Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Overview

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance (notice the three "D's" in the title, thus pointing out the 3D feature) is an upcoming action role playing game for the Nintendo 3DS. According to the game’s director, Tetsuya Nomura, KH: DDD is simply about the "distance you fall into your dreams." The title also stands for the "Dream" Worlds Sora and Riku go to, the new "Drop" system in the game, and the "Distance" Sora and Riku have to go to become Keyblade Masters.

The main characters, Sora and Riku, are two of the main characters from the previous Kingdom Hearts games. They're boys from the Destiny Islands who wield mystical Keyblades, and they want to explore as many worlds as they can. They're best friends, and are trying to become Keyblade Masters.

In this installment in the series, Yen Sid has Sora and Riku show their Mark of Mastery by visiting these worlds that have been trapped in slumber and opening the seven sleeping doors within them. Although, all does not go as planned, as a mysterious boy brings about chaos for Sora and Riku everywhere he goes. The game is developed by Square Enix 1st Production Department and published by Square Enix. This game was released in Japan on March 29th 2012 and is to be released in North America and Europe summer 2012.

Changes from series

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is meant to be similar to Final Fantasy Versus XIII in terms of gameplay, with one of the new mechanisms being able to swing on poles to gain momentum and fling across the field.

Characters Sora and Riku are to be switched continuously throughout the game. A new gauge called "Drop Gauge" was revealed in the game's first trailer, this gauge shows how much time is left before Sora and Riku "Drop" and switch between gameplay. Sora and Riku are partnered with new creatures called Dream Eaters.

The ones that help them are called Spirits and the ones who are enemies are Nightmares. You will be able to interact with your Dream Eaters through AR, being able to pet them and play mini games with them.The more you play with your Spirits in the real world, the more you will get out of them in the game.(Special powers, personalities, different traits,etc.)There is also a mysterious boy who is causing this chaos in the worlds. Past characters from previous installments in the series like Axel, Vanitas, and Xemnas will be making a return even though the met their "demise" in the previous installments.

Story

Spoiler Alert!

The following section contains major plot points, read on at the risk of spoiling the games entire story.

Following the defeat of Ansem and Xemnas at the hands of Sora and Riku, Xehanort is revived. In response, Yen Sid puts Sora and Riku through a Mark of Mastery exam in order for them to become true Keyblade Masters and face the coming return of Master Xehanort. As part of this trial, the two are separated from each other and sent to worlds previously destroyed by the Heartless that have since been restored, though now in a state of "deep sleep" that disconnects them from the other worlds.

These seven worlds contain Dream Eaters, creatures born from darkness that seek out the sleeping worlds' Keyholes. Sora and Riku's job is to reawaken the sleeping worlds by unlocking the seven Keyholes they find there and then return to the realm of light, gaining allies in the form of "Spirit" Dream Eaters that help them and battle the evil "Nightmare" Dream Eaters, after which they will be claimed true Keyblade Masters.

They travel to the various worlds interacting with it's characters, beating Dream Eaters, and unlocking their keyholes. Throughout their journey the find out that the Organization XIII members that they had previously beaten, have been restored to their normal non-nobody forms. Sora and Riku also cross paths with the resurrected Ansem Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas, as well as a younger incarnation of Master Xehanort from an alternate past.

Eventually, Ansem Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort bring Sora to the World That Never Was, where he learns of Organization XIII's true purpose—to serve as vessels for Master Xehanort to place pieces of his heart inside, thereby transforming them into clones of Xehanort. Sora is forced into a sleeping state by the young Xehanort and his heart is swallowed by darkness, though it is protected by Ventus's suit of armor residing within him.

Riku goes to rescue Sora, only to be confronted by the young Xehanort, who unveils a new Organization comprised of the revived Master Xehanort and his eleven vessels, whom Xehanort plans to pit against seven Keyblade wielders and recreate the x-blade. Master Xehanort tries to turn Sora into his last needed vessel, but Sora is rescued by Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Lea(Formerly known as Axel of Organization XIII and now has gained a key blade of his own)after which Xehanort and his other vessels retreat.

