How Long Does it Take to Beat Kingdom Hearts 3? [REVIEW]

Kingdom Hearts 3 in the test: kitsch with heart – we reveal how good the final of the Kingdom Hearts trilogy has become – including test video!
Kingdom Hearts 3 in the test: 17 years and several interludes later, the Kingdom Hearts trilogy is now actually finished. Cheer up, because what fans of the extensive Saga get served at the end, can really be seen. In our review, we reveal what we liked in the finale of the Disney Crossovers and where it still hangs after all these years.

This is the end
And what should we say – it succeeds. Of course we do not want to spoil it at this point, but Kingdom Hearts 3 (now for $ 99.00) actually manages to bring all the storylines together and complete them relatively satisfactorily – including a little back door for any sequels. We do not say that the implementation is perfect. By having so many Story Arcs to deal with, some of them do not get the time and attention they deserve. Especially towards the end, Mini-Finale joins mini-finals, just so you can get through with all the characters and action developments. In addition, there is a lack of focus due to the many topics that need to be addressed.

What is really the primary premise, which is why we do things in-game, is constantly changing. Once we start looking for a long lost friend, then we must be able to restore an inherent power that Sora lost in one of the predecessors, before the focus changes again and we search for one in Making the Dark Banished Keywheeler. And the fact that all those who have never played a Kingdom Hearts have either already stopped reading or are looking questioningly into the tube also shows that newcomers are hopelessly lost here. Apparently, a release patch video (plus two additional end sequences) should be added by patch release, which we could not see yet.

Without this or a similar summary one is put into a narrative that does not even give the impression that it does not want to leave the ignorant in the dark. It is assumed that you know who all the characters are and what their relationships are with each other and what else has happened in the Lore of the series. The author of these lines has played all the Kingdom Hearts parts and was nevertheless regularly amply confused. So it means: Kingdom Hearts, as you know it and, given the appropriate willingness to suffer, loves!

It is much simpler in the Disney worlds – the real reason why we have fallen into line one day. Although also slightly involved in the great overall action, relatively independent stories are usually served here; sometimes these are direct re-narrations of the film actions, as in the case of Arendelle, the world of mega-hit The Frozen. Often, however, the narrative continues after that, as in Monstropolis (The Monsters A.G.), where we encounter a monster world that has already recognized that children’s laughter is more valuable than screams of fear. Without knowledge of the film templates, one will only understand station here – we recognize a pattern! – However, the game shines by the fact that it takes something back and by the recognition value of the popular templates here especially.

No love for Disney classics
What stands out: Apart from a stage based on Hercules, classic animated films are not present at all this time, but for the first time, the long-awaited worlds with a Pixar studio template. In addition to the above examples, we expect levels based on Toy Story, Rapunzel, Winnie the Poop, Pirates of the Caribbean (this time the only real movie license), Baymax, and a handful of areas without Disney template. On the one hand, this focus on the Disney modern era is a pity, since the fact that such a wide range of films has been covered has hitherto contributed to the atmosphere. On the other hand, the existing worlds are really great designed.

Some of them, such as Monstropolis or Olympus, are made up of classical, rather small and linear areas; Others, most notably The Caribbean and San Fransokyo, are using the hardware power of the PS4 and are sending us into much more sprawling areas. In the Pirates of the Caribbean Stage we can explore a small sea free by ship and deliver naval battles with other buccaneers – Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag says hello! Technically, it was also paddled and not messed up. The game not only looks great, but stylistically adapts to the style of the templates. In the Herculean world, one might still think that large-area textures are being used to mask graphic weaknesses, but at the latest in the impressively realistic Caribbean, you realize how much effort the developers have invested in making each world unique and truly impressive – not to mention the CGI cutscenes at the highest level!

The Sound of Generic Music
Also at a high level are the voice actors. Many Disney veterans take on the role of the game once again and those who substitute for the original cast (Tom Hanks could not be picked for the part of Woody from Toy Story) do a great job, as do the long-established ones Kingdom Hearts Rabbits. However: Starting with the HD remakes of the previous games Square Enix decided to do without German language editions and this decision will continue in here. So you get to hear great speakers, but not as previously almost through the bank original voices from the German movie templates. Those who do not speak English rely on reading subtitles – many, many subtitles.

