2019-04-01_Official_Xbox_Magazine

(singke) #1
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.
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