Kingdom Hearts III is a 2019 action role-playing game made and released by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third main game in the Kingdom Hearts series and the 12th game overall. The game ends the "Dark Seeker Saga" story arc that started with the first Kingdom Hearts game. The story takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The main character, Sora, is joined by Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey, and Riku as they search for seven guardians of light to stop Xehanort’s plan to start a second Keyblade War. During their journey, they meet characters and visit worlds inspired by different Disney stories. This is the first game in the series to include content based on Pixar movies.
Plans for Kingdom Hearts III began as early as 2005, after the release of Kingdom Hearts II in Japan. The game’s development was not officially announced until 2013, after many years of rumors. The game includes gameplay features from previous games in the series. It allows players to control up to five characters. New attacks called "Attraction Flow" use ideas from Disney Park attractions. The game also includes minigames inspired by classic Mickey Mouse cartoons, similar to games from the 1980s.
Kingdom Hearts III was released worldwide in January 2019 and received mostly positive reviews from critics. Critics praised the game’s visuals, music, art style, gameplay, and variety of fighting options. However, opinions about the story and how the game was presented were more divided. The game sold over five million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling and best-selling game in the series’ history in North America. A downloadable content expansion called Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind was released on January 23, 2020, for PlayStation 4, and on February 25, 2020, for Xbox One. A version of the game that includes the DLC, called Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind, was released on Windows through the Epic Games Store on March 30, 2021, and on Steam on June 13, 2024. This version was also released on Nintendo Switch through cloud streaming on February 10, 2022.
Gameplay
Gameplay in Kingdom Hearts III is similar to earlier games in the series, featuring hack-and-slash combat. The game’s director, Tetsuya Nomura, said the combat system would be similar to the one in Kingdom Hearts II, with changes similar to those made between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. The system is also closely connected to the gameplay in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Nomura explained that the handheld games in the series allowed him to test new combat ideas, and some of those ideas might appear in Kingdom Hearts III. He said new gameplay features are the "skeleton" of the game, meaning they form the base for everything else. The development team always tries to add new ideas, making small changes to previously introduced mechanics to fit Kingdom Hearts III.
Sora returns as the main character, joined by Donald Duck and Goofy. Players can also add two more characters to the party, making a total of five. This is more than earlier main games, which limited players to two extra party members. Some parts of the game let players control Riku and Aqua. Nomura described the action as "frantic," "flashy," and "exciting." Enemy behavior is more complex, and gameplay reflects this change. Sora can use magic, with stronger spells available, similar to Aqua’s abilities in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. Magic works differently in underwater sections, with a new spell called "Water." Team-up attacks combine Sora and other party members into one move. Players can assign abilities to Sora and his party, a system improved from Kingdom Hearts II. Character summons, called "Links," return, allowing an extra character to join battles with special attacks.
Sora fights Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed, with new versions of these enemies. Players also face large bosses, giving Sora more freedom to move and experiment with attacks, including "Attraction Flow" summons. These attacks are inspired by Disney Park attractions like Mad Tea Party and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and they look like the Main Street Electrical Parade. Sora can also jump on enemies shaped like vehicles. A new movement system called "Athletic Flow" improves on the "Flowmotion" mechanic from Dream Drop Distance. It lets players use the environment to reach new areas. Co-director Tai Yasue said this system was created to change gameplay in the Hercules world and later used in other worlds, allowing each world to feel more open and exploratory.
"Situation Commands" return, allowing Keyblade transformations. Nomura said these transformations were planned as early as Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix and are similar to Aqua’s abilities in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Each transformation is unlocked by completing all missions in a world, with each world offering a unique transformation. Each Keyblade can take two forms, with transformations unlocked by connecting combos. These transformations activate "Formchanges" like Power, Guard, Magic, and Speed, changing Sora’s outfit. For example, the Toy Story world Keyblade activates Power Form, transforming into a hammer and then a drill. "Second Form" changes Sora’s battle skills instead of the Keyblade. Players can now switch Keyblades quickly during gameplay, rather than through a menu, and can level them up to improve abilities. "Shotlocks" return, using a focus meter to target enemies based on the equipped Keyblade.
Each world has unique gameplay. The Toy Story world includes first-person shooter "Gigas" mechs, the Frozen world has downhill sledding, and the Pirates of the Caribbean world features naval, underwater, and aerial combat, with many islands to explore. The Gummi Ship returns as a way to travel between worlds. Its mechanics are split into two phases: exploration, which feels more open than previous games, and combat, which has more enemies. Gummi Ship customization also returns with more options than before.
