth 60 dollars for the approximately 30 hours of main story...    … Expand
  20. guybuzzcut
    Feb 4, 2019
    7
    (A lengthy-yet-hopefully-illuminating review)

    Okay, I'm going to start with this, however much it pains me to say it: Kingdom Hearts 3 is simply 'okay.' Unfortunately though, it falls short in multiple crucial dimensions that could have elevated it into a more comprehensive, satisfying, and structured game. I'll explain: I, too, was eagerly waiting the thirteen years for this game.    (A lengthy-yet-hopefully-illuminating review)

    Okay, I'm going to start with this, however much it pains me to say it: Kingdom Hearts 3 is simply 'okay.' Unfortunately though, it falls short in multiple crucial dimensions that could have elevated it into a more comprehensive, satisfying, and structured game. I'll explain:

    I, too, was eagerly waiting the thirteen years for this game. Having grown up with the KH franchise, with the original Kingdom Hearts easily being one of my favourite games of all time, I was not only excited to see how the story ended, but also how a next-generation console could evolve the worlds, gameplay, and combat to a previously-unrealized level. Just like Shadow of the Colossus' scale and beauty, for example, were brought to life by the PS4's capabilities, KH3 could fully realize the ambitions held by its creators.

    When it comes to combat, these abilities have created a definite success. The introduction of attractions creates a playful-yet-crucial mechanic that builds pace and power into each battle. The form transformations for each keyblade are all beautifully rendered and each feels distinct enough to offer enough variation for different types of KH3 players. However, the issue that arises here is that the enemies you face just don't live up to the depth and variation that we saw in previous games. Putting aside the point that there's no Olympus Coliseum in this game (which I feel is a major blow in its own right), most boss fights in this game feel like minor iterations of the same general concept, and the player can employ the same strategy in every instance. This makes for rather dull, anti-climatic encounters, especially considering, when you do win a battle, that's usually not how the enemy dies, but by some fluke cinematic after the battle takes place. This leaves you somewhat unfulfilled, and leads into one of the major issues with this game: the cutscenes.

    Personally, I cannot recall how long the cutscenes were in previous games, but rarely if ever have I experienced so many and such lengthy cutscenes in any game I've ever played. There's one particular cutscene mid-game that clocks in at a full fifteen minutes(!), and many are at least half that long. It leaves one to think you maybe be watching the actual movie the world is based on rather than playing KH. There is a real reason for why the cutscenes are this long though: the story's pace.

    We all knew the story of KH has been an ever-complicating pile for some years now, and KH3 doesn't attempt to remedy this. Off the bat, the game tries to introduce new players to the story with little success, and then throughout the game, distinct parties within the 'group of light' are so stretched out, that check-ins with each take up an increasing amount of time. Once I prepared and ate an entire dinner during a single cutscene of KH3, and I think we can all agree that's a problem.

    Furthermore, the pace becomes more and more disjointed as the game goes on. Little scraps of story are here and there, though they never really amount to anything until one finishes all seven (there's only seven worlds in this game! Scant compared to the previous two), and then it's as if it's all dropped on you in one moment. Interactions with different members of Organization XIII are only left to that––interactions––until a much later and unsatisfying point in the game. I won't delve into this, but will just say it leaves a lot to be desired.

    This erratic pacing really stifles the charm of KH3. We're never given enough time with each party to feel something for them. Kairi and Axel, in particular, become not much more than one-dimensional pawns that do little beyond standing a side. And this is a real shame because we were made to care deeply about Kairi up to this point, and it feels this wasn't acknowledged properly.

    All of these elements make KH3 feel like it had the bones, but little meat to survive off of. It felt more of a fan-provoked conclusion than an outright game for newcomers and series faithfuls alike.

    While there may be only seven worlds in this game, The Caribbean and San Fransokyo in particular show the scale and dynamism of what COULD have been. And reaching these worlds with the gummiship has become a lot more enjoyable and expansive. However, these are just shades of good thoughts that get bogged down by the poor pace, other narrow worlds, cumbersome cutscenes, and lack of satisfying enemy encounters.

    There is heart in Kingdom Hearts 3, it's just not full of it.    … Expand
  21. Bulb29
    Feb 4, 2019
    7
    I've played every game and played the first one when it came out in 2002. I know well the story and I can say without a doubt it really holds the series back. It's style carries the game where it's substance lets it down.

    The gameplay is okay although way to easy which means you never really feel rewarded for beating any of the games challenges. Sora is overpowered which is ironic as he    I've played every game and played the first one when it came out in 2002. I know well the story and I can say without a doubt it really holds the series back. It's style carries the game where it's substance lets it down.

