It's been 10 years since Kingdom Hearts II arrived on PS2 in 2005. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting the next installment, and there was a time when we were unsure whether there would be one at all. However, in 2013 it was finally confirmed by Square Enix that Kingdom Hearts 3 really is in progress, and at E3 2015 we got our first look at a proper Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer complete with new worlds and awesome new Keyblade features. Here, we bring you everything you need to know about the game, including release date rumours, trailers and gameplay information. See: PS4 vs PS3 comparison review
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Despite the lack of a Kingdom Hearts 3 game so far, Square Enix hasn't stopped working on the franchise. We've seen the release of many games that build on the main Kingdom Hearts games, which are roleplaying games that bring together Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters, and also introduce some new and now much-loved characters of their own.
The first spinoff was Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, which was released on Game Boy Advance in 2004 and again in 2007 for PS2. There was also Kingdom Hearts coded for mobile (2008), followed by 358/2 Days (2009) for Nintendo DS (£18.99 from Amazon) and Birth By Sleep (2010) for PSP (£9.99 from Amazon). In 2012, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was released for Nintendo 3DS (£28.99 from Amazon).
Those games haven't continued the main story of Sora and friends, though. Instead, they've either been spin-off style games or have been focused on other characters such as Roxas or Terra, Aqua and Ventus, who appear in the prequel for Kingdom Hearts, Birth By Sleep.
Square Enix has now collected together those extra games into two remastered Remix collections. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, which was released in September 2013 for PS3 (£17.99 from Amazon), encompasses Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (a tweaked and refined version of the first Kingdom Hearts game) and Re:Chain of Memories, as well as 358/2 days in non-playable cinematic form.
The second collection, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (£15.39 from Amazon), was released in December, encompassing Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Similar to 1.5 Remix, this game offers a cinematic version of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.
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Despite some previous rumours to suggest that Kingdom Hearts 3 would be coming out last year, Kingdom Hearts' co-director, Tai Yasue, told GameInformer that it would instead be the year for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, which as we've mentioned came out at the end of 2015.
"We were actually developing Kingdom Hearts III and 2.5 at the same time, and it's very difficult. There was a point where we wanted to switch our resources to Kingdom Hearts III and get that moving faster," Yasue said.
"We've been working full throttle on Kingdom Hearts III. It's moving along. We structured our team in a way that development of 2.5 doesn't impede Kingdom Hearts III. I'm actually every excited about Kingdom Hearts III." So are we Yasue, so are we.
There was no new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III during the E3 conference in 2014, which left some fans disappointed.
"I understand that, but this year it was the year of 2.5 for us," explained Yasue. "When we were first planning out Kingdom Hearts III, we wanted 1.5 and 2.5 out in a timely fashion, so everyone would really get an understanding of the story. And so we really wanted to push 2.5. Making teasers and trailers really does require a lot of work, and we just wanted to get the development moving along quickly on Kingdom Hearts III, so this year we really focused on 2.5."
So following E3 2014, rumours suggested that Kingdom Hearts 3 would come out in 2015, but there was no official word on when and that made us increasingly convinced that a 2016 release is more likely.
E3 2015 was much more exciting for Kingdom Hearts fans than last year's E3. Square Enix's keynote on 16 June at the conference was used to premiere a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3 and it made our jaws drop. You can watch the new trailer at the top of this article.
Annoyingly, though, the end of the trailer doesn't offer up any idea about a release date. In fact, it simply says "Now in development," which is what we thought was happening two years ago when the game was first announced.
We're expecting to find out lots more about Kingdom Hearts 3 during D23 in Japan in November. Developer Tetsuya Nomura has said: "We have some interesting things planned. There will be Kingdom Hearts 3 news, and various things, I think. Development on Kingdom Hearts 3 is going smoothly, but there will also be new announcements connected to it."
You can now preorder Kingdom Hearts III at Amazon - but you'll still be waiting a while to get playing. According to the US version of Amazon Kingdom Hearts III will be released on 31 December 2015, but this tends to be a placeholder for games that don't have set release dates yet.
Plus, good news is that it's not just for PlayStation owners this time. Kingdom Hearts 3 will be available on PS4 and Xbox One.
Amazon is charging £47 for Kingdom Hearts III pre-orders. You will not pay more than this, but if the price drops prior to the initial release you will pay the lower amount.
As soon as word of Kingdom Hearts 3 got out, speculation erupted over what new worlds we'd see in the game. Throughout the Kingdom Hearts series, we've been transported to Disney worlds including Hercules' Olympus Colosseum, Aladdin's Agrabah, Pirates of the Caribbean's Port Royal and The Lion King's Pride Lands.
