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Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

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Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
European boxart
Developer(s)Square Enix 1st Production Department[3]
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)Tetsuya Nomura
Composer(s)Yoko Shimomura[4]
Takeharu Ishimoto[5] Tsuyoshi Sekito
SeriesKingdom Hearts
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
Release
Genre(s)Action role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (キングダム ハーツ 3D [ドリーム ドロップ ディスタンス], Kingudamu Hātsu Surī Dī [Dorīmu Doroppu Disutansu]) is a video game developed and published by Square Enix exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS, revealed at E3 2010.[6] It was created by the same development team that worked on Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep,[7] currently part of Square Enix's 1st Production Department.[3] The game is the seventh installment in the bestselling Kingdom Hearts series.[8]

Gameplay

The two playable characters are Sora and Riku, control of whom rotates throughout the game through the use of a gameplay element called the "Drops" system. This system features a Drop Gauge which gradually depletes on its own over time, automatically switching control between Sora and Riku once it empties. The player is able to keep the gauge from emptying by attacking enemies, and can switch characters at will using save points.[9]

The game sees the return of the "Command Deck" system which was introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and re-utilized in Re:coded. One of the key elements of the game is the "free-flows" mechanic, allowing the player to utilize the surroundings for movements and attacking with the execution of the Y button.[10] The game's most significant feature is the ability to hunt and collect Dream Eaters, with each individual Dream Eater companion providing Sora and Riku access to varying abilities, attacks, and cooperative actions. Many elements of the game utilize the touch screen, such as throwing enemies or chaining various attacks. The game also has interactive cut-scenes and events.[11]

The game is compatible with the Circle Pad Pro, which can be used to control the camera.[12] The game also comes with AR functionality, allowing players to play with the Dream Eaters that they can catch.[13]

Plot

Kingdom Hearts
chronology

Setting

Further information: Universe of Kingdom Hearts

Dream Drop Distance is a continuation of the events shown in the epilogue of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, where Yen Sid decides to put Sora and Riku through a Mark of Mastery exam in response to Master Xehanort's eventual return, caused by the defeat of "Ansem" and Xemnas in the past.[14] Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the themes of the game are trust and friendship, and that like Birth by Sleep, the story is on par with that of a numbered title. The game features a total of seven playable worlds, most of them set in a "world submerged in sleep", with all the Disney-based worlds being introduced in this game based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pinocchio, Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, Fantasia and Tron: Legacy. The other two playable worlds are Traverse Town and the World That Never Was, while the worlds Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, Disney Castle, and Destiny Islands appear in cutscenes. The game's story is connected to Kingdom Hearts III, which has yet to begin development.[15]

Characters

Further information: Characters of Kingdom Hearts

The game features Sora and Riku as the two main characters of the game, depicted during gameplay as their younger selves shown in the original game while also being given new clothes; their older selves from Kingdom Hearts II also appear during cutscenes. Young Xehanort, first introduced as the optional "Unknown" boss from the North American, European, and Final Mix releases of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, returns and appears to be the game's primary antagonist together with a revived "Ansem", Xemnas, and Master Xehanort. Several former members of Organization XIII, including Lea, Isa, and Ansem's apprentices, return after being restored to their human forms.

Like previous games, Dream Drop Distance features several Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, who is seen in the game in three different incarnations—his original characterization in the Kingdom Hearts series as the king of Disney Castle; a musketeer as featured in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers; and the young apprentice of Yen Sid shown in Fantasia. Donald Duck and Goofy make similar appearances as well. Characters hailing from their respective worlds remain in their worlds and play a small role in the main story, while Maleficent and Pete reprise their roles as major villains, and Yen Sid as a supporting character. Unlike the other major installments, which feature an extensive cast of Final Fantasy characters, only a single Moogle appears from the franchise. Dream Drop Distance instead features cameo appearances from Neku Sakuraba, Joshua, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme from The World Ends with You, another game owned by Square Enix with characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura, marking the first time that non-Final Fantasy or non-Disney characters have appeared in the series.[16]

The game introduces a new type of creature called Dream Eaters, which come in two varieties—"Nightmares", which eat good dreams and create nightmares, and serve as enemies similar to the Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed from previous games; and "Spirits", which eat nightmares and create good dreams, and also act as Sora and Riku's party members.[17]

Story

Yen Sid puts Sora and Riku through a Mark of Mastery exam in order for them to become full-fledged Keyblade Masters and counter the coming return of Master Xehanort. As part of this trial, the two are sent to several worlds that have been restored from the Heartless' attack at the end of the original Kingdom Hearts, but have gone into a state of "deep sleep" that disconnects them from the other worlds. These worlds are plagued by Dream Eaters—creatures born from darkness that seek out the sleeping worlds' Keyholes. Sora and Riku's given task is to reawaken the sleeping worlds by unlocking the seven Keyholes they find there and then return to the realm of light, after which they will be deemed Keyblade Masters. The two travel through the sleeping worlds independently from each other after being separated from at the beginning of the exam, and recruit benevolent "Spirit" Dream Eaters to aid them in finding the Keyholes and battling the malevolent "Nightmare" Dream Eaters that try to destroy the worlds.

