KINGDOM HEARTS 3D Countdown - Final Day!

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Published on July 31, 2012 @ 12:44 am

Written by Sign

And here we are at Day 3! it's been a long 2 years since we first learned about KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance], but we're very happy to have been able to experience with you! And now, let's get on with the show!

If you would like to see the contributions from the entire countdown, please follow these links: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

• Cutsceneaddict
• Amber Garrity Makash
• doortolight
• Luap911
• MegamanNG
• Freeze
• Joshua Osborn
• Rutu14
• Got_it_Memorized
• TravisSykes
• iLeenAgainstWall
• Azerin
• skyfoxx
• Xuchilbara
• Antiquity
• LordPhantomhive
• Taochan

Originally Posted by Cutsceneaddict

Perhaps no Kingdom Hearts character carries as much dynamism, as much controversy—as much pressure to please the fans—as Riku. Watching him mature as a character has been an almost personal experience. His antagonism and reckless abandon at the start of the series stands in sharp contrast to the self-sacrifice he displays by the end; and I think it’s safe to say that the first time Riku stood in the ocean, backed by a rising wave, and held out a hand to pull players in, he was silently promising not to disappoint our expectations of him as a character. A legion of fans took that hand, myself included.

With the release of Dream Drop Distance just a short time away, Riku’s adventure is about to continue, and I look forward to what changes will come over him as a result. Being the bridge to the long-awaited—long-delayed—Kingdom Hearts III, Dream Drop Distance likely holds many answers involving the conclusion of Riku’s struggle with Darkness, and I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds.

Riku’s personal Keyblade—the Way to Dawn—perhaps holds more symbolism in this latest title than in any previous one. Having forsaken both the roads of Darkness and Light, Riku walks a road of unknowns and self-discovery—wading through doubts to find the liberating truth. Way to Dawn looks similar to the Keyblade Riku used while he served Maleficent—a ribbed weapon named Soul Eater that had one eye embedded in its hilt; yet Way to Dawn also possesses one distinguishing difference from its predecessor—a wing, representing freedom, spreading from its front end.

In Dream Drop Distance I hope to see this wing fully unfurl—see Riku finally escape the confines of his past and defeat the lingering remnants of Darkness shadowing his heart. And if previous games are any indicator, this motivation will keep me up into the wee hours of the night, tapping buttons of my handheld, just to see how it all ends.

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Originally Posted by Amber Garrity Makash

The story is what keeps me hooked on Kingdom Hearts, and though I’m glad to see it finally progressing forward, it was Sora who got me hooked in the first place. His adorable (“aSorable”) personality and determination made me want to find out more about the series. Meanwhile, having been a Tron fan for many years, “The Grid” is hands-down the world I want to play most in KH3D. Trailers depicting Sora fighting Rinzler or even better - Riku on a (Generation 4?) lightcycle - has me super excited.

As far as Sora and Riku... Since the last time Sora (rather than Roxas, Data Sora, etc.) was playable, Riku became my favorite character thanks to his dynamic characterization. He’s a flawed character, making him more real. However, back in the days of KHII, I was glad to finally play Sora after the prologue, much as I enjoyed Roxas. I LOVED BBS, but I felt the same way at the end of Blank Points. “It’s nice to see you again, Sora.” I felt a little nostalgic while playing the demo. So ultimately, I will greatly enjoy both for very different reasons.

And I’ve seen a shot of Kairi in the trailers. I REALLY want to know her role in this!

As far as the art goes... I saw a picture of Riku with Komory Bat and decided it was the cutest thing, so I had to make a life-sized one. The rest have to do with a party I’m throwing on the release day - carved crayon-candles, painted royal icing characters for the cake, chocolate Whopper Heartless, and white chocolate Sea Salt Ice Creams with woodburned WINNER sticks (since burned wood isn’t poisonous so long as you wash it).

Thanks for keeping us at the edge of our seats!

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Originally Posted by doortolight

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Originally Posted by Luap911

Where does a person begin?

Ten years ago I was a mere kid, only seven years old. That’s when the original Kingdom Hearts initially released in North America. I played it eagerly, being a kid who absolutely loved Disney. I didn’t know what Final Fantasy was exactly, but it looked cool! Throughout the years I have replayed the game over a dozen times, and beaten the final boss, Ansem: The Goddamn Seeker of Darkness, at least a hundred times, if not more. I think it’s safe to say that the first time playing Kingdom Hearts was the best time. But it doesn’t change the fact that each and every time was a magical experience. Sometimes I wish that the original Kingdom Hearts was coming out now, so that I could play it for the first time and feel that magic in the present day, where the memories wouldn’t be smudged out by time.

