At this morning’s D23 summit, Disney and Square Enix announced that Kingdom Hearts 3 will be released sometime in 2018. The announcement video showcased a new Toy Story world that will include Andy’s Room, the outside of Andy’s House, and a new location called Galaxy Toys – a toy store that is notably not Al’s Toy Barn.
In the footage, we see Sora, Donald, and Goofy face off against various Heartless in Andy’s room. They will be teaming up with Buzz and Woody to find some of Andy’s missing toys. Though overall story elements have remained relatively scarce, it appears that Young Xehanort (or at least one of the 13 other Xehanort incarnations) is behind the kidnappings. If that sentence was complete nonsense to you, it might be worthwhile playing through Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5. If you’ve played most of the games and it still doesn’t make much sense, join the club.
A long, long journey
Exactly how the Toy Story world ties into Kingdom Heart’s overarching story remains to be seen. So far we’ve seen footage showcasing the Hercules world Mount Olympus, a Tangled world set around Rapunzel’s Tower, and a section of Twilight Town. We also know a Big Hero 6 world is coming as well. It looks like Disney is flexing their IP monopoly for the greater good.
Though Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced back in 2013, it has gone through a lengthy development period. After director Tetsuya Nomura stepped down from Final Fantasy XV, he began working on Kingdom Hearts 3 in earnest. Though many fans doubt the 2018 release window’s accuracy, it’s worth noting that the game has been in development for quite some time. Maybe this dream will become a reality, sooner rather than later.
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