During the exam, Sora and Riku cross paths with the resurrected "Ansem" and Xemnas, as well as a younger incarnation of Master Xehanort from an alternate past. The three bring Sora to the World That Never Was, where he learns of Organization XIII's true purpose—to serve as vessels for Master Xehanort to place pieces of his heart inside, thereby transforming them into clones of Xehanort. Sora is forced into a comatose state by the young Xehanort and his heart is damaged by Xemnas, though what remains of his heart is protected by Ventus' suit of armor. Riku learns of Sora's fate and goes to rescue him, only to be confronted by the young Xehanort, who reveals his own task of finding vessels, including Sora, for a new Organization led by the newly revived Master Xehanort so he can pit them against seven Keyblade wielders and recreate the χ-blade. Before Xehanort can place a piece of his heart inside Sora, Sora is rescued by Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Lea—the revived human form of the original Organization's Axel—forcing the new Organization to retreat.

Sora's body is brought back to Yen Sid's tower, where Riku enters his body and restores his heart by gathering its broken pieces and releasing Sora from Ventus' armor, now possessed by a Nightmare. After Sora reawakens, only Riku is declared a Keyblade Master by Yen Sid. Undaunted by his failure, Sora embarks on a new journey by himself to train. The game's secret ending shows Yen Sid planning to gather seven Keyblade wielders to combat the new Organization and prevent Xehanort from bringing about another Keyblade War. To this end, Yen Sid has Riku bring Kairi to him so she can be trained to wield the Keyblade she received from Riku in Kingdom Hearts II.

Development

The game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 as "Kingdom Hearts 3D Demo" for the Nintendo 3DS.[18] It was formally unveiled though at the Square Enix 1st Production Department Premier event at the Toho Cinemas in Tokyo, Japan on January 18, 2011 with its first trailer along with its official name.[19] Tetsuya Nomura, the creator of the series, has also emphasized the mystery element of the story, vaguely stating that the game will "tear down past elements" and that players should expect the unexpected. He has confirmed that the theme of the game is trust.[18] In an issue of Game Informer, it was revealed that the game was expected to make an appearance at E3 2011, where a new trailer was to be shown.[20] However, these claims proved to be false when no such trailer was presented and the game received no mention whatsoever at Nintendo's Press Conference. Following this, Square Enix executives confirmed that there would be no Kingdom Hearts news at E3 2011 and indicated that the game's next trailer would be showcased at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show.[21]

In July 2011, a Famitsu article included a interview with Nomura, where he stated that development was 40-50% finished, with voice recording to begin soon. Nomura also said that the game will have a secret movie like other major installments, and have what he calls a "shocking ending". A new playable demo would also feature two new enigmatic party members along with a new enemy different to the Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed seen in previous games.[22]

A Dengeki issue featured another interview with Nomura, where he confirmed that the game would indeed be shown, in both trailer and playable demo form, at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show. He also stated that his top priority in the Kingdom Hearts series is to finish development of the game for an early 2012 release, while simultaneously considering what he called a "HD Technical Test" in order to commemorate the series' tenth anniversary and to entice players new to the series.[1]

The game's showing at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show confirmed a Spring 2012 release for Japan, as well as the first showing of Xehanort, Braig, Even, Ienzo, Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends with You and the game's new generic enemy, the Dream Eaters, who are described by Nomura as "goblins who consume sleep".

The September 2011 issue of Famitsu covered some of the details of the game revealed at the Tokyo Game Show. Nomura commented that the game was 60-70% finished and will introduce the previously-unseen 4th and 5th districts of Traverse Town, where the infamous "Reaper's Game" will take place between Sora and Neku. Nomura also confirmed that the game will feature numerous flashback scenes told from Xehanort's point of view, among them the opening scene.

In November 2011, the official website of Jump Festa revealed that the game would appear in both trailer and playable demo form at Jump Festa 2012.[23] The game's official release date was given as March 2012.[1] In December 2011, the official website launched and two Jump Festa trailers were released (a short version and long version).


