Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Unreleased

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is an upcoming game in the Kingdom Hearts series slated to be released on the Nintendo 3DS hand-held system. Its preliminary title was Kingdom Hearts 3D. It was announced at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show that Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance will have a release date in spring 2012.

Story
Following the destruction of Ansem and Xemnas at the hands of Sora and Riku, Xehanort is revived. In response, Yen Sid decides to put Sora and Riku through the Mark of Mastery Exam in order to become full-fledged Keyblade Masters and counter Xehanort's threat.

The plot will also have connections to Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Tetsuya Nomura stated that "the story is on par with that of a numbered title. The setting of Dream Drop Distance will again be spread across several worlds; several Kingdom Hearts-original worlds will return, such as Traverse Town, but all of the Disney-based worlds will be entirely new. According to an interview, Tetsuya Nomura said the game will take part on the Mark of Mastery, but not completely, and has stated that there will be new clothing for Sora and Riku.

Sora and Riku are now assigned a task to travel to the "World of Sleep" and unlock the Keyhole If the two manage to return from the World of Sleep, Yen Sid will consider them Keyblade Masters.

Sora arrives in Traverse Town, meeting a young boy named Neku. Neku tells Sora that he is looking for his partner in order to survive a "game". Sora then offers to help him by playing the game as Neku's partner. As Neku is about to introduce his name, Dream Eaters appear.

Riku arrives in La Cité des Cloches and meets Quasimodo, a hunchbacked man with a good heart. Quasimodo holds the passed out Esmeralda by his arms. Riku asks Quasimodo where did "it" go, which Quasimodo replies by pointing Riku to the direction of the bell tower. Quasimodo then resolves to fight along side him.

Development
It is known that the game is the next major release in the Kingdom Hearts series, and it will feature both Sora and Riku as playable characters. Utilizing the 3DS's high-spec graphics processing, the game will have graphics that are near on-par with those of the PS2 titles, as well as making use of the system's 3D technology such as "falling from high places" and "flying far distances". The development team is currently selecting worlds, planning to use all-new Disney worlds, along with Traverse Town and other original worlds, one of which has been revealed to be based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (although the world itself was featured earlier in the non-canonical El Cetro y el Reino). Nomura has stated that, with the parallel development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, he will make sure to retain any game elements that can't be put in Final Fantasy Versus XIII for use in Dream Drop Distance. Nomura has also stated that the transition between playing as Sora and playing as Riku will be forced upon and sudden, and can occur while simply walking around. The game also has the keyword of "drop", as in something falling. As well, the 3D effect of the Nintendo 3DS will be used more for "going into the screen" rather than things popping out.

In July's issue of Weekly Famitsu, Nomura stated that the game will focus on the "hidden data" inside of Sora and development of the game is 40-50% finished, with voice recording to begin soon. A secret movie was confirmed, along with new characters that will appear in Traverse Town. Nomura also stated that the Xehanort Saga will end with Kingdom Hearts III and there will be "answers" about Kingdom Hearts III in Dream Drop Distance.

A trailer and a playable demo were shown at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show. The demo included a cameo of Neku Sakuraba, the main protagonist of another Square Enix title, The World Ends With You. , as well as showing off Sora and Riku's new outfits.

Square-Enix 1st Department Premiere Trailer
The trailer begins with the final scene of Blank Points, where Riku asks Sora if he has made his mind up and Sora answers "Yes". The trailer then cuts to a scene from Signs of What's Next, where Yen Sid is then shown ordering Mickey to summon Sora and Riku to him to undertake a Mark of Mastery Exam. The scene then switches to Sora and Riku, in their Kingdom Hearts attire, on the beach of Destiny Islands, wondering if Riku's raft will get them far (this is an alternate version of a similar scene in the first Kingdom Hearts: rather than discussing this at the Paopu Tree with Kairi present, Sora and Riku are alone on the beach). Riku is shown in Traverse Town, surrounded by Shadows. He looks up to see multiple Soras raining down from the sky. One lands and prepares to fight the Shadows.

Several gameplay videos are then shown, which focus on Sora and Riku performing advanced acrobatics: gliding, wall-jumping, and swinging around poles. The HUD also features a "Command" list which includes "Thunder", "Fire", "Blizzard", and "Attack", and a "Drop" gauge that goes up to 1.5, placed where the MP, Focus, Drive, and Clock gauges were in previous games.

Sora is seen running through an area with many large bells and jumps off the edge, falling through a plethora of balloons. Riku is shown in the second district of Traverse Town, where he sees Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, looming above with what appears to be a translucent Xemnas behind him, back to back. The same is shown with Sora, only he encounters Xemnas with a translucent Ansem. Sora and Riku prepare to engage Xemnas and Ansem as the game logo ends the trailer.

Tokyo Game Show 2011 Trailer
The trailer begins inside Yen Sid's tower, where Yen Sid prepares to put Sora and Riku, now shown in their Kingdom Hearts II attire, through the Mark of Mastery Exam at last. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are present. Sora claims that he is unbeatable even without becoming a Master, while Riku openly ponders whether or not he will be suitable given his past with the Darkness. Nevertheless, Yen Sid decides to go ahead, explaining that their exam will take place in a world "enclosed in sleep", where they will face a new enemy known as the Dream Eaters, creatures similar to the Heartless but which are produce by the darkness present in this specific world.

As Yen Sid speaks, Sora ends up in the first district of Traverse Town in his new attire. He calls out for Riku, but instead finds Neku Sakuraba, who appears to know Sora. Several gameplay videos are then shown, in which Sora and Riku display powers similar to Terra, Aqua and Ventus. They also fight a new species of enemy, but also have members of that species as allies. The "Drop gauge" from the previous trailer appears to be missing, and the number of command bars has been reduced to two. Additionally, Sora and Riku's new partners receive a gauge that has the word "Link" written on it.

In Traverse Town, Neku explains that he has been trapped in the "Reaper's Game" and is in need of a partner. Sora decides to help him. Riku is shown running through the streets of La Cité des Cloches, where he finds Quasimodo holding an unconscious Esmeralda. Riku follows a huge Dream Eater into Notre Dame, with Quasimodo offering to aid him against the beast. Back in Traverse Town, Sora inquires about Neku's name, but they are ambushed by Dream Eaters. Over the next display of gameplay videos, Yen Sid explains that the key to leaving the dream world lies in finding the Dream Eaters.

The computer room of Radiant Garden is shown from Xehanort's point of view. Even and Ienzo are seen lying on the floor unconscious with darkness emanating from their bodies. Braig enters and confronts Xehanort about this, also asking if Xehanort's memories have returned. Xehanort responds by summoning Master Xehanort's Keyblade and stabbing Braig in the chest with it. The game logo ends the trailer with a release date set for Spring 2012. Sora briefly quips about Neku's name.