Square Enix is as impatient as Kingdom Hearts fans, it seems. Monday morning saw the release of Kingdom Hearts 3’s most recent trailer, available a full day prior to what had been previously announced. Titled the “Final Battle Trailer,” the spoiler-filled video will more than adequately make clear that Kingdom Hearts 3 is entering endgame territory for the series. Light, darkness, life, and death are all at stake in this final battle for Kingdom Hearts.
The nearly four-minute-long trailer is difficult to summarize with ease. For one, be warned that there are some potentially heavy spoilers in the trailer. Second, while there are definitely moments from the various Disney Worlds, including Sora’s powers, the trailer focuses on the drama between Sora, his friends, Xehanort, Organization XIII, and the characters surrounding them. That is to say, those only just starting with the Kingdom Hearts franchise are likely to have no idea what’s going on.
For those familiar with the Kingdom Hearts story so far, the trailer will prove all the more mysterious. Several characters’ alignments will be called into question, several old friends appear to be in danger, Sora’s confidence is clearly shaken, and through it all Xehanort (in all of his forms) grows stronger.
In terms of new content, the Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer shows off a lot of fun new gameplay. For example, players are shown two new summons in motion: the Stitch and Ratatouille summons. There are mini-games like the Kingdom of Corona dancing game. There’s the truth behind of Cable Town, the city of Scala ad Caelum. And then finally the confirmation of a playable Riku in Kingdom Hearts 3.
As heavy as this new trailer is, with all of its teased content and story, what it delivers the most is intrigue. For every seeming spoiler at hand, there will clearly be so much more to discover behind it. Kingdom Hearts 3 is less than 45 days away and while it may feel like forever, it’s nothing compared to what fans have waited so far.
Kingdom Hearts 3 releases January 29 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