Release

In January 2012, Square Enix updated the Japanese website of the game with a release date of March 29, 2012 for Japan. Square Enix also officially announced the game for both North America and Europe with their respective websites up stating localized trailers would soon be available. The game is also included within the "Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Box" package made in conmemoration of the franchise's 10th anniversary. The box also includes the Nintendo DS games Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. The price for the box with these games included is 15,000 yen.[24]

Reception

The Tokyo Game Show had a playable demo, which earned the game top honors as "Best 3DS RPG"[25] in RPG Land's Tokyo Game Show Awards, following a hands-on report that praised the boss fights.[26] RPG Site also had good things to say in its impression, calling the demo bits "refreshing."[27] Reception to the game's released trailers, demos and general information has been generally positive, and the game is ranked among Famitsu's 25 most wanted list in October 2011.[28]

In the first review, Famitsu gave Dream Drop Distance a rating of 10/9/10/9, or a total of 38/40, in their March 22, 2012 issue. This review makes Dream Drop Distance the second highest rated game in the series, after Kingdom Hearts II.[29]

The game debuted at the top of Media Create's sales charts, selling 213,579 copies during its first week. The release was also noted to have helped boost the sales from the Nintendo 3DS console.[30]

References

  1. ^ a b c Release month
  2. ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/12/20/kingdom-hearts-3d-release-info-dropped.aspx%7Ctitle=Kingdom Hearts 3D Release Info Dropped|author=Matthew Kato|publisher=Game Informer|date=December 20, 2011|accessdate=December 20, 2011
  3. ^ a b "「Final Fantasy XIII-2」が2011年発売予定，「Agito」は「Final Fantasy 零式」と名称変更して2011年夏発売。「Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere」をTwitterで実況". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas, Inc. January 18, 2011. Archived from the original on January 19, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. ^ Audun Sorlie (June 18, 2010). "E3 2010: Nomura Confirms Composer for Kingdom Hearts 3D". Original Sound Version. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  5. ^ Takeharu Ishimoto to work with Yoko Shimomura on KH3D soundtrack
  6. ^ Jack DeVries (June 15, 2010). "E3 2010: Kingdom Hearts 3D First Look". IGN. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  7. ^ Alice Liang (June 16, 2010). "E3 2010: Kingdom Hearts 3 is Not in Development...Yet". 1UP.com. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  8. ^ Anoop Gantayat (June 16, 2010). "Square Enix Chief Twit Master Talks Up Kingdom Hearts 3DS". Andriasang. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  9. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (January 26, 2011). "Tetsuya Nomura Discusses Kingdom Hearts 3DS". Andriasang. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  10. ^ Yip, Spencer (September 19, 2011). "The Biggest Game Changer In Kingdom Hearts 3D Is The Y Button". Siliconera. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  11. ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (July 31, 2011). "Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance To Have Controllable Event Scenes, Too". Siliconera. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  12. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (September 13, 2011). "Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil and Kingdom Hearts for 3DS Also Use Nintendo's New Slide Pad Expansion". Kotaku. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (September 20, 2011). "Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Sure Looks Dreamy". Kotaku. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Anoop Gantayat (September 21, 2010). "Kingdom Hearts 3D is Next -- Tetsuya Nomura". Andriasang. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  15. ^ Anoop Gantayat (November 17, 2010). "Tetsuya Nomura Talks Kingdom Hearts 3DS". IGN. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
  16. ^ Valay (September 15, 2011). "Neku Is In Kingdom Hearts 3DS". NintendoEverything. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  17. ^ http://nintendo3dsblog.com/even-more-details-about-kingdom-hearts-3d-from-the-tokyo-game-show
  18. ^ a b Anoop Gantayat (June 18, 2010). is/ "Tetsuya Nomura on Kingdom Hearts 3D". Andriasang. Retrieved June 16, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  19. ^ Anoop Gantayat (January 18, 2011). "Square Enix Opens Teaser Sites for New Games". Andriasang. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  20. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/18/the-games-of-e3-2011.aspx
  21. ^ Square Enix: "No KH at E3 2011, but maybe at TGS 2011"
  22. ^ Nomura discusses KH3D, Dissidia and PSVita remake of FFXI
  23. ^ KH3D to appear at Jump Festa 2012
  24. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (June 18, 2010). "Kingdom Hearts Anniversary Box Includes Three Kingdom Hearts Games". Andriasang. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  25. ^ Best RPGs of the Tokyo Game Show
  26. ^ Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance hands-on
  27. ^ Kingdom Hearts Tokyo Game Show hands-on report
  28. ^ Dream Drop Distance 22nd most wanted
  29. ^ "Kingdom Hearts, Baseball with Normal Sized Heads Get 10s in Famitsu". Adriasang. March 21, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  30. ^ "Kingdom Hearts 3D Tops the Charts". Adriasang. April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
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