Sora's body is brought back to Mysterious Tower, where Riku enters his body and releases Sora's heart from Ventus' armor, now possessed by a Nightmare. After Sora reawakens, only Riku is declared a Keyblade Master by Yen Sid. Depressed by his failure, Sora goes off on a new journey by himself to train. While Sora travels to Traverse Town in order to meet all his dream eater friends, Ventus is shown still being at Castle Oblivion. But suddenly starts smiling a bit.

The game's secret ending shows Yen Sid planning to gather seven Keyblade wielders to combat the new Organization and prevent Xehanort from starting another Keyblade War. Riku has told Yen Sid that when they fought the original Organization in Kingdom Hearts II he found another who possessed the power to wield a keyblade. Yen Sid has Riku bring that person to him. It is revealed that it is Kairi, and she comes to Yen Sid so she can be trained to use the Keyblade she received from Riku in Kingdom Hearts II.

End of Spoilers

Worlds

There are many worlds in the Kingdom Hearts series but all that are set to appear in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance are set to be completely new. So far, all Disney worlds that have been confirmed are:

• La Cité des Cloches (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

• The Grid (Tron: Legacy)

• Prankster's Paradise (Pinocchio)

• Symphony of Sorcery (Fantasia)

• Country of the Musketeers (The Three Musketeers)

• Traverse Town(Original to the series, The World Ends With You characters inhabit it.)

• The World That Never Was (Original to the series.)

The Disney worlds are set to appear in "The Realm of Sleep" and it has been confirmed that there will be seven worlds in "The Realm of Sleep".

Traverse Town will also be returning but instead of Final Fantasy locals it will have characters from The World Ends With You. There will also be 7 worlds in The Mark of Mastery exam(A.K.A "The Realm of Sleep") and Tetsuya Nomura stated that the sleeping worlds will be a big part of the game, but not the complete game.(which might mean more worlds to visit)

Other worlds that will make an appearance but will not be playable include.

• Destiny Island (Original to the series.)

• Disney Castle (Original to the series, but still a lot of Disney influence.)

• Radiant Garden (Original to the series.)

• Mysterious Tower (Based on the Tower in Mickey's part of the movie Fantasia.)

• Keyblade Graveyard (Original to the series.)

• Castle Oblivion (Original to the series.)

Characters

Their are a lot of characters in the game. Heres a list of them and the worlds they are in or from. Some have multiple versions of themselves in the game, but the multiple versions are not aware of their other versions history and hasn't had the same interactions with other characters like the other versions.

Destiny Islands

• Sora

• Riku

• Kairi

• Ursula(Serves as the games first boss during the games tutorial.)

La Cité des Cloches

• Quasimodo

• Esmeralda

• Claude Frollo

• Phoebus

• Laverne

• Victor

• Hugo

Prankster's Paradise

• Pinocchio

• Geppetto

• Jiminy Cricket

• Blue Fairy

• Cleo

• Monstro

Radiant Garden

• Xehanort

• Braig

• Even

• Ienzo

• Lea

• Aeleus

• Dilan

Traverse Town

Residents made up of The World Ends With You characters, although Moogle is a Final Fantasy character and as such the only Final Fantasy character to make an appearance in the game.

• Neku Sakuraba

• Joshua

• Beat

• Shiki

• Rhyme

• Moogle

• Julius

Country of the Musketeers

• Mickey Mouse (Musketeer version)

• Princess Minnie (Musketeer version)

• Donald Duck (Musketeer version)

• Goofy (Musketeer version)

• Pluto

• Pete (Musketeer version)

• Beagle Boys

Symphony of Sorcery

• Mickey Mouse (Fantasia Version)
• Magic Broom
• Chernabog

The Grid

• Sam Flynn
• Kevin Flynn
• Quorra
• CLU
• Rinzler
• Black Guards

Disney Castle

• King Mickey
• Queen Minnie
• Donald Duck
• Goofy
• Pete
• Maleficent

Keyblade Graveyard

• Master Xehanort

Mysterious Tower

• Master Yen Sid

The World That Never Was

• Master Xehanort

• Ansem, Seeker of Darkness

• Xemnas

• Xigbar

• Isa

• Anti Black Coat

Other

Characters that appear in various worlds and not from one particular world in the game.