It's particularly exciting because, since the release of Kingdom Hearts II, Disney has been rather busy releasing awesome new films and acquiring new companies like Marvel and Lucasfilm.
When asked whether, in addition to the new worlds we're bound to be treated to in Kingdom Hearts III, we'll see a reappearance of some of the original ones, Yasue said: "It's going to be a mix. Whenever we come up with worlds for Kingdom Hearts, we want to have them be varied. You don't want the same type of world, so we will have different categories. That will make it feel fresh, like you're having an adventure."
"There's a lot of Disney content that's new and coming out and we're considering which ones to use, which would be good from a gameplay perspective," Yasue continued. "This is not an announcement or anything, but personally I enjoyed watching Frozen. It was magical: the stories, the songs, the ice expressions."
Yep, that's right folks: Kingdom Hearts III may well include the widely popular new Disney movie, Frozen. Exciting much
As of E3 2015, we now know that Tangled is one of the worlds featured in Kingdom Hearts 3. The grassy areas shown in the gameplay footage in the trailer are part of the Tangled world.
Also spotted in the trailer are Titans from Hercules as well as Pegasus, so it's likely we'll see Hercules and the Coliseum in the game, too.
Most recently, Square Enix announced a new world to featured in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 at the D23 expo in California. To the excitement of fans, the company announced that fans will be able to ride the robot Baymax and fight their way through a Big Hero 6 world. Big Hero 6 is a hugely popular animated Disney film that was released in 2014, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film, and looks to be a welcome addition to the game.
Here's a list of rumoured and most wished-for worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3:
Frozen
Star Wars
Toy Story
The Jungle Book
Darkwing Duck
Wall-E
Marvel
There's not much information about Kingdom Hearts 3's gameplay, but that's not to say we don't know anything, and the recent E3 2015 trailer certainly revealed quite a lot.
As you can see from the trailer, the Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 3 can transform into an even more powerful weapon, and it looks like the fairground rides inspired by Disney's theme parks will play a big part in the magic of the game.
Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura has said: "The action is pretty frantic. The really bold action we've always had is getting even crazier."
"Kingdom Hearts III has three-person parties, but NPCs and other characters join the fight in each individual world, and the resulting action is really flash and exciting," he continued. "The enemy AI is a lot more intricate, too, and I think the gameplay will reflect that new dynamic balance. For example, there's a foe that's shaped like a vehicle, and Sora may jump on it and fly around; that's already implemented."
Additionally, we know that Sora will gain the ability to change the shape of his Keyblade like Aqua can in Birth By Sleep.
Nomura has also suggested that a multiplayer and/or online mode is possible, though there's no confirmation of that yet.
Nomura says that the game will pick up the story after the events of Dream Drop Distance. "It's the final episode in the 'Dark Seeker' saga that began with the original Kingdom Hearts, and it'll depict the final battle with Xehnort."
Nomura has spoken a bit about the new visual style of Kingdom Hearts III, as seen in the trailer. "We spent a while figuring out what direction to take Kingdom Heart's visuals in the next generation," he said. "Should we go for a more realistic look like in recent projects, or try something else Along the way, we remembered that these Kingdom Hearts characters were originally paintbrush art from Disney productions, a texture that was one of our original aims, and that it was time to return to that."
One thing we can gather from watching the announcement trailer is that rides from Disney's theme parks will play a part in the game. In the trailer, you can see a pirate ship and a runaway train being taken advantage of by Sora during battle.
Tai Yasue has said that he's most excited about the technology and the creative stuff in Kingdom Hearts III.
"There's a lot of stuff we have never ever done before," he said. "There's a lot that's the same, but there's a lot that's changed. We're moving from a totally different console to a new console. The technology has evolved; it's very new and everyone is doing a lot of research. And look-wise, it looks amazing as well."
"We've shown you some of the trailers and teasers. There are a lot of Disney-themed attractions, so that's exciting as well. It's very exciting for me and I want to tell you more about it but I really can't at this moment."
Some rumours have suggested that multi-player gameplay could feature in Kingdom Hearts 3, too, but there are no further details about that yet.
We'll bring you more information about Kingdom Hearts III as it arrives.
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There are now two Kingdom Hearts III trailers. While there are no other trailers for the game yet, the sequence seen at the end of the latest trailer for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix is the opening scene for Kingdom Hearts III.
When asked whether there would be a teaser at the end of Kingdom Hearts 2.5, Yasue replied: "For Kingdom Hearts 2.5, I think everything has to do with Kingdom Hearts III. It will connect. The whole experience, the theatre and the story, will all connect to Kingdom Hearts III. I'm not being specific on purpose."
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