Mini-games are included, such as a cooking game with Remy from Ratatouille and a music game in the Tangled world. The "Classic Kingdom" includes over 20 games styled like 1980s LCD games, and the 100 Acre Wood world has puzzle games. The development team designed these mini-games, with Nomura working on "Classic Kingdom." The game also has a "Memory Archive" with short films explaining the series’ story from previous games.
Story
The story begins with the final scenes of Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage and ends the "Dark Seeker/Xehanort Saga" that appears in earlier games. Many of the worlds in the game are new to the series and based on Disney movies, including the Kingdom of Corona (from Tangled), Arendelle (Frozen), San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6), and Pixar worlds like Toy Box (Toy Story) and Monstropolis (Monsters, Inc.). Two new worlds created for the game are the "Final World," a place for dying hearts, and Scala ad Caelum, a powerful location where the final battle happens. Returning Disney worlds include Olympus (Hercules), the Caribbean (Pirates of the Caribbean), and the 100 Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh). Other worlds from earlier games include Twilight Town, the Dark World, the Land of Departure, and the Keyblade Graveyard. Some locations, like Yen Sid’s Mysterious Tower and Radiant Garden, only appear in cutscenes. Mini-games in the game are inspired by classic Mickey Mouse cartoons, such as Giantland and The Karnival Kid.
The Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Big Hero 6 worlds have original stories. The Toy Story world happens between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, while the other two take place after their films. This is different from earlier games, where worlds usually followed the plots of their movies. The game includes fewer but more detailed worlds, as the developers wanted players to enjoy each world thoroughly rather than visit many small ones.
The main character is Sora, a 15-year-old boy who uses a key-shaped weapon called the Keyblade to fight darkness. He is joined by Donald Duck, a royal magician, and Goofy, a knight captain. They are helped by other Keyblade wielders, including Mickey Mouse, a skilled Keyblade Master; Riku, Sora’s best friend; Kairi, a friend and princess; Aqua, a Master trapped in darkness; Ventus, a boy whose heart is connected to Sora’s; Terra, a man taken over by Xehanort; Axel/Lea, a former member of a group called Organization XIII; Roxas, a part of Sora’s existence; and Xion, a copy of someone from the Organization.
Organization XIII returns as the game’s villains, led by Xehanort. New characters include Yozora, who appears in a video game ad and a secret ending. Many Disney characters from movies appear in the game, such as Hercules, Jack Sparrow, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Sulley, Mike Wazowski, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Marshmallow, and Baymax. Some characters, like Simba and Stitch, help Sora in battles.
Most characters from the Final Fantasy series were not included at first because the game’s creator, Tetsuya Nomura, wanted to focus on the main story. However, the Moogle character returns as a shopkeeper, and some Final Fantasy characters appear in extra downloadable content.
Yen Sid prepares seven Keyblade wielders to protect light from Xehanort’s plan to create the χ-blade. Sora, with Donald and Goofy, travels to recover his ability to restore lost hearts. Organization XIII tries to capture the seven Princesses of Heart instead of the guardians. Meanwhile, Riku and Mickey search for Aqua, who is trapped in darkness, and Kairi and Lea train to become Keyblade wielders.
During their journey, Sora and Riku meet Ienzo, who finds notes showing that Roxas, Ventus, and Xion’s hearts are inside Sora. Sora suggests putting Roxas’s heart into a special body made by Vexen, a member of Organization XIII. Later, Aqua becomes corrupted and attacks Riku and Mickey. Sora uses a Keyblade from Destiny Islands to enter darkness and save Aqua. Aqua then helps awaken Ventus at Castle Oblivion, which she changes back to the Land of Departure. When Vanitas attacks, Sora restores Ventus’s power.
The seven guardians fight Organization XIII at the Keyblade Graveyard but are attacked by Heartless. Sora is saved by Kairi and enters the Final World, a limbo where he is guided to restore his body. He uses his power to revive his friends and time-travel to prevent their defeat. Terra returns to help, and the group defeats the Organization. Xehanort tries to destroy Kairi to get the χ-blade but is stopped by Sora, Donald, and Goofy. In a final battle, Xehanort is defeated, and Eraqus’s spirit convinces him to surrender the χ-blade. Sora saves Kairi despite warnings, and the group gathers at the Destiny Islands.
