Final Fantasy VII remake further along than KH3
There’s a lot to be excited about regarding Kingdom Hearts 3 following the exciting Toy Story world announcement and trailer. But through various interviews, Nomura has put a wee bit of a damper on the hype.
First it was admitting they will announce all worlds before the game release, leaving nothing to be surprised or excited about when finally playing the game. Then it was stating they are putting DLC systems in place just in case they want them, as if they won’t take advantage of the Olympus Coliseum cups or the self-contained nature of the series’ Disney worlds to make more bank. Now, through an interview with Famitsu, he states that there will be fewer Disney worlds than there were in Kingdom Hearts II.
There were twelve Disney World in KH2, including 100 Ace Wood, Disney Castle, and Timeless River. Four are so far confirmed for Kingdom Hearts III, meaning there are seven or fewer to be announced for the base game. Nomura asserts, however, that “the density of each world is greater, including gameplay.”
Until knowing exactly what that number is and how many of the remaining worlds are repeats (please god no more Agrabah, Atlantica, and Halloween Town; 100 Acre Wood is okay), it’s hard to have any strong opinion. If it’s 11 all new worlds then that beats out Kingdom Hearts II with its various repeat worlds. If there are only a couple new worlds left to announce…ehhh.
With the treatment the Final Fantasy series has gotten lately, and with the history of extra content coming in Final Mix releases for the Kingdom Hearts franchise, I’d say it’s highly probable they will at least release optional bosses and cups via the Olympus Coliseum similar to the coliseum in Final Fantasy XIII-2, if not entire worlds. Ergo, I’ll have to wait at least a year after release to play the game with all the content in all likelihood.
Another angle to look at this from is that he specifically states “Disney worlds;” could we have our first, perhaps even second and third, Square Enix worlds? If so, let me reiterate a huge point I want to make regarding world announcements: don’t announce them.
A fun and thrilling part of adventuring through these games is wondering what world you will arrive at next. When it’s all spelled out before the game even releases, it doesn’t just deflate the hype balloon—it obliterates it with a knife. I know they have to from a marketing perspective, and this is just an ideal fantasy of mine but I wish they’d take a cue from the way Mario Odyssey is being promoted: by leaving most of it to be explored when actually playing the game, not disclosed more than a year ahead of release. This is a hill I will die on.