    The gameplay is okay although way to easy which means you never really feel rewarded for beating any of the games challenges. Sora is overpowered which is ironic as he is supposed to be "Regaining his lost strength" and as a main character now is really one dimensional (simple in a bad way) and most of the main groups dialogue is hard to get through. Some cutscenes are so long winded, filled with exposition, and badly written that it kills a lot of the moments between fighting. There are really nice charming moments here and there (Tangled world has some great moments in particular) but over all it feels like a constant info dump.

    Sometimes Sora, Donald, and Goofy don't even really feel like they are apart of the world (Frozen in particular). The story just plays out like normal with the gang slightly off to the side saying things while the main characters in the world just do the same thing they did in the movie. Another problem is some worlds really make you rely on your knowledge of the movie (Tangled is really bad with this) and sloppily deliver exposition just to get people to understand why characters are doing things.

    The first game was truly simple and clean, it really had an identity. This game doesn't know if it wants to cater to the standard hero's journey that anyone can enjoy or be the complex multilayered story we've come to expect from a Final Fantasy game. It tries to do both and falls short.    … Expand
  22. KumanHong
    Feb 19, 2019
    7
    While it's not a bad game, it definitely is a disappointing one given the hype that revolves around the title. A lot of plot elements and gameplay mechanics are not executed coherently. For me, the biggest cons for the game are as followed:
    - Proud mode is not even close to being challenging. (I wonder if this is the artifact from the early days of the development where the developers    While it's not a bad game, it definitely is a disappointing one given the hype that revolves around the title. A lot of plot elements and gameplay mechanics are not executed coherently. For me, the biggest cons for the game are as followed:
    - Proud mode is not even close to being challenging. (I wonder if this is the artifact from the early days of the development where the developers actually did said that Sora is being too powerful towards the end of the game.) The only instance where I came across Game Over screen is when I lost the race against Luxord in Caribbean and lost few Gummiship fights against Schwarzgeist.
    - Attractions are too overpowered. They shouldn't be too generous giving us that in the combat tbh. Since all of the fights can be finished without the attractions, why bother adding them into the game as they are just optional like Links/Summons. (Honestly, the Links are more fun to use)
    - While most gimmicks added into each world are fun and unique, they did not grab the opportunity to enhance and balance the experience. For instance, they could just add weaknesses to the parts of Gigas so that when I defeated them they would be destroyed and not just stand back up. Too many of the Gigas after the battle just felt too redundant. Also, in Arendelle, they could just add Trinity Sled down the hills while Sora is exploring the North Mountain instead of restricting the sled to the minigame.
    - In terms of customizability and usability of the Abilities system (at least in the base form), it is definitely not as good as KH1 or KH2 (original). While many people complained about the floatiness of the combat in KH3 before the game release, the point is, while Sora can do as much in the air as on the ground, why bother differentiating Air Combo or ground Combo anyway since they don't make that much of a difference? If I wanna go berserk and have more hits while sacrificing my guard/dodge in the air, or following up ground combo with Air combo as soon as ground Combo finishes, these options are not available as the Combo modifier either hit the enemy into the air or closer to the ground just to lengthen the combo chain anyway. Customization of the Abilities just loses its focus in KH3.
    - The potential of flowmotions in exploration are underutilized. While they tone down the flowmotion attacks from DDD, which is a good thing, they should have use flowmotions in creating some good platforming puzzles and enhancing exploration experience. (Along with Airsteps).
    - They KILLED the exploration experience of Twilight Town and 100 Acre Wood. Twilight Town's potential for exploration is close to zero and 100 Acre Wood is a joke. (Let's not mention Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion is not even in the GODAMN GAME!!!). The other Disney worlds are huge and they nailed the verticality of Olympus, Arendelle etc and filled with something to do, but I still feel that the world is a little too big for no good reason beyond collecting ingredients, looking for treasure chests, lucky emblems and what not.
    - I would appreciate if they could at least add some more interactions between the party and the folks in each world like in Thebes, Common Tram, Town of Corona. There is no reason for the world to look lively but have little no interaction with Sora and co beyond reacting to Sora's break dance.
    - The pacing of the story is, by far, the worst in the numbered titles. Organization members did not actually poses any threat against the party in each world until the end of the game. While the party fights during the final battles are really good nonetheless, I rather fight them individually in each world before the end of the game as by that point, each organization member has already loses their focus. What a pity that they were just shoehorned into the Disney worlds' story, and just part like that. Also, towards the end of the game, a lot of plot elements and fate of some characters are not properly given any explanation and context (Time travel, Lingering Will, Demyx). Like some of the reviewers had said, KH3 essentially need a middle point to smooth up the pacing. The ending of the game is just too packed.

