Eight Things I Wanna See In Kingdom Hearts 3

It's coming.  We don't know when or for what systems, but we do know the third platform Kingdom Hearts game is coming.  All of the loose ends established in the games will finally be answered.  What happened to Terra, Ventus, and Aqua?  What role will Xion and Roxas play?  Will a major non-villain character finally get axed?  Will Sora and Kairi ever have a deeper romantic relationship?  And what role will the various Disney Worlds play?

Kingdom Hearts is one of the most polarizing game series ever created, much like Call of Duty.  People either view it as the bible of fantasy RPG's, or unenlightened halfwits think it's a series made only to please children and Final Fantasy/ Disney fans.  But no one can argue the lasting impact this series has had on pop culture.  Even if we hate the 3DS or the PSP, we're still gonna pick up the system to at least give the next game a try.  And with the next Kingdom Hearts game being 2.5 Remix, that leaves only the finale for Square Enix to create.

Fans have what they want to see or experience for Kingdom Hearts III.  I have my own list, and some of my ideas may be similar to what others want.  Some may go against conventional wisdom.  I own every Kingdom Hearts game except for re: Coded and Dream Drop Distance, but I have played every one at least once.  So I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this franchise.  But I know the game will not completely please me, so here are eight things I want the game I'm gonna shell out $350 dollars for(whichever system it comes out for and the game) to give me.

1. Disneyland

This one may be coming out of left field, but I had a sweet idea for the next major "hub" for where Sora and Co. have to go to other worlds.  Instead of tedious Gummi Ship missions (I never really liked them anyway), you can have Sora take part in several mini games to unlock the various worlds that you would see.  But it would take place in one central world, like Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64.  Only here it would be Disneyland!  It would give Disney and Square the excuse to add more Disney Worlds into the game (Frozen or The Jungle Book/), and it would give us a place where we could just let loose and have fun while not just fighting Heartless, Unversed, or Nobodies.




2. A Balanced Pace

Kingdom Hearts II had a great pacing, using the first half of the story to have Sora and Co. go up against each world's Disney Villains and cover more Disney oriented stories, while leaving the second half of the game to dealing with the Organization.  Birth By Sleep and the original game both tried to juggle the main plot with the various Disney Plots, which would get very confusing for a first time player.  Instead, the game should feel more like an actual movie.  The first act has Sora and his friends dealing with the various Disney Villains, the second act would have them encounter Xehanort and his henchmen, and the third act would be the Keyblade War itself.  It would allow the player to learn more about each world or each character without jumping head on into the plot.  Kind of a nitpick, but it's what makes the second platform game my all time favorite.

3. More of a role for Disney Characters (Villains and Heroes)

The best thing about going to the Disney Themed worlds is having the World's Character team up with you.  While Donald and Goofy are good characters, Donald's magic isn't as effective as Jack Skellington's and Goofy's strength doesn't even come close to matching the Beast's.  But when you leave the world, the characters don't join you.  The game invented this rule that the key bearers must protect the world order, but with Xehanort running amok and with several of the other characters (Aladdin, Ariel, Beast, Simba, Tron, ALL OF THE PRINCESSES) already knowing about the other worlds, is there any reason not to have them have a larger role in the story?  Now, I know that a lot of them wouldn't appear in this game, but we know Aladdin and the Beast are going to appear.  I'd rather go to war with Beast at my side over Goofy.


The same could be said for the Disney Villains, but in a different way.  I love to fight the Disney Villains in these games.  Unfortunately, a good portion of their fights tend to be on the easier side, where you actually have a harder time fighting the normal Heartless than the boss.  Also, though it is Xehanort's story, I think the Disney Villains should still keep up their schemes, and NOT JUST MALEFICENT!  I'm not saying Oogie Boogie or Scar should come back, but I think it would alleviate the people who just play for the Disney aspects to be able to fight a good portion of Disney Bosses.

4. More Secret Bosses

Sometimes, the game is just too easy for some players.  Those players would like to be challenged once in a while.  Enter Sephiroth.  Enter Lingering Sentiment.  Enter Kurt Zisa.  These secret bosses show players just how good they really are and no one has beaten them all without dying at least once.  We overestimate these foes and get our butts kicked pretty early without damaging them much.