With the amount of cutscenes, the makers have meant something too good, however high quality they are made. Sometimes you get the feeling that you can not walk two meters in the levels without having to play a movie. Last but not least, it’s a shame how little music from the Disney templates made it into the game, probably for licensing reasons. Only for selected worlds and moments does one resort to the melodies and songs. Mostly we have to be content with pieces that are well composed but inspired only by the originals. The moments in which the real songs can be heard are some of the best in the game – Arendelle is a prime example – while it is a pity we only hear interchangeable sounds while navigating the Caribbean instead of the driving bane of the Caribbean -Theme.

The combat system is in and of itself very entertaining and varied and the camera work at least a little better than before. However, the battles often feel like they are playing more or less by themselves.
Source: PC Games
So much for story, worlds and packaging, but what does Kingdom Hearts 3 playfully do? Well, basically, it does not differ drastically from what you know, especially from the numbered predecessors. So, we’re landing in the different worlds and walking through different areas to push the story. From time to time simple “puzzles” await us – deliberately under quotation marks, because they do not go beyond “press the switch” or “carry from A to B”. Most of the time we are engaged in battles, either against respawning enemies or in skirmishes that we must first complete to progress. The simplest action we can take is an attack with our Keyblade. Either via control pad or via shortcuts we have access to a portfolio of other actions. For example, we can practice magic, temporarily call helpers to our side or switch between different keyblades with different status values ​​and special attacks.

Our best friend is the triangle button, which, depending on the weapon chosen, attacks a context-sensitive access to all kinds of special maneuvers if we attack a green-marked enemy. This can be a tower that grows up and carries enemies along, but most of all it’s a selection of special attacks inspired by Disneyland attractions. For example, we attack with circular teacups or let a carousel circle faster and more devastatingly with rhythmic key movements. Interestingly enough, many of these actions make the game seem like a shooter for a while, where we then try from the ego perspective to target as many adversaries as possible. In addition, we have the so-called focus bar, which allows us either to attack enemies or to cover them with a salvo of shots. Coupled with blocks, evasive maneuvers and more, the range of maneuvers is really big and even if it does not seem that way, you quickly figure out how it all works.

The developers basically deliver a best of the game elements from their predecessors. The result is really fun battles, which cover a wall of colors and effects, umpteen possibilities and the pure chaos of a usually pretty clever: Lots of playful substance is not behind it. Mostly you are knocking happily away, triggering special maneuvers when they are faded in and sometimes it seems like magic. If you’re not completely undermanned – and you never are, if you’re not intentionally avoiding the fight – you’ll never have a problem, at least on the normal difficulty level, and sometimes get the feeling that most of the battles are themselves. Yes, that has been the case so far, but the amount of special attacks, context sensitive actions and more has been pushed up again.

When we attack specially marked enemies, depending on the terrain, we can trigger powerful special maneuvers inspired by Disneyland attractions.
Source: PC Games
That Donald and Goofy act completely independently (their actions can be easily adjusted in the menu so that they act more offensive or defensive) and heal us as good as ever when our lifeblood comes to an end, underlines this feeling. We repeat: The fights are really fun and are great to look at. But you can not expect a claim or a complex system; at least away from the secret bosses and battles that await us after the plot is over and that are the only true challenge in the series.

Always something to do!

The boss fights are well staged, but on the normal level of difficulty usually very easy, provided you are not completely subleveled.
Source: PC Games

The boss battles in the campaign, however, are great designed, but like the rest of the clashes pretty simple. No additional challenge, but you’ll find plenty of variety aside from the bouts, thankfully. Again and again, special passages await us in which we have to flee an avalanche full of snow monsters or compete in mini-games. Rate Rémy from Ratatouille takes a seat in a cooking game about on our head and leaves and in the best cooking Mama-style skill tasks.
Thanks to our gradually expanded movement repertoire, we can also continue to explore the worlds and look out for numerous collectibles such as treasure boxes, cooking ingredients (for the aforementioned cooking minigame), so-called lucky emblems in the form of Mickey Mouse’s head and more. If our talent for movement does not go beyond small hops at the beginning, we will eventually feel like a veritable superhero. Then we run up walls, jump from wall to wall, make double jumps, whiz through the area with lightning speed and, of course, someday learn, again, to fly through the worlds almost free. Although primarily inspired by Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, this locomotion system is not quite as varied as the original, but it’s really well executed and the controls are very precise – as well as in the fights. Alone so double occupancy annoying. If it is still possible after a fight to trigger a special attack, but we only want to open a box with the same button, we can not avoid carrying out the corresponding combat maneuver, often including the associated animation. It takes some time until you get used to the overloaded layout.

