Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is an action role-playing game released in 2012. It was created and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo 3DS. This is the seventh part of Disney’s Kingdom Hearts series. The game was first released in Japan on March 29, 2012, followed by Europe on July 20, 2012, Australasia on July 26, 2012, and North America on July 31, 2012.
The story takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. It follows Sora and Riku as they complete their Mark of Mastery exam, a test that requires them to protect different worlds in preparation for the return of Master Xehanort. Players can control both Sora and Riku in the same story. They can also recruit creatures called Dream Eaters to help during battles.
Square Enix decided to make Dream Drop Distance after being impressed by the Nintendo 3DS’s features. The game uses the console’s technology to add more action elements, similar to those in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. The gameplay and story also provide a preview of what the next game in the series, Kingdom Hearts III, might be like. The game was well received in Japan and the United States, selling over 250,000 copies in Japan and 180,000 in the United States during their first month. Critics praised the game’s gameplay and graphics but had some concerns about the story.
A high-definition version of the game, called Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, was later released. It is part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection and is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
The game follows the action role-playing game (RPG) and hack-and-slash style of earlier games in the series. Players take turns controlling Sora and Riku using the "Drop" system. A Drop Gauge slowly decreases during gameplay but can be refilled with items. When the gauge is empty, control switches to the other character, or players can choose to switch manually. Drop Points, earned by defeating enemies and completing optional tasks, can be used for temporary bonuses, such as a slower gauge or stronger attacks, until the next switch. The game uses the Command Deck system from Birth by Sleep, allowing players to create a deck of actions, spells, and items for quick selection. New features include Flowmotion, which lets players move quickly by bouncing off walls, grinding on rails, or spinning around poles. Reality Shift is a system that lets players interact with objects or weakened enemies through touch-screen minigames, such as dragging to fling targets, touching hidden words to control enemies, or playing a rhythm game to create fireworks.
A key feature is the inclusion of Dream Eaters, which are usually enemies. However, up to three friendly Dream Eaters, called Spirits, can be recruited for each character. Spirits are made by combining Dream Fragments with items or spells, either by experimenting or using recipes found in the game. Players can team up with Spirits to perform special attacks. Along the way, players can care for Spirits by petting them, feeding them items, or playing mini-games, which unlock new abilities.
The game takes place in multiple worlds inspired by Pinocchio, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tron: Legacy, Fantasia, and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Each world has two separate stories told from Sora and Riku’s perspectives. Both characters must complete each world to unlock new ones and progress. When visiting a world for the first time, players must complete a "Dive" section, where they freefall down a tube and complete objectives, such as collecting points, defeating enemies, or beating a boss. During this mode, players can attack, slow their fall, or dodge attacks. They can also collect magic spells for limited-use attacks.
Outside the main game, players can play "Flick Rush," a multiplayer mode where two players battle using teams of three Spirits. Players flick cards from the touch screen, with each card having a number value that determines attack strength. Combining multiple cards increases the total value. The player with the higher attack value attacks with their Spirit. A meter that slowly refills limits how many cards can be used at once, and each Spirit has a limited number of cards that can be replaced by swapping with another Spirit. The first player to eliminate all of their opponent’s Spirits wins.
Plot
Dream Drop Distance continues the story from Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts Coded, though much of its plot happens at the same time as the original game through time travel. The game has seven playable worlds, most of which are based on Disney properties but are shown as "worlds submerged in sleep" because they were destroyed by the Heartless. New Disney worlds include La Cité des Cloches (based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame), the Grid (from Tron: Legacy), Prankster's Paradise (from Pinocchio, which also includes Monstro's belly from earlier games), the Country of the Musketeers (from Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers), and the Symphony of Sorcery (from Fantasia). The other two worlds, Traverse Town and the World That Never Was, are original to the series and appeared in previous games. The game begins with a tutorial set on the Destiny Islands, another original world.
The game features Sora and Riku as the main characters, who take a test to improve their skills with the Keyblade. For most of the game, they look the same as in the original game but wear new clothes. Their older versions from Kingdom Hearts II appear in cutscenes, and Sora is briefly playable during the end credits. A younger version of Xehanort, first introduced as the optional "Mysterious Figure" boss in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, is the main antagonist. He is joined by two of his revived forms: Ansem (his Heartless) and Xemnas (his Nobody). Former members of Xemnas' Organization XIII, including Lea and the apprentices of Ansem the Wise (Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo), return after being restored to their human forms.
The game includes Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, who appears in three forms: as the king of Disney Castle, as a musketeer from Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, and as Yen Sid’s apprentice from Fantasia. Donald Duck and Goofy also appear in similar roles. Other characters from their worlds play small parts in the story, while Maleficent and Pete return as villains, and Yen Sid appears as a helper. Unlike other major games, which include many Final Fantasy characters, only a Moogle appears in this game. Characters from The World Ends with You (Neku Sakuraba, Joshua, Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki) also appear, marking the first time non-Disney and non-Final Fantasy characters have been in the series.
