Surprise! Square Enix has remained rather quiet about its E3 2017 plans, but last night they unexpectedly dropped a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer during a Los Angeles performance of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour.
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Kingdom Hearts III won’t have a presence at E3 proper, but the new “Orchestra Trailer” makes up for that, as it’s probably the best look at the game we’ve got to date. Of course, the trailer delivers plenty of slick action, but it also features some major returning characters and early hints at the game’s story. The trailer may be only two minutes long, but there’s a lot to dissect!
Scroll down for the five most crucial takeaways from the new Kingdom Hearts III trailer…
Combat Looks Better Than Ever
Most of the E3 Kingdom Hearts III trailer focuses on action, and it appears to be much improved. Combat has looked a little slow in some past Kingdom Hearts III footage, but here, everything seems to have been amped up a notch. We also get a look at Sora’s new Guard Form, inspired by Disney’s Hercules. While in this form, Sora’s Keyblade takes the form of a shield, which can project giant pummeling fists, rain sparks from the heavens, and more. Also, the boss fight against the giant Rock Titan appears to be completely reworked. It really feels like Kingdom Hearts III‘s basic gameplay is starting to come together.
Classic Disney Villains Will Be Returning
Over the past few years, we’ve seen various snippets of Kingdom Hearts III in action, but we haven’t seen a lot of characters, particularly villains. Well, the E3 trailer confirms classic Disney villains Pete, Maleficent, and Hades will be returning. It seems the unlikely tag team of Pete and Maleficent are looking for a “distinctive black box,” and think Hades may know where it is. Hmmm, I wonder what’s inside this box?
Roxas Is Also Coming Back
In addition to the villain interaction described above, we get one more hint about Kingdom Hearts III‘s storyline. It seems Roxas, the dark mirror version of Sora, will be making a return. Or, at least, Sora wants him to make a return. Sora, Goofy, and Donald are confronted by the villainous Xemnas, who informs Sora that he’ll have to “finally call upon the darkness” to bring Roxas back. I’d be suspicious, Sora.
The Game Is Still Coming To Xbox One
Recently, there was some speculation that Kingdom Hearts III may have become a PS4 exclusive, as the Xbox One logo mysteriously disappeared from the game’s website. Thankfully for Xbox owners, it seems that was a false alarm. The title card at the end of the most recent trailer once again lists the Xbox One. The fact that Square Enix opted not to show this trailer at Sony’s E3 press conference, as they have in the past, seems to indicate they’re not going to be playing sides with Kingdom Hearts III.
We’ll Be Seeing More Soon
A new Kingdom Hearts III trailer is always exciting, but they’re also bittersweet, because you know you’re going to be waiting at least six months for another taste. Well, not this time! Turns out we’ll be getting another trailer at D23 Expo 2017 on July 15! And this one will show off an all-new world! Two Kingdom Hearts III trailers in a little over a month? What have we done to deserve this?
Of course, plenty of questions continue to surround Kingdom Hearts III. We still don’t have a release date or more than the most basic of details about the story, but it does seems like the game is finally starting to make some real progress. Perhaps we’ll actually get to play it this decade!
You can check out WWG’s latest Kingdom Hearts III coverage, right here.