    *With all that said, I still think that people still should play this game to experience the game for yourself if you are totally new to the series. I believe all the negative stuffs I found were of the feelings of lack of satisfaction resulted from a long wait... that's it...    … Expand
  23. chrisdahfuh
    Feb 19, 2019
    7
    Ok, I never really put any reviews up for ANY game. But I grew up with kingdom hearts. I also I grew up with the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. I was playing games way before multiplayer online gaming on a console was a thing. Kingdom hearts 1 and 2 were the reasons why I enjoyed single player campaign games. I loved the story from both of them. They left me with awe and an inpatientOk, I never really put any reviews up for ANY game. But I grew up with kingdom hearts. I also I grew up with the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. I was playing games way before multiplayer online gaming on a console was a thing. Kingdom hearts 1 and 2 were the reasons why I enjoyed single player campaign games. I loved the story from both of them. They left me with awe and an inpatient desire to figure out what going to happen in the next game.

    I wasn't really a fan of the portable handheld spin offs but I played all of them and tried my best to keep up with the story. But Kingdom hearts 3 really seemed a bit of a disservice.

    It really was a great nostalgia playing KH3 and brought me back to my childhood. Maybe this is my problem with the game? Maybe because I was young and naive that I enjoyed these games so much?

    I had such high expectations for Nomura to finally bring me a great ending to this franchise but apparently here we are about 10 years after KH2 and we are learning that there is going to be yet another kingdom hearts game. I just can't. I just beat the game last night, and this morning I spent 3 hours looking up videos trying to explain the back story of the mysterious black box, The names of the original masters are based on the 7 deadly sins, why Maleficent is looking for the black box, what is the book of prophesies, Ventus is actually a **** time traveler, and that the Luxu is actually Xigbar. What the hell...this is ridiculous. I would not be this totally confused by KH when I was 9 years old playing the first game on the PS2. This franchise has changed so much.

    Here are my main points of likes and dislikes of KH3:

    + The combat system was cool, not amazing but cool. I liked the varied keyblade forms.
    + The visuals and effects pulled of the unreal engine was amazing. Cutscenes look like I am watching a movie, take Pirates of the Caribbean at the end of the world story example. That cutscene was epic.
    + Being able to play as Riku and Aqua was very cool, but could have had more potential.
    + Nostalgia is a big thing. Seeing some of the more recent movies released being in KH was amazing.
    + Musical Score was very high quality. I can't believe how much work went into the music.

    - I could no longer dual wield keyblades. This was THE COOLEST thing in KH2. Why take this away?
    - With 10 years in development you would think making Kairi and Lea be playable characters be actually a thing? I was hoping to see more characters besides Sora be a playable character. Playing as Riku and Aqua one time was great but could have been incorporated more.
    - The amusement ride combos were so annoying. I stopped using them. I only used them when I knew my HP was low and didn't want to die. But I detested using them. They lacked luster after using them throughout the game and I found them pointless.
    - No Drive forms. I am basically hack and slashing my way throughout the game. Forms are so easy to achieve. It was rewarding to turn into a drive form in KH2. You felt like a bad ass. KH3 game basically spoon feeds me Drive forms. Ridiculous.
    - Worlds are so large. Unnecessarily large. They bring nothing extra to the story.
    - Why was the game so easy? I played this game on proud mode and beat the final boss on level 47?
    - Why the hell does Sora not get his happy ending?

    Kingdom hearts was a great franchise until this whole story plot twists and convoluted time traveling. I really think this might have to do with Disney, and trying to milk the franchise as long as possible. Making fans wait a long time for a decent game isn't really cool, and then smacking us in the face with hints of another game is very anticlimactic.    … Expand
  24. mertyboi
    Feb 21, 2019
    7
    I spent a good number of hours researching the story so far with Kingdom Hearts and I began to vaguely understand what they were doing, but I just can't understand why they would want to make something so incredibly complex and attach it to Disney. The game play is pretty smooth and the graphics are pretty good in each world you are in. Eventually the combat gets pretty old and theI spent a good number of hours researching the story so far with Kingdom Hearts and I began to vaguely understand what they were doing, but I just can't understand why they would want to make something so incredibly complex and attach it to Disney. The game play is pretty smooth and the graphics are pretty good in each world you are in. Eventually the combat gets pretty old and the camera isn't the best, but it's the voice acting and the constant cut scenes that made this game just straight up hard to play through. This is coming from someone looking at the game with no nostalgia lenses. I'm sure for fans of the originals there will be enough here to make this a worthwhile experience, but for those of us with a smaller Kingdom Hearts background this may be more of a chore to finish.… Expand
  25. Keizert
    Feb 24, 2019
    7
    Kingdom Hearts 3 is the latest installment in the Glover franchise, where you play as Glover.
  26. StudMuffinOP
    Feb 24, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game was beautiful in every aspect with mind-blowing graphics and beautiful soundtrack. I did however expect a lot more considering the wait though. Don't get me wrong I loved the game, I just expected more but that's just me. It did answer questions that I've had with the series and it also did make me question more about it after watching all the secret endings. I was just hoping for a more.. dramatic ending and ***SPOILER*** I thought this was the end of Sora's journey.

