2019-04-01_Official_Xbox_Magazine

The original Kingdom Hearts was the tenth biggest-selling game on PlayStation 2

complexity. Simply tapping one button
will get you most of the way through
a typical encounter, building up a
combo meter until you can temporarily
transform your Keyblade weapon into
something more powerful. Similarly,
repeated use of spells will unlock a
more damaging version, and Sora’s
buddies (Donald, Goofy and any movie
characters they’ve picked up along
the way) will pitch in usefully, healing
or attacking according to the rules
you’ve set for them.

Limit break
Every so often you’ll be able to launch
a team attack, which is especially fun
when you’ve got a unique character
tagging along, and you can even
invoke screen-filling interactive funfair
rides to deal massive damage. With all
this, plus support from summonable
characters including Wreck-It Ralph
and Simba from The Lion King, it’s rare
to go more than about 15 seconds
without being able to launch some
kind of special move – in fact you’ll
frequently have loads of them stacked

up and ready to go. Luckily there are

enough of them that it doesn’t get

too repetitive, and new Keyblades and

abilities are awarded after each world.

The rest of the game is similarly

crammed with stuff, including a wide

range of retro-style LCD games and

cookery minigames for crafting food

with the help of Remy from Ratatouille.

There’s a dancing minigame in the

Tangled world, a mech videogame

to play in Toy Story, snowboarding in

Frozen, flying in Big Hero 6. Despite

the prevalence of hack’n’slash

combat, there’s an impressive variety

of bonus activities tacked on.

Kingdom Hearts III is huge,

somewhat patchy, and essentially

very likeable. The story, on those

occasions when it when it emerges

from the depths of its own backside, is

basically about friendship, so it does

kind of fit in with the wider Disney

world (or a parallel world where Disney

films contain hours of turgid dialogue)

but the real joy of the game is in the

journey. It’s in meeting a favourite

character, exploring a familiar

location, reliving a classic scene. On

the surface it’s fanservice for the

hardcore, but deep down Kingdom

Hearts III just wants to be loved. Q

THE KITCHEN

SINK

The Gummi ship is

your vehicle for

travelling between

worlds, which in

previous instalments

meant an on-rails

shooter minigame.

Here it’s a

free-roaming 3D

space game, with

planets dotted around

a large asteroid field

and secret items

hidden in

enemy-infested

areas. You can build

your own customised

ship out of blocks,

and while it’s a million

miles from being a

top-class shooter it’s

yet another bullet

point on the game’s

vast list of features.

“Arm yourself

with a wiki and

prepare for a

whole lot of

searching”

FAR LEFT

Creating magic

in the kitchen

with Remy from

Ratatouille.

RIGHT Tiny Sora

fights giant

robots in the

Toy Story

world’s soft

play centre.

OXM VERDICT

Inconsistent but

entertaining,

packed with

likeable, iconic

characters.

8

More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 073

REVIEW

LEFT These Gummi

ship boss

battles tend to

outstay their

welcome.