What To Know Before Playing Kingdom Hearts 3
15 years later and Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally here. This long-awaited adventure brings back all the Disney magic we loved from the previous game. As well as some additional fun new features. Here’s everything we wish we knew before we started playing Kingdom Hearts 3. We’ve included a fair amount on some of the new things you’ll encounter. But don’t worry we’ve still left a lot out so you’re pleasantly surprised when the moment comes.
Feel That Flow
If you’ve played Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance then you should be familiar with flowmotion. For those of you that haven’t played, well you should. Flowmotion is pretty much how it sounds like. It’s a motion that lets you zip around the battlefield fluidly from one action to another whether you’re in the air or on the ground. It feels great, powers up your hits and has you avoiding attacks like Naruto.
Not just used for battle, Flowmotion also gives you the ability to get to places on the map that you haven’t been before. Sora is now a parkour expert and now can run up walls, spin from poles and fling himself from building to building like an Assassin on speed. This opens up the map, giving you more opportunity to explore for treasure and hidden avenues not at eye level. Exploration isn’t just linear anymore it’s anywhere you want it to be and to get the best loot you’ve got to be flowmotioning all over the place.
Protip: before you leave a place, just take a second and look up and around. However, there will be some chests that you won’t be able to reach in the early game. Later on, you’ll gain some new mobility options, so if you get too stumped, make a note and come back later.
Status: Upgrading
It’s easy to lose track of time in the bright and colourful world that is Kingdom Hearts 3 but make sure to keep checking in on your Abilities screen. Throughout the game, your party will progressively be learning new abilities. Some of them offer useful perks and others are even required to progress further. So it’s a good tip if you’re stuck or finding the battles difficult to check your Abilities page. Remember though that each ability does have a cost which will take up your overall AP threshold. So manage wisely!
Swap Up Those Specials
There’s a kind of rage meter that builds up the more you battle enemies and once it’s full you can unleash a special attack. The game doesn’t necessarily point this out but you can cycle through the special attacks. Just hit the L2/R2 or LT/RT to check all your options. This is just my opinion but unless you know a boss fight is coming up or there’s a particularly difficult mini-boss feel free to use your special attacks. It shouldn’t take you too long to build it back up again.
Keep Cooking, Good Looking
Blessings for the genius collaboration between Disney and Square Enix because Ratatouille is now in Kingdom Hearts 3! This time Sora is the Linguini to Remy and together you’re going to be going through a series of annoying quick time actions to make beautiful food. Each dish that you can cook requires a certain combination of ingredients and it’s worth your while to cook up one of each dish type. By doing so you’ll be able to a eat a full course in the Cuisine menu. Which will give you and your party a temporary special ability bonus alongside a buff to your stats. So basically anytime I eat food when I’m hungry.
Gather ingredients across the worlds of Kingdom Hearts 3 by doing what all RPGers do best, pillaging. Break open boxes, raid someone’s bedroom, shatter that lantern, do what you gotta do to get that loot. Your team members will annoyingly also occasionally comment on the different ingredients around. God damn it Goofy I don’t need any mushrooms right now! But you know if you’re potentially more civilised or can’t be arsed to find a certain ingredient you can also buy it at the Moogle Shop. Check up on the menu whenever you’re in town as you’ll see recipes unlocking as you gather more ingredients.
Three Keys Are Better Than One
Finally, you can now equip more than one Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 3. Well, three to be exact – not a coincidence right. So the types of Keyblades you want to have on you will depend on your fighting style and different enemy types in the world around you. For some hard damage enemies, you’ll want to use the ranged Keyblade to keep yourself at a distance. While other Keyblades might be better for dealing with enemy groups en masse. Mix and match whichever you like. I personally go for the ones with the prettiest Formchanges, but I don’t think that’s proper gaming advice. Don’t listen to that last part.
The Moogle Workshop, Kupo!
Moogles are an entrepreneurial lot throughout all the Square Enix games. You’ll find the Moogle Shop stocked with all the items a young adventurer could need from potions, ethers, equipment and Keyblade upgrades. In the shop, you can also synthesize materials which become pretty handy later on. In order to upgrade a Keyblade, you need specific items which you can get from enemies or treasure chests. The upgrades are well worth it and it should only take a little bit of grinding to get the items you need.
When synthesizing you’re able to make all the potions and power-ups you want but I’ve been typically focusing that feature to use for crafting equipment. The armour, accessories and valuable materials needed for upgrading the Keyblades can be synthesized in this way and it makes a significant difference to your game. Most of the equipment that you can purchase cost quite a bit of Munny and you’re probably better of synthesizing them. Keep checking the Moogle Shops for upgrades as it refreshes.
Get The Gram
The items and accessories to synthesize at the Moogle Shop are great but those dastardly Moogles have locked some of the better ones off. To make it available you’re going to have to complete the Moogle’s Photo Challenges. Which is altogether a pretty fun mini-quest to be fair. In the Challenges, you’ll be required to take photos of specific scenery and enemy types across the different worlds. Check-in on what they need and snap it to unlock a new synthesis recipe. They’ll be better than the standard ones you can synthesise.
The hardest part about the Moogle’s Photo Challenges are the enemy ones. They can be a little finicky and in some cases dangerous but here’s a tip. Focus your attention on launching the enemy away and also take a bunch in case one of them isn’t considered a successful photo.
Find The Hidden Mickey
If you know this reference you’re too old to be playing with Mickey. It was actually one of my favourite things to watch on the Disney Channel and it’s a great little mini-quest in Kingdom Hearts. Called Lucky Emblems this time they’re the iconic Mickey Mouse symbol that’s scattered throughout the world. If you manage to snap all of them with your Gummiphone you’ll unlock a secret ending at the end! So keep a lookout. Or you know just look up the Lucky Emblems location online because nobody got time for that.
When a Lucky Emblem is nearby your party will helpfully and annoyingly let you know. So have a look around when either Sora, Donald or Goofy trigger it. Lucky Emblems can be hidden anywhere but be sure to check behind objects, on walls or somewhere about you.
Confused? Check That Memory Archive
So do you understand the entire story of Kingdom Hearts yet? No? Well yeah neither did we while playing. If you missed out on some of the story or like me you took a bit of a break from playing and are now super confused then check that Memory Archive. It features some story summary videos that will helpfully sum up the history of Kingdom Hearts. Understanding Kingdom Hearts‘ story and characters is half the fun so make sure you brush up on it.