    The multiple trailers in my opinion did ruin a lot of my experience with the game considering the fact that I knew what was going to happen next but that was completely my fault on watching them.

    I did enjoy the game-play but some of the action commands didn't really seem to fit in some spots but easy fix to that is to not activate them. They just felt more like cut-scenes if anything during battles, especially the summons from previous games also.

    All in all I loved the game and I'm expecting to do a second game-play on a higher difficulty as I found Standard Mode to be fairly easy. The only reason i'm giving an 8 is because I just expected a little bit more from the worlds and the trailers shown. The secret endings definitely made my jaw drop and definitely felt some nostalgia after most things got answered throughout the game. Looking forward to the next DLC(considering one possible theory from one of the endings) or the next installment of the game. Lets just hope it doesn't take as long as it did though.    … Expand
  27. Harax
    Mar 1, 2019
    7
    The honest truth, that no one will tell you, is that this game was bad. The only parts of this game worth experiencing, was the ending, in which they finally close off some of the long-awaited mysteries of this series. other than that, the game was dry. The overall writing (aside form ending) was just bad.
  28. ultrageneric
    Mar 5, 2019
    7
    The game is visually stunning, the Disney worlds have never felt more living and breathing and the gameplay is fun and on par with the best I've seen from the series, even improving in some key areas like the magic system.

    However, there is a noticeable lack of polish that is uncharacteristic for what I've come to expect from Nomura and Square-Enix. The main story suffers from some    The game is visually stunning, the Disney worlds have never felt more living and breathing and the gameplay is fun and on par with the best I've seen from the series, even improving in some key areas like the magic system.

    However, there is a noticeable lack of polish that is uncharacteristic for what I've come to expect from Nomura and Square-Enix. The main story suffers from some glaring pacing issues, feels completely dissociated from the Disney worlds, and most of the main characters feel frozen in place while the main trio goes on their adventure (which is put in stark contrast when you remember the fluidity of KH2's storytelling). Speaking of characters, character development is at its worst here for the series. The motivations of each character seem flaky at best and downright inconsistent at worst. I assume the narrative goes for an attempt of the old "trust no one" scenario, but it fails miserably in its delivery which causes the story to appear nonsensical at times.

    I would love to say this game is one that fans will love while newcomers will find difficult to pick up, but I don't even think loving fans will be entirely satisfied with the overall quality of this game. My final impression is that this was the first draft of a piece that could have been perfected into a great game but was hurriedly released and is trying to pass as a final product.    … Expand
  29. excalibro
    Mar 8, 2019
    7
    I wanted this game my whole life too. I loved the trailers of it. And the excitement had me stoked to finally see my boy get his happy ending.

    It ties up the ends it needs to, but I feel like there was something missing. I liked it, but I didn't love it, and ten year hype can't ever live up to what I hoped for. I still recommend the game. But it wasn't the finale I hoped for. Still.    I wanted this game my whole life too. I loved the trailers of it. And the excitement had me stoked to finally see my boy get his happy ending.

    It ties up the ends it needs to, but I feel like there was something missing. I liked it, but I didn't love it, and ten year hype can't ever live up to what I hoped for. I still recommend the game. But it wasn't the finale I hoped for.

    Still. Have to admit. While some of it was bland, when it finally gets to the Kingdom Hearts portions, and not the Disney? That's when I had the most fun. It's just a lot of pushing through Disney to get there.

    Overall though? Good game. Get it.    … Expand
  30. tbilisy
    Mar 29, 2019
    7
    Decent game. It has some impressive graphics, details and music. The combat is fun but a bit problematic, and the story can be better. Not my favorite KH, but definitely in my top 5 KH game.
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Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best PS4 Game of 2019
11
#11 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019
89
#89 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 88 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 88
  3. Negative: 1 out of 88
  1. TheSixthAxis
    Jan 30, 2020
    80
    Kingdom Hearts III doesn’t go in the direction some RPG fans will no doubt have been hoping for. It’s unashamedly over the top in just about every way, from its barmy story and stunning presentation to its huge cinematic battles. There’s plenty of depth here too, though you’ll need to find your bearings first.
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  2. Gamersky
    May 31, 2019
    85
    There is no doubt that Kingdom Hearts III will make long term fans moved or even cry. As for those new to the franchise, I believe they also can be satisfied because of tons of classic Disney elements and solid combat system, even though they could barely understand the main story.
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  3. Riot Pixels
    Apr 20, 2019
    73
    If you like animated movies from Disney and Pixar, and you want to relieve some of the key moments, welcome to Kingdom Hearts 3.
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