It’s been an adventure, a journey, to be a fan of Kingdom Hearts. It’s 10th Anniversary is something I’m happy to see. Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] is many things; the celebration of this closing decade; the seventh title in Kingdom Hearts overall; the stage setter for the long awaited Kingdom Hearts III. I feel like it I did right before Deathly Hallows Part 1 came out. The end is near, but not there yet. I’m happy and sad. Happy, the story is coming upon its final climax. Sad, the series I love (or at least this very long chapter in it) is going to end. MY EMOTIONS ARE SPIRALING. 

Picking up my copy of The Mark of Mastery Edition on the 31st might be the highlight of my summer vacation this year. Maybe that sounds like I have no life, but you know what, Kingdom Hearts is a large part of my life! One of the things that lights the darkness, you could say.

Originally Posted by MegamanNG

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Originally Posted by Freeze

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Originally Posted by Joshua Osborn

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Originally Posted by Rutu14

This is the first game that I’ve ever followed since I first heard about it. I’m not one of the people whose been playing and waiting for ten years (Little too young for that) but I am definitely a huge fan. I’ve never been do anxious to have something. I can remember when my mom bought Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 for my brother and he played them non-stop. After watching him play it I wanted to try. At that point of time we were too young to understand the complexity of the story, (probably only around 7 or 8) but in a few years I went back and played it again. I fell in love with the game. I then went out and purchased all of the other games. I bought a PSP so I could play BbS and now my 3DS is all ready to go.
I’m so excited to see what will happen next in Sora and Riku’s adventure. I’m can’t wait to see all of the new things that will be happening. I love seeing Sora and Riku grow up in each game. I want to see the way that this game will lead right into Kingdom Hearts 3.

As much as I love the Final Fantasy characters, it’s always nice to have a change every once in a while. I really want to see exactly how the twewy characters interact within the story. Then there’s Lea. Axel has always been one of my favourite characters, and the little bit we got to see of Lea in BbS was great, so I’m happy to see him coming back.
The world that I’m most excited for is either The Grid or Traverse Town. Now I have never been a huge fan of the newest Tron movie, but this world looks so interesting with all of it’s bright lights. Plus I love the outfits that Sora and Riku will wear. I’m looking forward to a remodeled Traverse Town because you only ever go there in one game and it’ll be great to go back.

The gameplay that I’m most looking forward to is just one word. Flowmotion. The way that you can use your surroundings is – for lack of a better word – cool. Walls used to be a hindrance and now they can help you. Then there are also the strong attacks that you can get through Flowmotion. I’ve been playing the demo and already love it, so I can’t wait to see what else I can do.

I’m not sure who I want to play as more, Sora or Riku. I’m leaning more towards Riku, since it’s not everyday that you can play as him.

The music that I’m most looking forward to would be of course the classic Kingdom Hearts music and the twewy music.
All in all I can’t wait to get my hands on my copy of Kingdom Hearts 3D (Dream Drop Distance).

Originally Posted by Got_it_Memorized

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Originally Posted by TravisSykes

I remember, in 2002, a commercial aired for a game that actually looked pretty decent. I was only eight back then, so the few things I remembered were a Clock Tower, a guy with silver hair in front of a wave, and some kid swinging a weapon around. For some reason, in my adolescent mind and out of all of the things that could have stuck, the name "Kingdom Hearts" was forever etched in my brain. Ever since that moment, I looked far and wide for Kingdom Hearts and I had eventually found it in the room of my babysitter's son. Unfortunately, it was scratched up and unplayable. So, I searched some more. I came across a copy of it that I could rent from a video store and from that point on, I would save up my hard earned allowance to pay for a seven day rental. I had no memory card, so I would have to sit through the entire game every time I turned on my PS2, but I really couldn't care less. It was Kingdom Hearts. I must have played through Destiny Islands and Traverse Town over twenty times, but that didn't bother me. Every time I would beat Traverse Town and get to the World Map, it would freeze until I restarted the game, but that didn't chip away at my happiness. I had played the game and that's all that mattered. The hour or so was enough to keep me happy. 

