Since its reveal at E3 2013, Square Enix has kept Kingdom Hearts fans waiting eagerly on the edge of their seats for any and all Kingdom Hearts III news. Much to the dismay of the Kingdom Hearts community, Square Enix has provided fans with very little information about the upcoming title throughout the four years. Prior to E3 2017, Square Enix announced that they would not be revealing any new information about the upcoming game during the conference; upon hearing this new, the Kingdom Hearts community started to worry whether or not the game might ever see the light of day or if it would fall to the way side after years of development. Last month during the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra, a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III was released giving new hope to those in attendance and others around the world.
After four long years, Kingdom Hearts fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief after the news revealed at D23. Today at the D23 Expo held in Anaheim, California, SQUARE ENIX® and Disney with the help of Kingdom Hearts series director, Tetsuya Nomura, unveiled a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer that shows off the newest world coming to the franchise; the new world will take place in the world of “Toy Story” and is the first world created based off of a Disney Pixar movie. “Toy Story” now joins an already exciting list of worlds which include Fransokyo from “Big Hero 6”, the Kingdom of Corona from “Tangled”, and Olympus from “Hercules.”
The new trailer starts off with Sora, Donald, and Goofy aiding Hercules while battling heartless in Olympus. After the trailer leaves Olympus, a cutscene starts to play showing Donald, Goofy, and Sora in Andy’s Room from the hit Pixar movie “Toy Story.” After defeating the space themed heartless, Sora and the crew meet Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, Rex and Sarge who state that their friends have been taken by the heartless. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are then led by the “Toy Story” Crew outside where some of Sora’s new moves are displayed while in combat with the heartless; we also learn that it will no longer just be three members to a group, with Buzz, Goofy, Donald, and Woody fighting by Sora’s side. New dynamic Keyblade transformations can be seen throughout the trailer as Sora takes out all the heartless that crosses his path.
“At long last, we are excited to open up the KINGDOM HEARTS universe to include the world of Disney•Pixar’s ‘Toy Story,’” said Tetsuya Nomura, Director of the KINGDOM HEARTS series. “I’m sure fans have been anticipating the inclusion of this world for many years. The narrative will be an original story exclusive to KINGDOM HEARTS III, and the gameplay will feel characteristic of the ‘Toy Story’ style and aesthetic. Please stay tuned for more details to be revealed soon.”
“Featuring a brand new storyline that brings together beloved ‘Toy Story’ friends with the heroes of KINGDOM HEARTS, the ‘Toy Story’ world in KINGDOM HEARTS III successfully mirrors the level of quality that we strive to achieve with every Pixar film,” said Jason Katz, Story Supervisor, Pixar Animation Studios. “KINGDOM HEARTS III will undoubtedly be an experience that fans will not want to miss.”
After watching Sora take down a group of heartless with weaponized mechs, the trailer ends with a bang revealing that Kingdom Hearts III is scheduled to be released sometime in 2018 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Also, in order to celebrate D23 and the release of the new trailer, Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross], for iOS and Android devices, will offer a powerful “KINGDOM HEARTS III Sora [EX]” Medal; This is the first time a character medal from Kingdom Hearts III has been added to the game. For one month, July 16 through August 16, all players can receive the never-before-seen medal by simply logging into the game.
What world are you most excited to play in? What other worlds do you think we will see once the game releases? Does the “Toy Story” world only include characters from the first movie or does it also include toys from the later movies? Do you plan on getting the game upon release? Let us know your answers in the comment section down below.