By the way, those who are tired of normal exploration should be happy in the Caribbean and San Fransokyo. We’ve already mentioned that we are exploring the sea in The Pirates of the Caribbean World, but the Baymax level also invites you to stay longer thanks to the smaller open world. Basically, these two levels are games within the game that have a slightly different gameplay focus and have a lot more to offer than you might initially think. Not bad! The already very decent season – purely for the campaign you can plan about 30-35 hours, if you want to do everything, you can easily double this number – is increased by these cool elements again.

Not even mentioned, we also have perhaps the most interesting collection item of the game. Based on the retro-level “river of nostalgia” from Kingdom Hearts 2, we expect a variety of mini-games in retro-look, based on old Mickey Mouse cartoons and play like the LCD games from Nintendo’s Game & Watch series from the 1980s. Wonderfully presented, here we pass small skill tests and try to crack our own high scores. That does not motivate eternally, but it is nonetheless a lovingly made enrichment. By the way: A handful of the games are included in the recently released mobile title Kingdom Hearts Union X and can be tried out for free.

Always use a rubber boat
Incidentally, an element that splits the fan base is also part of Kingdom Hearts in Part 3 – tradition is tradition! Of course we are talking about the rubber ship sections. These space shooter sequences that we have to complete to reach new worlds have always been the epitome of Tristesse for some, while the others love to collect crafting material, spend hours tinkering with their boat, and then heading for battle issued. If you do not feel like it, you can be reassured, because once you’ve reached a world, it’s not necessary to get into the rubber boat again, and the story-relevant flights are so easy that you do not have to spend time upgrading your vehicle ,

But we say: This time it’s worth it, because the rubber ship sequences have never been so fun! Instead of following linear paths, this time a free explorable space awaits us – the third mini-open world in the game! Thanks to special treasure boxes, all sorts of challenging duels against enemies and other exciting things to discover, one quickly forgets the time. The craft itself, however, hardly differs from its predecessors – whether you can start something, remains a matter of taste. The effort that Square Enix has put into improving the rubber-ship gameplay is definitely more than commendable.

The end of an era

The appearance of our three heroes is adjusted depending on the visited world. Especially in Monstropolis and the Caribbean, the result is impressive.
Source: PC Games
So all that is Kingdom Hearts 3. Looking at the many ideas and different game elements, the pure love, which flowed into the implementation of the Disney worlds and the generally extremely high production quality, it is hardly surprising that the development takes so long time took. The effort was definitely worth it, as fans of the series will receive a dignified sequel and a dignified conclusion of the trilogy. But you can not fool yourself, because Kingdom Hearts 3 is made for this and only for this target group.

If you are new to the games or you do not know them, you will get a kinky, cheesy tale with hundreds of hours of lore background, shallow battles and game elements, which makes sense because you are used to it as a serial connoisseur. Kingdom Hearts is more than the sum of its parts. Despite the huge budget, it’s definitely a passionate project, full of Disney but also self-made charm. It does not reinvent the action-RPG genre, nor does it deliver drastically innovative new accents to the series itself. But it is what it is and exactly what fans hoped for.

How Long Does it Take to Beat Kingdom Hearts 3?

Well, Kingdom Hearts 3 will take around 40-50 hours for players to beat if they just focus on progressing just the main story. But, if you need to complete everything in the game then expect over 80 hours of content play time, which is more than the first 2  games in the Kingdom Hearts series, according to game time aggregate site How Long to Beat.

There will be a number of activities and side quests Kingdom Hearts 3 players will be able to pursue outside the main story. For instance, fans can participate in a number of mini-games, with one specific example given being a Ratatouille mini-game where players collect ingredients from different worlds and use those ingredients to cook new recipes. Players can also play 20 side-scrolling mini-games that are based on the old Mickey Mouse cartoons from the 1930s and 40s that emulate Game & Watch-style graphics.

Another way players will spend their time in Kingdom Hearts 3outside the main story is by building their Gummi Ship. According to the report by Geek.com, building the Gummi Ship is “pretty much a mini-game of its own,” and so those who want to get real in-depth with building their ship should have the opportunity to do so.

Yes, it sounds like Kingdom Hearts 3 is looking to deliver a huge amount of adventure for gamers, fanatics of the game. That’s great news for fanboys who have been waiting over 10 years for this game, and hopefully it makes it worth the wait. We’ll find out if Kingdom Hearts 3 lives up to expectations or not when it releases early next year.

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How Long Does it Take to Beat Kingdom Hearts 3? [REVIEW]

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How Long Does it Take to Beat Kingdom Hearts 3? [REVIEW]