• Roxas

• Xion

• Axel

• Terra

• Ventus

• Aqua

• Vanitas

• Naminé

• Young Xehanort

Spirits and Nightmares

Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance has announced several Spirits and Nightmares for this upcoming game. Spirits have a more cute look to them and can be part of your party helping with combat or learning abilities, they essentially replace Goofy and Donald. While Nightmares have a more evil look to them and are the enemies of the game. Spirits can be obtained by defeating Nightmares and fusing the Dream Pieces that they drop. Spirits obtain different abilities by leveling up and spending Link Points in a system called the Ability Link Board. Link Points can be obtained by battling Nightmares or petting and playing with your Spirit via AR.

Spirits

Spirits are the Dream Eaters that help Sora and Riku throughout their journey to become Keyblade Masters.

• Frog Chef- A frog like spirit that uses a skillet and lid (Shield)

• Jestabocky- A jester like spirit that can be used to distract enemies.

• Bat Bat- A bat like spirit.

• Wonder Meow- A cat like spirit with a horn on it's forehead. It is Sora's first Spirit.

• Needle Lion-Lion like spirit with a sharp mane and tail.

• Goat Horn-As the name suggests, this spirit is goat like and has actual musical horns for horns.

• Neko Cat-A cat like Spirit with bells on its ear and a musical note tail. Neku seems to have befriended one in the game.

• Kuma Panda-A giant panda like Spirit.

• Handsome Pegasus-A giant horse like Spirit with wings.

• Tsunokeratops-A triceratop like Spirit. It has 2 long horns on its head, a horn on its nose, aswell as horns on it's front legs.

• Frootz Cat-Similar to the Neko Cat but the bells are replaced wit strawberries and the tail is a cherry with a giant stem. It is only obtainable by a special AR card.

• Meowjesty-Similar to Wonder Meow but it has a different color scheme and a crown. It is only obtainable by a special AR card.

• R & R Seal-Seal like Spirit. It is only obtainable by a special AR card.

• Sudo Neku-A lizard like spirit resembling Neku Sakuraba. It is only obtainable by a special AR card.

• Ursa Circus-Similar to the Kuma Panda, it resembles a circus bear. It is only obtainable by a special AR card.

• Taihou Kabuto-Spirit that looks like a hercules beetle. It is only obtainable by a special AR card.

• Zou Elephant-Elephant like Spirit that can stomp enemies.
• Ryuu Dragon-Dragon like Spirit.

• Taka Eagle-Eagle like Spirit.

• Drill Sai-A Rhino like Spirit that can charge into enemies.

• Tama Sheep-Sheep like Spirit in the shape of a ball.

• Peepsta Hoo-Owl like Spirit.

• Ii Flower-Flower like Spirit.

• Magic Rabbit-A rabbit like Spirit that can attack enemies with it's long ears.

• Kaeru Soldier-A lizard soldier like Spirit.

• Idaten Kirin-Giraffe like Spirit.

Nightmares

Nightmares are the darker variations of Dream Eaters. Sora and Riku have to battle these in their journey.

• Char Clawbster- A fire type lobster like nightmare

• Escarglow- A snail like nightmare that will hide in it's shell preventing damage.

• Mi Mi Bunny- A bunny like nightmare that knows "Bun-fu".

• Peepsta Hoo- An owl like nightmare that scans it's opponent and then attacks appropriately.

• Wonder Meow-Big cat like Nightmare.

• Kuma Panda-Giant dark panda like Nightmare.

• Neko Cat-Cat like Nightmare with bells for ears and a musical note for a tail.

• Torpedo Fish-Dark fish like Nightmare with a lot of spikes on his body.

• Ice Penguin-Dark penguin like Nightmare.

• Zou Elephant-An elephant like Nightmare that tries to stomp on you.

• Dokudoku Lizard-Lizard like Nightmare.

• Dragon Horse-Sea horse like Nightmare that can breath fire like a dragon.

• Nal Bird-Bird like Nightmare with bladed wings.

• Aura Lion-Giant lion like Nightmare.

• Jestabocky-Jester like Nightmare.

• Hasami Kuwagata-A beetle like Nightmare.

• Ryuu Dragon-Dragon like Nightmare.

• Taka Eagle-Eagle like Nightmare.

• Drill Sai-A Rhino like Nightmare that can charge into Sora and Riku.

• Tama Sheep-Sheep like Nightmare in the shape of a ball.

• Peepsta Hoo-Owl like Nightmare.

• Ii Flower-Flower like Nightmare.

