Kingdom Hearts is one of those series that, thanks to the success and luck they have had, can't… or rather, they don't want to have an end. Years have passed since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 and everyone is still waiting for the third chapter (despite a sequel, from 2, was definitely optional). And instead, for years and years, the Square has been getting us used to a large quantity of Spin Offs, of sometimes good quality, sometimes disappointing. How will this new chapter exclusively for 3DS, Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance? Let's see now!
One test, two heroes, seven locks
Riku and Sora, our two Keyblade Masters, are summoned by Yen Sid, who is determined, once and for all, to explain to them the whole story behind Kingdom Hearts, Master Xehanort and the x-blade. Thus, Sora and Riku quickly realize that behind all their adventures hides a much longer and more painful history, which has seen the creation of wars and catastrophes for humanity. Despite being able to use Keyblades, they cannot yet be called Keyblade Masters, and there is a test they must pass in order to have any hope of defeating Master Xehanort in the future. This test consists of traveling to 7 different worlds, which should have very special locks. Freeing them from evil influences will be their test, but everything looks very strange. Why did Sora and Riku split up suddenly? What is their change of clothes? What are Dream Eaters? Why do they seem to be in the same place, but in two different dimensions? And above all, why does it seem that sleep is a predominant part of their adventure?
First one, then the other
After seven chapters, we're not here to talk about Kingdom Hearts gameplay. Oh, no, that, basically, has always remained the same. We are here instead to talk about the differences compared to the old chapters, about the news. Whether they like it or not.
Let's start, first, with the Dive mode. In this minigame, one of many in this chapter, we will find ourselves, at the beginning of each world, plunging into the void, towards an opening that will then lead us to the real adventure. With a view behind the character, the hero will fall and our aim will be to avoid obstacles, defeat enemies and acquire bonus orbs. A good score at the end of this section will offer us a range of objects and extras, which will naturally be more and more juicy depending on the score obtained.
At this point begins the usual adventure around the worlds, but which has some differences: first of all we will no longer have Donald and Goofy by our side, nor any character from the Disney stories. Our party will instead be formed by the Spirits, the good parts of the Dream Eaters, the monsters that we will fight in this chapter. Spirits can be created via items collected or dropped by defeated monsters. We can use pre-established recipes or try ourselves to use combinations that come to mind, hoping to find strong and particular monsters. We can have two of them together by our side, but we will have to carefully choose who to bring with us, because depending on the equipped Spirits, our two heroes will also have different abilities. By fighting with them, in fact (or pampering them in a similar way to Nintendogs in a special section of the menu) we will earn the so-called Link Points, which we can use to unlock, for each monster, some abilities from a Skill Tree that includes moves, bonuses to the stat , or spells. Sora and Riku will still be able to use these bonuses only by equipping the Spirit they are associated with. In this regard, we also announce the fact that the execution of the skills will be the same as seen in Birth by Sleep, therefore with a "deck" of actions that can be selected via the directional arrows and a button to confirm the choice made.
During the clashes it can often also happen to hit an enemy at the same moment in which it will also be taken by an attack of one of our Spirits. This will result in the filling of a bar, positioned under the HP of the Spirit in question, which once filled and touched on the touch screen will lead to interesting effects. In Sora's case, he and the Spirit will perform a combined attack, similar to what happened with the Summon in Kingdom Hearts. Using Riku, however, the Spirit will fuse with him, powering him greatly for several seconds and making him capable of unleashing devastating attacks. The effect of this will increase even more, exponentially, if you decide to use the full bars of both Spirits at the same time.
Another interesting aspect included in this chapter is the so-called Freeflow, a method to move quickly on the map, but also to unleash devastating attacks on the enemies around us. By pressing the Y key, you already know, we will be able to parry ourselves, or, if in motion, make a dodge. But if the dodge is made against a wall, a lamppost, a railing, a large enemy, or in any case an accessible surface, this Freeflow will start. Our character will glow pink, and will start moving at great speed, autonomously. At this point we can press the jump button, to cover great distances and overcome various obstacles on the map, or attack to launch a very powerful special attack.
There are also other attack options that we can choose using our surroundings, in sort of small minigames (for example, in the first world, we will find barrels that we can throw at enemies using the touch screen), and, speaking of minigames, there are also many, very fun, all to be discovered, like a card game to face the various Spirits in battle.
A final and important feature of the game is the so-called Drop. Sora and Riku will in fact only have a certain period of time in which they can move, at the end of which (or even earlier, by pressing the "Drop" button of our will) they will swap places. The Drop bar, going down, will allow you to collect more and more rare objects and in quantity, but of course wasting time means not being able to finish parts of the story we were working on, perhaps seeing us interrupt the game in the middle of a battle with a long and difficult boss.
Adventure without horizons
The 3D that the Nintendo console gives us, even with this game, gives a truly spectacular effect, especially with the initial video, which will leave us speechless. Having established that the main aspect of the 3DS works beautifully, let's move on to the rest, even if there is very little to say, usually, when it comes to a SquareEnix product. The graphics are of course superb. It has nothing to envy to the chapters for Playstation2 and Psp, and indeed, facial expressions reach a peak of beauty never reached before in Kingdom Hearts. The audio sector is as always magnificent, between new and old music, and a good English dubbing, even if, as we repeat every time, we would not mind at all that the Square gives us the possibility to also choose the original Japanese one, far superior . The playability, if you have a Circle Pad Pro, is optimal, but if not, it expires in camera hell, unfortunately, very naughty. Finally, as far as longevity is concerned, it is certainly high for a title of this type on a portable console: to complete all of everything we will probably take the 50 hours that we have so accustomed to.
In conclusion
Dream Drop Distance is a chapter of Kingdom Hearts that cannot fail to leave you perplexed, before trying it. After all, it's not Kingdom Hearts 3, but just a spin-off, right? Mistaken. Kingdom Hearts 3D is a full-fledged game in the series, with great gameplay, an excellent story and above all a plot that is important and fundamental to the continuity of the saga. If you're avoiding it thinking it's a useless game, change your mind. Dream Drop Distance is a product of undoubted quality, which will be loved by all fans of Sora and company.
