To say this game is controversial is an understatement to say the least. From the complex story, even by series standards, to the very experimental gameplay, Dream Drop Distance have left many fans scratching heads as it took the series in a direction no one was really expecting, really shifting people's expectations of Kingdom Hearts III. Now, despite the fact that I believe the game was most likely cut severely either due to time or platform constraints, I still can't overstate how much I love it. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance shares the comfy #3 spot with Birth By Sleep.
One of the most notable elements of this game is the fact that we take control of both Sora and Riku again. Unlike in CoM and BBS, however, this game doesn't do separate campaigns - instead, both characters are controlled in tandem, the details of which I'll explain later. Due to the fact that we've just learned that Xehanort has reformed and that there's a small village worth of Keyblade wielders to be saved by Sora, who has become a Messiah of sorts in between defeating Xemnas and receiving Mickey's letter, the boys need to take the Mark of Mastery exam, stat. Due to the impromptu nature of this exam, they can't really do it the long and safe way that the Wayfinder trio has, so instead Yen Sid sends them balls-deep into the Sleeping Realms, tasking them with awakening the worlds that couldn't awaken after Sora restored most of the other ones after KHI. The cosmology of this universe is all over the place, I know. Don't worry about it too much.
Reverted to their kid forms and with new duds that have mystriously materialized them for what is most likely no important reason at all, don't worry, Sora and Riku make their way through a small selection of surprisingly elaborate worlds from Disney's B lineup, which incidentally happens to be my favorite. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of my favorite Disney movies of all time, and then there's Fantasia which is like, my entire childhood, and the Three Musketeers which is something that amused me and my brother to no end when I was in high school. The world selection is surprising, is what I'm saying, and in a good way. It helps that, aside from the first and final world (both of which have been substantially altered, by the way), all of the worlds in 3D are completely new ones. So no more revisiting the same four rooms of Wonderland or murdering rogue pots in Olympus Coliseum!
Now, before I move on to talking about the gameplay, it's time to address the great pink elephant in the room. KH has a reputation of being complicated and, let me tell you, even though I usually rebuff these notions, 3D had me scratching my head for a long time. There's time travel, dream worlds, parallel worlds, possessions - all the things that let you cook up a nice big confusion smoothie, just like mom used to make. I've mentioned the beta scenes found in BBS before as evidence that most of the stuff that seems out of left field has actually been planned, or at the very least foreshadowed before (it has, don't lie), but they're also evidence of the fact that the story was definitely meant to be spread out better. The Destiny Islands segment in the game proper is incredibly short and very vague, while the content found in BBS appeared to be much more robust. Whether Nomura ran out of time or space on that tiny little 3DS cartridge, it is clear that corners were cut since I think the story's absolute biggest sin is the fact that it feels choppy and rushed and poorly explained.
However, despite all this, I am actually a fan of everything that is happening here. Say what you will about the inclusion of a time travel mechanic, but I see it in a similar way to how I see the Time Turner in Harry Potter - it's a thing that has very specific limitations and nothing can really be altered to create a separate timeline - you can only really change the stuff that's already been changed due to time travel. Nomura's way of implementing this particular plot point may be sloppy, but God damnit, I can't be the only person who really felt that the stakes needed to be raised significantly before KHIII? For goodness sake, Sora already has Riku at his side, so if he were to have five more Keyblade wielders, all in order to beat Grandpa Xehanort, then the old guy doesn't feel like he's very much of a threat. 13 Xehanorts sounds menacing and, to take this HP allegory further, reminds me of Voldemort and his horcruxes, which were also seemingly late additions to the story that were there in plain sight all along (though how much was actually pre-planned in either case is debatable; I am pretty convinced Nomura had thought none of this up before BBS, but I'm sure everything since that game has been part of this setup).
It's crazy, but it's a good kind of crazy that keeps you wanting more. It doesn't hurt that, despite the very poor explanations, the characterization is still fairly strong. I love the fact that Xehanort is capable of playing the long game and him being prepared for everything beforehand not only makes sense within the context of time travel, but also make him seem so much more conniving and threatening. Young Xehanort was interesting since this is the guy that's still kind of in his "oh, you know, just kind of curious about darkness" stage and I love that he was his own start of darkness. That's just hilarious. And then there's Riku. Sora, sadly, has regressed a bit in this game, becoming the generic all-loving hero again, but I do enjoy the fact that it's that overreliance on light that has made him fall at the very end of the story and nearly have him become one of the 13 darknesses. Riku, on the other hand, finally has his arc complete, and I feel it's very satisfying and I love the fact that he's the actual protagonist of this game. His experiences may have weighed heavy on him and it's been a rollercoaster ride over the whole series, but now that what he considered to be his "taint" with darkness has actually given him an advantage, making him immune to Xehanort's influence, this is exactly the boost of confidence that Riku needed in order to save Sora and ace the exam. He really did deserve to become a Keyblade Master after all this time.