The game introduces a new type of creature called Dream Eaters, which have two forms: "Nightmares," which eat good dreams and create nightmares (acting as enemies like the Heartless), and "Spirits," which eat nightmares and create good dreams (helping Sora and Riku as party members).
To prepare for Master Xehanort’s return, Yen Sid sends Sora and Riku on a Mark of Mastery exam to gain the power needed to rescue their missing allies and stop Xehanort. During the exam, they travel to worlds trapped in a "sleeping" state after being destroyed by the Heartless. They must unlock seven keyholes to restore the worlds, and they are advised to create benevolent "Spirit" Dream Eaters to guide them and fight the malevolent "Nightmare" Dream Eaters. Yen Sid sends them back in time to their homeworld’s destruction, allowing them to enter the sleeping worlds. Sora and Riku are separated at the start of the test, each arriving in alternate versions of the worlds. Throughout the exam, they meet a gray-haired youth who is joined by Xemnas and Ansem, despite these characters having been destroyed before.
After completing the exam, Sora and Riku arrive in the World That Never Was instead of the realm of light. The youth reveals he and his allies lured Sora into a trap, placing him in a deep sleep where his heart is consumed by darkness but protected by Ventus’s armor. Riku learns he traveled through Sora’s dreams as a Dream Eater during the exam. He escapes the dream and confronts the youth, who reveals himself as Xehanort’s past self, tasked by his future self with gathering thirteen versions of Xehanort from across time to form a new Organization XIII. Young Xehanort fights Riku to delay his future self’s revival. Despite Young Xehanort’s defeat, Master Xehanort returns, trying to turn Sora into his final vessel to pit thirteen "seekers of darkness" against seven "guardians of light" and recreate the χ-blade. Sora is rescued by Donald, Goofy, and Lea (the human form of Axel). Xehanort and his incarnations return to their original time periods, promising a future clash between the two groups.
After returning to Yen Sid’s tower, Riku re-enters Sora’s dreams and frees his heart from Ventus’s Nightmare-possessed armor. Riku meets a virtual version of Ansem the Wise in a simulation of Destiny Islands, who gives him research data to help Sora save others connected to him. When Riku reunites with Sora, Yen Sid declares him a Keyblade Master, and Lea reveals he has become a Keyblade wielder and aims to become a Master as well. Sora returns to the sleeping worlds to thank his Dream Eater companions.
In the game’s secret ending, Yen Sid and Mickey discuss Xehanort’s plan. Yen Sid explains his goal to gather seven Keyblade wielders to stop Xehanort from using the Princesses of Heart to forge the χ-blade. To achieve this, he sends Riku to summon Kairi to train as a Keyblade wielder.
Development
The game was developed by the same team that created Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, which was part of Square Enix's 1st Production Department. The team included members who had worked on The World Ends with You, so they chose characters from that game instead of using characters from Final Fantasy. The decision to make a Kingdom Hearts game for the Nintendo 3DS came because Square Enix staff were impressed by the console's quality. The 3DS inspired Tetsuya Nomura to create the "Dive Mode" feature, which lets players move between worlds without a vehicle. The "Flowmotion" system was planned before choosing the console. The game's title, Dream Drop Distance, refers to its themes: "Dream" relates to the story, "Drop" describes the gameplay style, and "Distance" connects to how the main characters interact and the 3D effect on the console. Although Nomura admitted the English used was not always grammatically correct, the team chose it based on how it sounded. Development time for this game was shorter than previous Kingdom Hearts games. However, co-director Tai Yasue said the final product looked similar to Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep but had improvements.
The team wanted the game to have more action than earlier games. Nomura noted that the game shares similarities with Final Fantasy Versus XIII because of their similar styles. New moves in Dream Drop Distance were designed to show how the next game in the series, Kingdom Hearts III, might look. New worlds were added because fans requested them. The game switches between player characters Sora and Riku to contrast with Birth by Sleep, which let players use three characters in their own campaigns. This also explains the word "Distance" in the title, as Sora and Riku never meet in their stories. The "Free Flow" system was created using data from Birth by Sleep, which took about two weeks to develop. The game originally planned to use returning enemies like Heartless and Nobodies, but the setting inspired the team to introduce new creatures called Dream Eaters, who can join the player in battles. Dream Eaters were partly inspired by Nintendogs + Cats, as Nomura wanted his virtual dog to fight with other pets through Streetpass. They appear in the mini-game Flick Rush, which was originally meant to let players use pictures, but Nomura did not approve of this idea.
With Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, the team revealed that Dream Drop Distance would focus on Sora and Riku's "Mark of Mastery" exam. They were unsure how to set the story but were inspired by the subtitle of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Sora and Riku were chosen as playable characters to prepare for the end of the "Xehanort arc" in the series and to represent the theme of "light and dark sides of hearts." Sora was also chosen because of his popularity in Japan. Nomura said the game's themes are trust and friendship, and the story is as important as those in numbered Kingdom Hearts titles. Both Sora and Riku appear in their younger forms from the first Kingdom Hearts game, but their outfits were changed to avoid confusion with a remake. The game focuses mainly on Riku's growth. The staff planned a complex story with many cutscenes that players can watch anytime. Scenario writer Masaru Oka created the "Chronicles" feature to explain events from previous games. The story connects directly to Kingdom Hearts III, though its original ending was not approved and was removed. The game also has a secret ending linked to Kingdom Hearts III, which the team found unusual compared to previous games.