But we want more challenges.  Less of those easy boss fights and more fights where every second we are being tested by some new enemy or assailant.  We want to have to die once in a while, so we can get back up and deliver the ultimate beat down on this chump who thinks he's better than us.  In essence, there should be about one secret boss every other world you go to.  That would really through players for a loop.  No mercy!

My personal idea would be to have an archive mode that would allow you to fight some of the old Disney Villains, but this time, they're a serious pain in the ass to fight.  For example, Jafar could use a few more devastating spells or Hades could actually make it rain fireballs for the whole match.

5. More Disney World...but Less Disney Worlds


Kinda confusing?  Well, what I mean, is that I would like to see more Disney Worlds explored.  People are getting sick of having to go and rescue Tinker Bell from Captain Hook and talking about signing up for the next cup at the Olympus Coliseum.  Some worlds, like Agrabah, Beast's Castle, and Dwarf Woodlands are going to be unavoidable due to their importance with regards to the plot.  After finally seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Fantasia, and Tron in these games, I'd like to see Square tackle some new grounds, such as Arendelle (which has been rumored), Prydain (The Black Cauldron), or maybe a world that keeps getting aborted (like The Jungle Book world).  Or maybe even a world themed off of Toy Story or Monsters Inc.  But I am personally sick of seeing Pinocchio's obnoxious face every other game, I'm sick of being told their's a new cup at the Coliseum, and I'm sick of having to learn how to fly in Neverland.

Some of the worlds have an opportunity to be explored more.  For example, we could have Sora and Co. return to the Pridelands and help Simba deal with Zira, or have the plot with Agrabah surround the plot of Aladdin and the King of Thieves.  Or, you can surprise me and add a world I would believe would have zero potential and it would blow me away (such as the Lilo and Stitch world).  A story like Pocahontas or Emperor's New Groove at least deserve some recognition.  But again, I'm tired of having to hear Donald sing in Atlantica, tired of missions regarding us protecting Agrabah from Jafar, and I'm tired of the reptetitve Olympus Cups.

6. Deeper Character Interactions (SORA ND KAIRI/ ROXAS ND XION/ TERRA/ AQUA)

The only people who kiss in these games are the Disney Characters who come together, such as Aladdin and Jasmine or Ariel and Eric.  But in all seven games (minus the re-releases), the closest bit of romance we get are from fangirls and fanboys writing fan fiction online.  Kairi and Sora both know how they feel about each other, but the two only blush and laugh when in each other's presence.

This could be the same with Roxas and Xion/ Namine or Terra and Aqua.  These guys only have relationships within the twisted minds of us fans online or they are loosely implied.  People who play these games will react to a well written romance with joy and happiness.  But so far, we have gotten only Paopu Fruits, blushes, and hugs.  SO STIFLING!




7. Darker Storyline/ Gameplay

Disney now owns The Empire Strikes Back, one of the darkest and most twisted films ever created.  Every character is put into some kind of distress, the main character learns a devastating truth, and the future is left in doubt.  Though we don't need a Darth Vader revelation, Kingdom Hearts III could use some darkness and some challenging stuff in it's plot.  Precisely, it needs some characters to die.  It doesn't have to be Sora or Riku, but someone other than a villain needs to die.  The plot really needs to have a sense of anguish and despair surrounding it, or else the game really could qualify as a kiddie game.

8. MULTIPLAYER!!!!!!!!!

 Every Tuesday, my cousins come over to hang out.  Often, when we're not playing baseball or football outside, we're playing video games.  And our mutual favorite video game series is Kingdom Hearts.  But with the exceptions of utilizing the Game boy connectors to fight in Chain or Memories or going online to fight with our PSP, we cannot enjoy our games together.  This is something that I think Square should at least consider, especially if the game is going to be released on the Xbox One.  I think they should do something along the lines of Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  While you don't need the second character, it would help out a lot.  You can also have a mode like in Birth By Sleep that you can fight an opponent.  That would be AWESOME!  I'd rather fight with my cousins over which character I'd want to be over who gets to play what world.