So gameplay. There's a lot to unpack. There's the command deck again, but you don't meld commands this time. How do you get abilities, then? Dream Eaters. These creatures serve as your companions this time around and it's them that you have to grind if you want to get access to new abilities. Sadly, this involves some very repetitive mini games, which I wasn't really a fan of, but eh, they're cute. Then there's flowmotion. I've said before that the worlds are much more expansive right now, and part of the reason for that is the fact that you can now parkour across the scene, making skills like high jump and glide obsolete. Additionally, they add a whole new variety of combat abilities, so now your surroundings are far more important to your battles. Then there's the drop mechanic. You get to play both as Sora and Riku at once, but each of them is on a timer and when it runs out, whether you're just exploring or in the middle of a boss battle, you are forced to switch characters. Still, it's far less rigid than it sounds, as you can get items that extend your time very early on very cheap. It goes without saying, then, that 3D plays like nothing else in the series, and for the most part, it's very enjoyable Those mini games, though, I could really do without.
Alright, time to take on this bad boy.
Important story bits
- Sora and Riku undergo the Mark of Mastery exam, which involves unlocking te sleeping worlds. Upon arrival, Sora and Riku get new outfits - Sora's has a large X on it, while Riku has the Dream Eater mark on his back.
- Back in the real world, Lea - Axel's complete form - awakens in Radiant Garden along with Ansem's other apprentices. They all retain their memories from their time as Nobodies on top of their human memories. Lea goes to visit Yen Sid and asks to be trained in the Keyblade.
- Riku and Sora get separated, and they end up exploring two different versions of the same world every time. It later turns out this was due to Xehanort's meddling - Riku has actually found his way inside Sora's dream by accident, instinctively trying to protect him when Xehanort and his minions were trying to find a way to Sora's heart.
- At the end of his journey, Sora confronts the various people from his memory and ultimately faces Xemnas. The X on his clothes is the Recusant Sigil - something which lets Xehanort trace people (which is why he gave Organization members names with Xes), marking Sora as one of his chosen for the 13 Darknesses. Sora defeats Xemnas, but falls to sleep anyway, leaving his heart vulnerable to darkness. Luckily, Ventus' heart protects him using his dark-resistant Keyblade armor
- The rules of time travel are simple: you must abandon your body, you can only travel back in time to a period where a version of you exists, once you travel to the past you can only travel forward in time, and you cannot change Destiny's course. After returning from your journey, your memory of the time trek is wiped so that Destiny can still take its course. This is how Young Xehanort is present here, as well as all the other 13 Darknesses, and the reason they disappear is because they travel further to the future, to the final confrontation.
- Speaking of the final confrontation, Xehanort still wants to forge the χ-Blade, but this time he plans to pit 13 beings of pure darkness against 7 pure lights instead, as apparently that method is more reliable than just using one dude.
- Riku faces off against Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and ends his power over his heart once and for all, but now he must rescue Sora. He's the one to witness the gathering of the 13 Darknesses, which Mickey interrupts with a Stopza spell. Young Xehanort, however, shakes it off and a battle ensues. Riku saves Sora, but the Darknesses must now travel in time further for the fnal confrontation.
- Sora still won't wake up, so Riku must dive into his heart once again. After defeating the Ventus armor, possessed by Dream Eaters, he frees Sora. Riku receives the Mark of Mastery, and even though Sora doesn't, he is still extremely happy for his friend. Bless his heart. Sora must now retake the test to become a true Keyblade Master.
- After the credits, we see Axel get his Keyblade, and Kairi also wants to get in on the action. Since she doesn't want to just stand by anymore and has been bequeathed a Keyblade, she starts her training with Yen Sid alongside Axel.
Favorite story segment
Honestly, everything that happens after Sora's story is over is pure gold. You've go some high stakes, Riku is super fun to play, and his boss rush is simply exhilerating. The fact that this time it's Sora falling to darkness and Riku is here to rescue him this time is incredibly fitting and makes a very nice bookend to Riku's character arc.
Gameplay highlights
- COMMAND DECKS!!!!!
- The Dream Eaters are actually pretty fun to play around with, what with their ability boards
- Flowmotion gives a new dimension to exploration, and it's just a very satisfying thing to execute in battle
- The drop mechanic adds an additional level of strategy and makes things tense in a pleasant way
So what are your thoughts on DDD? Did you play it? Did it make you quit the series or quite the contrary - it whetted your appetite for III? Feel free to take part in the discussion!
~Play order~
KINGDOM HEARTS=>CHAIN OF MEMORIES=>KINGDOM HEARTS II=>358/2 DAYS=>BIRTH BY SLEEP=>CODED=>DREAM DROP DISTANCE=>????=>????=>????