Steam Sale + good memories of KH1 & 2 + Steam Deck approved = I bought Kingdom Hearts 3 Re Mind.

It truly is quite an art to name a Kingdom Hearts game. Like someone is spinning a random wheel of words and just going with it. Dream Drop Distance. 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. That said, the games are as convoluted as the story within Kingdom Hearts, where nothing ever makes any sense and there are seeming retcons & twists every hour.

Which begs the question as to why KH has such a large fan base in the first place? Well, the setting for one is rather unique. I’ve played a lot of games, and few have you charge Goofy into dragons, team up with Hercules, use Rapunzel’s hair as a whip, or control Mickey with a sword. There are none that put that all together. Second, the first two mainline games were constructed to be strong tactical games, with a long end game (ultra gear) and insanely well designed optional bosses. I’ve yet to play anything that resembled the rage/joy of Sephiroth in KH1. And finally, the cutscenes made it like you were playing a movie, which at the time was somewhat niche.

I’ve tried other games in the series. They are ok, not good. In fact, only the mainline games have scored over 80. Meh.

I was interested in KH3 when it came out, but was already quite a way from my console years. I figured at some point it would hit PC. Sadly, SquareEnix has some of the most maddening pricing models on the planet, and I wasn’t going to pay $90 for a 5 year old game. A sale which included all the games was the best option, and gave me a chance to replay KH1+KH2 to get familiarized again.

To the Meat of It

Kingdom Hearts 3 is an ok game, made especially dangerous for those with epilepsy. There was always a lot going on the screen in prior games, but here it dials it up to 11. Fights allow optional commands to be used, either a stronger spell, a separate weapon form (more on that), a contextual attack, or using a Disney Ride. You want to use a swinging pirate ship ride? Go ahead! I am not a fan.

Weapons come with alternate forms, that provide a specific boost. Whether defense, magic or some major ultra attack. You can “shoot” a weapon as well, which locks a target and blasts them with stuff. To make all weapons relevant for the duration of the game, you can now upgrade them, so that the choice is in their boosted effects rather than their stats.

Donald + Goofy are the same as in prior games. Thematic characters, specific to certain zones, still have special attacks. Same as before.

The Gummi Ship is still there, with generally the same content while fighting. When not fighting, the ship is used to explore a open world map in a 3D environment. It’s interesting side content, with some cool boss battles.

The worlds are at least 4x larger than KH3, which is almost all aspects is a downgrade. There’s only so much meaningful stuff you can put in a game, and this in turn makes it an empty map that you slog through a ton of basic enemies to reach anything fun. I mean, they look amazing, truly amazing and just like the movies. Yet there’s only so much frozen mountain top you can stand.

Boss battles still rock, and are a major highlight. I am beyond impressed at the complexity, diversity and originality that the devs put in here. All the way to the end, you’re going to have major battles that are just a pure joy to get through.

The story is a nightmare to follow, and unless you’re reading some wiki, won’t make a lick of sense. The cutscenes are very long, especially near the end. I’m sure there’s a good 12 hrs of cutscenes in this game, which truly doubles down on the interactive movie bit.

Optional content has always been an interesting feat of these games. In particular in collecting material for the best gear (some version of Ultima) and then optional bosses. Collecting material is tedious, the side games generally have horrid controls, and the rewards are all but required for the ReMind DLC. As in prior games the DLC is you fighting OrgXIII members, who are all on steroids and speed. Pattern recognition, knowing when to block or dodge is the only way to get through them. I did 4 of them and had enough. I’m all good for a challenge, but I don’t need 13 versions of the Sephiroth fight.

Unless you’re a Kingdom Hearts fan, there are ample games that do better mechanically and are easier to follow the storyline. If you are a KH fan, then odds are you already played the game. It filled a spot during the summer, and truthfully plays wonderfully on the Steam Deck.