The game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 as "Kingdom Hearts 3D Demo" for the Nintendo 3DS. It was officially revealed on January 18, 2011, at a Square Enix event in Tokyo, Japan, with its first trailer and official name. During development, Nomura explained the game's theme was about trust and how to trust others. In July 2011, a Famitsu article included an interview where Nomura revealed the game would have an unlockable secret movie. A playable demo released that month introduced Dream Eaters as partners and enemies. A Dengeki issue featured another interview where Nomura mentioned planning an "HD Technical Test" for the series' 10th anniversary. This event happened on March 3, 2012, with footage from the game, including its full CGI introduction, shown to celebrate its release.
The game was first released in Japan on March 29, 2012, and in North America and Europe on July 31, 2012, and July 20, 2012, respectively. In Australasia, it was released on July 26, 2012. A limited edition called "Mark of Mastery" was released in North America with art cards, AR cards to unlock Dream Eaters, and a 3DS case. While this is the shortest gap between Japanese and English releases in the Kingdom Hearts series, the English version does not include features only available in Japan. The "Mark of Mastery" edition was created so English players could get bonus material from Japan. The game was also included in the "Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Box," which featured Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. Nomura said Dream Drop Distance would not get an updated version like earlier games.
A guidebook titled Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Ultimania was published in Japan on May 1, 2012. Square Enix also released a light novel by Tomoko Kanemaki titled Side Sora on June 28, 2012, with a second volume, Side Riku, released on September 27, 2012.
A HD remaster of the game for the PlayStation 4, titled Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, was announced in September 2015 at Tokyo Game Show as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection, released in January 2017. At the X019 event in London, Square Enix announced that all Kingdom Hearts HD collections would be released for the Xbox One in 2020.
Like Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, the music for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was a collaboration by Yoko Shimomura, Takeharu Ishimoto, and Tsuyoshi Sekito, with compositions from all three. Songs from The World Ends with You, originally composed by Ishimoto, were remixed for the game. Orchestral arrangements were provided by Kaoru Wada. The Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance Original Soundtrack was released in Japan.
Reception
A playable demo shown at the Tokyo Game Show helped the game win the "Best 3DS RPG" award at RPG Land's Tokyo Game Show Awards. A report from people who tried the game praised the boss battles. RPG Site also liked the game when it was first shown, calling the demo "refreshing." Overall, people who saw the game's trailers, demos, and other information generally had positive reactions. The game was listed among Famitsu's 25 "most wanted" games in October 2011. The Official Nintendo Magazine ranked it eighth in their "Games of 2012" feature. In an IGN poll, it was the most anticipated Nintendo 3DS game for the summer of 2012. It also received the "Most Valuable Game Award" from Nintendo Power magazine.
Famitsu gave the game a score of 10/9/10/9, totaling 38 out of 40, in their March 22, 2012, issue. This made it the second-highest-rated game in the series after Kingdom Hearts II. The game reached the top of Media Create's sales charts, selling 213,579 copies during its first week. Its release also helped increase sales of the Nintendo 3DS console. While pre-orders for the game exceeded those for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on the Nintendo DS, its first-week sales were lower. Media Create explained this was because the Nintendo DS sold more units than the Nintendo 3DS at the time. The game remained on Media Create's sales charts for several weeks, selling a total of 311,688 copies by May 2012. In North America, the game sold 200,000 copies by August 2012, including 180,000 regular editions and 20,000 Mark of Mastery editions.
English publications gave Kingdom Hearts 3D somewhat positive reviews, with lower scores than Japanese outlets. They generally praised the gameplay but criticized the story. The game had an average score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic. Game Informer writer Bryan Vore liked the new gameplay features and said the story handled the series' plot well, especially since it took place after Kingdom Hearts II. IGN's Audrey Drake also praised the gameplay but found the story sometimes uninteresting. GameSpot's Mark Walton liked the combat and environment design but wished the game did not force players through levels in a strict order. He called the story "hard to follow" with poor dialogue and unclear motivations. Bob Mackey of 1UP.com was more critical, saying the game's mechanics made it confusing and frustrating. A GameTrailers reviewer called the battle system the best in the series and said the story required knowledge of earlier games to understand. Leah Jackson of G4 gave one of the highest reviews among English outlets, saying the gameplay and graphics made up for the confusing story.
HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
In the credits of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, short clips from Dream Drop Distance were shown, along with a hidden ending that suggested more content might be coming. In September 2015, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. This collection includes a high-definition remaster of Dream Drop Distance, a movie-style retelling of Kingdom Hearts χ called Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, and a new game titled Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. This game takes place after the events of the original Birth by Sleep and is told from the perspective of the character Aqua. The collection was released on January 12, 2017, in Japan, and on January 24, 2017, in other countries.