In a post-credits scene, Organization member Xigbar…
Development
After Square Enix completed development of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, Tetsuya Nomura met with Disney, who showed interest in making a sequel. When asked about Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said, "We have many ideas, but we cannot confirm anything yet." He explained that developing Final Fantasy XV (then called Final Fantasy Versus XIII) was taking most of the team’s time, making it "physically impossible" to work on Kingdom Hearts III at that moment. Nomura added that the secret film in Final Mix was part of a "new series" in Kingdom Hearts, not Kingdom Hearts III. He also mentioned that fans and partners wanted Kingdom Hearts III to be made, and the team would try to create it as soon as possible. A guide book called Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania listed Kingdom Hearts III as one of three upcoming games, but Nomura focused on Final Fantasy XV first. He later said Kingdom Hearts III would not release before 2012 because of his work on Final Fantasy XV, even though the series’ tenth anniversary was in that year. A Nintendo 3DS game called Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was announced to connect with Kingdom Hearts III in both story and gameplay.
Sony announced Kingdom Hearts III for the PlayStation 4 at its E3 2013 event with a teaser trailer. Square Enix later confirmed the game would also be released for the Xbox One as a version of the PlayStation 4 game. Although some work on the game began during the seventh generation of consoles, it was planned to release during the eighth generation. Unlike Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, which were made by Square Enix’s Product Development Division 1 team, Kingdom Hearts III was created by Square Enix’s 1st Production Department, the same team that made Birth by Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and the HD 1.5 Remix collection. Rie Nishi was the game’s producer. The game used Square Enix’s Luminous Studio engine after initial tests with Unreal Engine 3.
After E3 2013, Nomura said the game was announced early because of its development progress. He mentioned that Kingdom Hearts III would not be the final game in the series but would end the "Dark Seeker/Xehanort" story. Shinji Hashimoto, the series producer, explained that the long gap between Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV was expected because both teams wanted to make high-quality games. Hashimoto also said the company decided to announce Kingdom Hearts III at E3 2013 to address fan questions about the series’ future. A short teaser for the game appeared in the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix trailer at E3 2014. Yasue said the teaser showed the game’s opening scene, created by Nomura, and included text that would be important to the story. As Nomura shifted focus from Final Fantasy XV to other projects, including Kingdom Hearts III, the team switched to using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4 for development.
In January 2015, Yasue said working on the HD 2.5 Remix helped the team learn lessons from the series to improve Kingdom Hearts III. He also mentioned that the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XV teams shared ideas to make the best use of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A gameplay trailer was shown during the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour in Los Angeles in June 2017. A Nintendo Switch version of the game was considered possible, but the team focused on finishing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions first. Nomura said the long development time was due to internal decisions at Square Enix, like switching to Unreal Engine 4, which caused delays and required restarting parts of the project. He said nothing was decided about downloadable content (DLC) but told the team to prepare for it. Nomura wanted some extra content for the game, like customizable accessories, similar to a feature in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. He preferred DLC that expanded the game over making a Final Mix version like past games.
At D23 Japan 2018, Square Enix said the game was being made in three sections, each with about three worlds. The first section was 90% complete, and the middle section was 60% done. No update was given on the final section, but Nomura said it would include something he had wanted to add since working on Final Fantasy. In April 2018, "Classic Kingdom" mini-games were revealed, and they became playable in the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Union χ in its "χ3" mode added in September 2018. Players could earn the "Starlight" Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts III by completing tasks in the mini-games. By June 2018, the secret film for the game was created. Nomura said the team worried about the game’s size and whether it would fit on the disc. To help, they turned some cutscenes into pre-rendered films to reduce load times. Nomura wanted to include Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, his favorite Disney character, but the request was denied.
At E3 2018, Nomura said the Big Hero 6 world was finished in gameplay but needed cutscenes. At X018, a world based on Winnie the Pooh was revealed. In China, the Winnie the Pooh world was blurred in the game because the character was banned there after being compared to Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. However, the same site later posted an unedited version of the trailer. Improvements to the Gummi Ship gameplay, a feature criticized in earlier games, were also planned.
Release
Kingdom Hearts III was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 25, 2019, in Japan and other Asian countries, and on January 29, 2019, in other regions. In July 2017, during an event called D23, it was announced that the game would be released in 2018. Nearly a year later, during a performance of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour in Los Angeles, the North American release date was set for January 29, 2019. Nomura explained that the release date was moved from 2018 because the original date was not considered a good time to launch the game, especially due to differences in holiday schedules and store operations in various regions. Square Enix also requested the game be released at the same time in Japan and other parts of the world. To avoid rushing the development process, the January 2019 date was chosen. The game's epilogue was planned to be added on January 26 for Japan and January 30 for other regions, while the secret ending content was added worldwide on January 31, 2019. This was done to prevent spoilers from being shared before the content was officially released, as Nomura described these elements as "the biggest spoilers" in the game.
