Kingdom Hearts 3 is nearly here. I can’t believe I have I just said that. I can’t believe that after so many years that it is actually happening, that it is actually real and that is releasing in just under a week. As you might have already guessed, I am unbelievably excited for Kingdom Hearts 3 but I am also scared. Let me tell you why I am both excited and scared for the game.
Why I am excited
It’s been nearly 13 years since Kingdom Hearts 2 (released in the UK in 2006) and since then I, like many others, have been eagerly awaiting the third instalment. Years passed and Kingdom Hearts 3 was nowhere to be seen.
We did get several games though, all of which are connected to the main story of the series. I’ll list the Kingdom Hearts games released between now and the third numbered entry.
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
- Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (A PS2 remake of the Gameboy Advance game)
- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
- Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
- Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
- Kingdom Hearts Unchained X (Chi) and it’s several different versions.
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (This contained HD remasters of the first game, Re: Chain of Memories and the remastered cutscenes from 358/2 Days)
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (This contained remasters of the second game, Birth by Sleep and remastered cutscenes from Re: Coded)
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (This contained a remastered version of Dream Drop Distance, Unchained X (Chi) Back Cover which was a CG movie and Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage which was a prequel of sorts to Kingdom Hearts 3)
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 & 2.5 Remix (This contained the previously mentioned collections, made them look even better and released them on PS4)
A lot has happened with the story of Kingdom Hearts since the second game, new characters, new villains and more plot twists than a Metal Gear Solid game (the series is definitely up there). I know that the story is convoluted and is hard to follow and that’s coming from someone who has played them all. However, even though that the story is rather complex I know what’s happening; the aims of the characters, what Sora and company need to do and the end goal, that we need to beat Master Xehanort.
I’ve followed the story of Kingdom Hearts for nearly 17 years and I can’t wait to see how this chapter of the series comes to a conclusion. I’ve been on this journey with Sora, Riku, Kairi and I’ve grown along with them. The trio are now young adults and I’m an adult now. We started this adventure as kids but we are finishing it as adults. It’s been a long journey, arguably longer than it should have been but the culmination of it all is finally here.
Why I am scared
You want to know why I am scared about Kingdom Hearts 3? It all comes down to anticipation and the prospect that it might not deliver. Now I’m not a negative thinking person, I always think positively even in the worst situations but I can’t shake this feeling that Kingdom Hearts 3 won’t deliver. I’ve spoken to friends about this and they’ve put it down to how long I have waited for it and I can see why they said that.
It’s been nearly 13 years since the Kingdom Hearts 2 and five years since the announcement of the game and given how much time has passed, expectations and hype are incredibly high. The question I keep asking myself is, will it be worth the wait? Will Kingdom Hearts 3 live up to over a decade’s worth of anticipation? I won’t know until I play the game but that is what I am scared about.
What if Kingdom Hearts 3 isn’t as good as I have been expecting? What if it isn’t worth the wait? What if the questions I have relating to the story aren’t answered? What if the story doesn’t have a good ending? These are the questions that I ask myself and this is why I am scared about the game. The only way I’ll find out the answers to these questions is by playing Kingdom Hearts 3 itself.
I’ve been looking at what I’ve written here so far and I have realised, I am scared of being disappointed. The Kingdom Hearts series is something I am deeply attached to, it’s got me through a lot of bad times. It’s helped me pull through some of the lowest moments of my life when I was a teenager.
If Kingdom Hearts 3 ends up being disappointing (I’m fairly certain it won’t be), I don’t know how I’ll handle it. You may think I am being melodramatic and you might be right. I’ll play Kingdom Hearts 3, become obsessed with it for about a week or two, think and write about my experience with it and then play another game.
I know Kingdom Hearts 3 will be good, Square Enix know how long fans have been waiting for and director Tetsuya Nomura does as well. They know that if the game doesn’t meet the expectations of fans, that people will let them know.
Just how good will it be though? Will it be worth the wait? I and many other Kingdom Hearts fans will find out on January 29th.
That Green Dude 
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