Gaming outlets & YouTubers across North America and beyond recently got a chance to get a hands-on demo of Kingdom Hearts 3 which is set to release sometime this year on Playstation 4 & Xbox One. With several different pieces of gameplay spread online of the two featured worlds in the demo; Olympus (Rock Titan boss) & Toybox (full Toy Story world), we take a look at some things learned in regards to how the final build will play.

1. Cutscenes & Gameplay Are Equally Seamless:

True Pixar level quality from cutscene to game.

In the past games Kingdom Hearts’ cutscenes always looked far superior to that of the gameplay’s animation, but Square Enix has made sure to keep things much more even in quality between the two in Kingdom Hearts 3. This is likely due to the new animation style & game engine Square has adopted for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Everything comes together.

2. Gameplay Mechanics From Previous Games Will Be Present:

Since the release of Birth By Sleep, all Kingdom Hearts titles have tried to incorporate at least a bit of the gameplay mechanics from previous titles into the current entry, with Kingdom Hearts 3 this continues with summons, command chains, and even Dream Drop Distance’s Flowmotion being featured in the game.

Wreck-It-Ralph will wreck Heartless in Kingdom Hearts 3.

3. Flowmotion Is Severely Toned Down:

Speaking of Flowmotion, when the mechanic was first featured in KH3D many fans complained about how easily it made defeating enemies by using it’s maneuvering to get a quick jump on large groups of them and basically dumbing down it’s difficulty.  Thankfully, Tetsuya Nomura has assured fans that Flowmotion won’t be so all over the place in KH3. There’s gameplay videos showcasing this and it seems Flowmotion has been limited to wall climbing and a couple of mid-air jumps.

Mechs are in Kingdom Hearts!

4: Worlds Are Huge In Size:

The worlds featured in Kingdom Hearts 3 will have huge scales and allow for a ton of travel and exploration. In the past these worlds were limited to certain levels of exploration, but as shown with the Toy Story world gameplay you can travel from Andy’s house to a toy store (that doesn’t appear to be Al’s Toy Barn) with a lot of space between the two.

Disney attractions play a big part.

5. NPCs Have Voiceovers:

While this wasn’t necessarily touched upon in the Primer Event demo, it has been widely reported that NPCs will have voiceovers, making this the first fully voiced game in the series. NPCs will also have a heavy appearance in certain parts of the worlds to give them more life.

Summons are back, baby!

6. Keyblade Transformations & Disney Attraction Attacks Look Insane:

Kingdom Hearts 3 will introduce two original gameplay mechanics exclusive to the new entry; Keyblade transformations and attacks based on Disneyland rides. This has been shown off here and there throughout the years, but the Primer Event gives a much more detailed look at how these mechanics function within the game, and they likely play a big part in the story if the Rock Titan boss fight is anything to go by.

Kingdom Hearts 3 will give players multiple ways to defeat enemies.

7. The Release Date Will Be Announced Early June; It’s Playable At E3:

The release date is going to be coming very soon and the two logical destinations for the announcement are the upcoming Kingdom Hearts Orchestra and E3, both events are about even in regards to release date odds. Speaking of E3, Square Enix has confirmed that the game will be playable on the E3 show floor. Though this will likely be the Primer Event demo made public with little if any alterations. Here’s hoping whichever demo is made available at the event becomes available on the Playstation Network and Xbox Store.

It’s 2018 and we live in a world where not only does Kingdom Hearts 3 exist, but it’s nearly completed and only a few months away from being in our hands and on our hard drives. Considering that Utada Hikaru’s album Hatsukoi which features the song “Chikai” as the Kingdom Hearts 3 theme song releases on June 27, 2018, let’s all just wish with all our might that that just so happens to be Kingdom Hearts 3’s release date as well, but it’s doubtful.