A deluxe edition of the game includes an art book, a steelbook case, and a collectible pin. Another edition, available only through the Square Enix store, adds figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy in their Toy Box outfits to the deluxe edition contents. A limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro and DualShock 4 controller with Kingdom Hearts III-themed designs was released on January 29, 2019, exclusively through GameStop and EB Games in North America.
After the game's release, Nomura confirmed that post-launch downloadable content (DLC) would be developed. The team's main focus was creating DLC for KH3, with plans to release a single package of content instead of a separate "Final Mix" version as seen in earlier games. A DLC episode called Re Mind was officially announced in June 2019, with a planned release on January 23, 2020, for the PlayStation 4 and February 25, 2020, for the Xbox One.
The game was released with all downloadable content included for Windows on March 30, 2021, through the Epic Games Store. It was later released on Steam after three years of exclusivity on June 13, 2024.
A cloud-streamed version of the game for the Nintendo Switch, including the Re Mind DLC, was announced in October 2021. This release coincided with Sora becoming a playable character in the Switch-exclusive game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the 20th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. The cloud version was released on the Nintendo eShop on February 10, 2022, alongside cloud versions of the 1.5+2.5 HD Remix and 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue collections.
Reception
Kingdom Hearts III received a score of 83 out of 100, which means it had mostly positive reviews, according to Metacritic, a website that collects video game reviews. Game Informer said the game is the strongest in the series, noting it answers many questions from earlier games and praises the combat and gameplay. However, it criticized the side quests, Gummi Ship mode, and the repetition in the final worlds. IGN reviewer Jonathon Dornbush praised the game’s improved technology and combat. GamesRadar was mostly positive but criticized the Gummi Ship mode for being uninteresting. VideoGamer said the game was too simple and repetitive.
Some reviewers had mixed opinions about the story. RPGamer and GamesRadar said the visuals in the Pirates of the Caribbean world looked awkward because Square tried to make them look realistic. VideoGamer said the story was hard to understand, but it enjoyed the Toy Story and Pixar parts. GameRevolution liked the Disney worlds and their stories and visuals. More complex storylines were generally praised, but DenOfGeek said the story was confusing. Fans criticized the lack of Final Fantasy characters in the initial release, except for Moogles. GameRevolution and EGM said the Organization XIII as the final villains made the story easier to follow and praised the voice acting, especially Haley Joel Osment as Sora and Richard Epcar and Paul St. Peter as Xehanort’s alter egos.
Sora’s character was praised for staying likeable, but Polygon said his character felt unchanged. RPGamer said Sora’s journey was mostly shown in the climax. His ending, where he seemed to die after saving Kairi, was analyzed by GameRevolution, which said the game did not give players the happy ending they expected despite finishing Xehanort’s story. The ending was praised for being bittersweet, but GameSpot said the story felt unfulfilling and the battles were exciting but poorly designed.
In its first week, the game topped sales charts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, as well as Japan, where it sold 610,077 copies, more than Resident Evil 2. It also topped the UK charts, selling more than twice as many copies as Kingdom Hearts II in its first week. In North America, it was the top-selling game in January 2019 and the third top-selling game in February 2019. It sold more than 80% more copies than Kingdom Hearts II in the first two months of 2019.
On February 4, 2019, Square Enix announced that over 5 million copies were sold, making it the fastest-selling game in the series. By September 2021, sales reached 6.7 million, surpassing the total sales of all previous Kingdom Hearts games.
Kingdom Hearts III was nominated by IGN for several awards at E3 2018, including Best Game and Best Action Game. It also won the Momocon E3 Choice 2018 Game Award and was nominated for Unreal’s E3 awards.
The DLC received mixed reviews. IGN said the new bosses were too hard to beat and there were few ways to improve. GameSpot and GameInformer called the DLC a "director’s cut," praising the addition of playable characters like Riku, Aqua, and Kairi but criticizing the poor design of the Keyblade Graveyard. JXV said the DLC’s difficulty was a response to criticism about the original game being too easy and included quick-time events from Kingdom Hearts II. Destructoid liked the new characters and said the bosses were a good response to the original game’s easy difficulty. Comic Book Resources said Data Xehanort and Yozora were the hardest bosses in the game.
GameInformer said the story was disappointing because new areas and Final Fantasy characters were not fully explored, but new cutscenes improved the final act. Destructoid enjoyed the new cutscenes, which gave Kairi more screen time and made the final battle more interesting. IGN said the story was hard to follow because it ended more open-ended than the original game. GameSpot said the story felt like "filler" and missed the fun Disney and Pixar worlds from the main game.