'Kingdom Hearts 3' "Final Battle" Trailer Makes It Look Worth the Wait
Dramatic, tender-hearted, and full of thrilling action sequences.
Kingdom Hearts III comes out almost a decade later than it probably should have, and yet the latest trailer is a strong indicator that it all might be worth the 13-year wait. Explosions abound in every Disney world in the Kingdom Hearts multiverse, and it’s up to Sora and friends to stop the end of everything.
Square Enix released the latest trailer Monday simply called the “Final Battle Trailer.” The footage includes tons of dramatic scenes from Kingdom Hearts III we haven’t really seen yet, and it also starts to answer some of the larger questions we might have. Sora visits worlds from Pirates of the Caribbean, Frozen, Monsters Inc., and even Big Hero 6. He also shakes hands with Remy from Ratatouille and gets pounced on by Tigger.
“They can take your world,” Sora says. “They can take your heart, cut you loose from all you know. But if it’s your fate, then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.”
Kingdom Hearts remains as cryptic and dramatic as ever — and we’re so here for it. Utada Hikaru’s “Don’t Think Twice” song, in collaboration with Skrillex, does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting, staying true to the franchise’s roots.
Davy Jones looks exactly the same in 'Kingdom Hearts III' as he did in 'Dead Man's Chest'.
The graphics look sharper than ever and on par with anything Disney/Pixar has ever produced. Even the world inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean looks incredible, saturated in as much murky darkness the same amount that Big Hero 6’s San Fransokyo is bathed in sunshine.
In one scene, the player controls Riku in the Realm of Darkness as he fights Heartless. In another, Sora summons the help of Remy from Ratatouille to bash a monster over the head with a huge frying pan. So much of the action is gloriously incoherent in the way that only Kingdom Hearts can pull off.
Each world seemingly offers its own mini-game as well. Sora dances with a young woman in the world from Tangled. He swims deep underwater in the Pirates of the Caribbean world. There’s also a first-person shooter mini-game in Toy Story world. Unlike some previous entries in the franchise, it looks like Kingdom Hearts III will be the furthest thing from repetitive.
Epic boss fights also abound in each world, and there’s even another scene in which Sora has to face an unimaginable number of Heartless, reminiscent of the Battle of the 1000 Heartless from Kingdom Hearts II.
But the real strength of the trailer is in how it furthers the game’s core story.
Lee and Kairi train to be Keyblade Masters by eating popsicles.
Sora encounters who might just be Terra while in the Toy Story world, and the robed figure says, “Find the Hearts joined to yours.” Does he mean the obvious Roxas, Xion, and Ventus? Or does he mean his friends Riku and Kairi? This might represent one of the game’s core mysteries, but the former guess seems more accurate. Later in the trailer, Vanitas threatens Sora, demanding, “Join your heart with mine!”
Later, Ansem watches Riku face off against Vanitas without his mask on, a confrontation that’s totally bewildering and seems like a huge late-game spoiler.
Even moreso, the “Final Battle” mentioned in the trailer seemingly happens in the desert terrain of Keyblade Graveyard from the end of Birth By Sleep. Yet somehow Roxas is there in his Twilight Town garb, so it seems like just about everyone is showing up for that final fight.
This particular trailer might raise more questions than it answers, but at least there’s not that much time left before
Kingdom Hearts III will be released January 29, 2019 for the Sony PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Related video: Check out another trailer for Kingdom Hearts III.