• Magic Rabbit-A rabbit like Nightmare that can attack you with it's long ears.

• Kaeru Soldier-A lizard soldier like Nightmare.

• Idaten Kirin-Giraffe like Nightmare.

• Rex Tyrant-A giant tyrannosaurus rex like Nightmare. Acts as a boss for Country of the Musketeers.

• Gargoyle-Giant gargoyle like Nightmare. Acts as a boss for La Cité des Cloches.

• Gorrila-Giant gorrila like Nightmare. Acts as a boss for Traverse Town.

Keyblades

Keyblades are Sora's and Riku's weapons and the only way they can open the seven doors to the sleeping worlds. They can gain other keychains that alter their keyblades design and stats.

Sora's Keyblades

• Kingdom Key-This is Sora's basic keyblade.

• Skull Noise-A Keyblade that is balanced in offensive and magical power.

• Guardian Bell-A peculiar Keyblade with great magical power, and a long reach.

• Dual Disk-A Keyblade with high offensive power and critical rate.

• Ferris Gear-A Keyblade with high offensive and magical power, but a low Reality Shift rate.

• Todome Knuckle-A Keyblade with a high offensive power and Reality Shift rate, and a lower critical hit rate.

• All For One-A Keyblade with high magic power and critical rate, but lower Reality Shift rate.

• Fantasy Notes-A Keyblade with high magic power and long reach. Reality Shifts occur at a higher rate.

• Dive Wing- A special keyblade you get for getting A ranks on all Dives.

• Sweet Dream-A Keyblade with a long reach, high strength and critical hit rate.

• Ultima Weapon-A Keyblade of outstanding performance. All parameters are high, with high Reality Shift and critical hit rates.

• Overdrive-The supreme Keyblade with the highest parameters. Reality Shifts and critical hits are at high rates.

• End of Pain-A Keyblade with high magical power and critical hit rate, but reduces the occurrence of Reality Shift.

Riku's Keyblades

• Way to Dawn-This is Riku's basic Keyblade.

• Skull Noise-A Keyblade that is balanced in offensive and magical power.

• Guardian Bell-A peculiar Keyblade with great magical power, and a long reach.

• Dual Disk-A Keyblade with high offensive power and critical rate.

• Ocean Rage-A Keyblade with high magic power and Reality Shift rate. Critical hit rate is lowered.

• Todome Knuckle-A Keyblade with a high offensive power and Reality Shift rate, and a lower critical hit rate.

• All For One-A Keyblade with high magic power and critical rate, but lower Reality Shift rate.

• Fantasy Notes-A Keyblade with high magic power and long reach. Reality Shifts occur at a higher rate.

• Dive Wing-A special Keyblade you get for clearing all Dive stages with A ranks.

• Sweet Dream-A Keyblade with a long reach, high strength and critical hit rate.

• Ultima Weapon-A Keyblade of outstanding performance. All parameters are high, with high Reality Shift and critical hit rates.

• Overdrive-The supreme Keyblade with the highest parameters. Reality Shifts and critical hits are at high rates.

• End of Pain-A Keyblade with high magical power and critical hit rate, but reduces the occurrence of Reality Shift.

Other Keyblades

Some other keyblades that make an appearance in the game but, are not usable.

• Lea's Keyblade-Lea, formerly know as Axel, recieves his own keyblade. It's design has one of his chakrams as the handle and a flame acting as the actual blade.

• Young Xehanort's Keyblade- The younger version of Xehanort's keyblade looks to have a square like handle and a spike with a crown on top of the blade.

Demo

Their will be a demo of the game released on the eShop in the near future. The demo has only been announced for North America and Japan as of yet.

Mark of Mastery Edition

A special edition of the game will be released, being called the "Mark of Mastery Edition." This special edition includes 5 special AR cards with of very rare Dream Eaters in which you can unlock in game. Their will also be a set of art cards that celebrates the series 10th anniversary.

Other Special Editions

Other special editions were released in Japan like a box set that included the game along with the two DS games Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. There was also a special edition that came with an exclusive 3DS that has a Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance design. Neither of these have been announced for release outside of Japan.

Reception

The game's release in Japan has had pretty good reception. Famous Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu gave the game a 38/40, the second best score of any games in the series, the first being Kingdom Hearts II with a 39/40.