It was now 2004 and I was still stuck in the seven day rental loop of Kingdom Hearts. I had gotten a PSP and a GBA Advanced for my birthday and Christmas respectively, which pretty much meant I was the bee's knees, and I had been searching Wal-Mart for a KH game on the PSP, but to no avail (A few years later, though, haha!) As I looked into the glass cases, I noticed a silver packaging labeled "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories". Gameboy Advance. Oh. My. Kingdom Hearts. I couldn't believe it. I had to have it. I even had the money for it! A huge smile came across my face and stayed there until the I had finished my purchase of this glorious game. My very first KH game. No one would take it from me after a week had passed and it wouldn't freeze up on me after an hour. I popped it in and booted up the GBA and instantly fell in love. Dearly Beloved in all of its beautiful, GBA glory. I had spent hours, days, and months mastering the game and beating it, half-understanding what Sora and the gang were talking about when they thought back to their old memories. I beat it. 

End of fifth grade. 2006. Free day during class, so I head down to the library and pick up one of those small, Disney magazines. As I flip through, I catch a glimpse of a brown haired teen... :O KINGDOM. HEARTS. II. My mind was BLOWN! I couldn't even begin to FATHOM the amount of excitement I was feeling at that moment. I went home and told my parents and grandparents about it, slurring words and stuttering in jolly feelings. My grandparents decide to put it on Lay-Away without telling me, while my mother went searching three Wal-Marts for a copy of Kingdom Hearts I. On one night, while looking at videos on the internet, I was given a box and a bag. I had no idea what was going on, but as I peeled off the tape on the card board box, I could make out a silver cover and the brown haired boy I had grown accustomed to. I smiled. Large smile. Gigantic smile. Biggest smile on my face at that point in time. Then I opened the bag. My life had become complete. The moment I could, I went to pop in KH1 and began playing it completely for the first time in my life. Well, I beat KH1 in time for sixth grade to start. It was a great moment in my life and I felt happier than ever. 

Unfortunately, that would change. I started getting bullied in middle school. About my weight, my nerdiness... anything, really. It was a horrible time for me as it was during my time of puberty and big changes. I didn't know how to take it all, so I sat around, ate food, and had little interaction with anyone outside of my neighborhood. I hadn't touched KHII yet, so as a way to pass the time, I put the disk in. As Dearly Beloved began playing, all of that joy began to flow back. From that point on, Kingdom Hearts was my way to cope with the challenges of making friends and trying to fit in. Instead of eating due to boredom, I would play KH. It was one of the things that helped me and... Once I beat it, I was at a loss for words. "The series is over," I had thought, "What am I gonna play now?" As the final CG cutscene rolled by, Sora and Riku get a bottle and a letter. It had a symbol resembling King Mickey's head... That music. That scene. That mysterious letter. It wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

I began following KHInsider from that point on and stayed up to date with all the news. I got Re: Chain, KH 358/2 Days on release date, as well as Birth By Sleep, and Re:Coded. Every game released in NA. I spoiled a lot of these games and couldn't enjoy them near as much as I did the first three games. And that's where 3D comes in. A next, huge step FORWARD in the story. I vowed to myself to keep myself from intentionally spoiling any story elements of the game. I've listened to the entire soundtrack and seen every Dream Eater, aside from the bosses. I have unintentionally seen things that I wish I wouldn't have, but the whole entirety of the story has yet to be uncovered and that's what drives me forward to keep waiting. I have one more day left. One more day. Then, I can take home my Mark of Mastery box and beat KH: Dream Drop Distance with the same enthusiasm as I had with the first three games.

Originally Posted by iLeenAgainstWall

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Originally Posted by Azerin

I know very little of this installment to the Kingdom Hearts series only because I haven't been looking into so that I don't spoil myself. However, I am excited for everything! I absolutely love the Kingdom Hearts series--I always have and I always will. It is purely marvelous and a lot of fun. I love the story, the characters, the worlds, the music, the artwork, the Keybladessss~!, everything. I can't wait to get my hands on my copy of KH3D, though it's not like I'll be able to play it. I don't have a 3DS at this time, but I really wanted to participate in pre-ordering and supporting this series. I was originally just going to pre-order the game itself and enjoy getting the pre-order bonus. Very thankfully, before I could do that, the Mark of Mastery edition was released! That's so for me! I pre-ordered it and even paid for fast shipping because I'm that eager to have it. I wish that I had all of the Kingdom Hearts bundles and specials, Japanese ones included. At least I also have the Birth by Sleep PSP bundle. (Heck, I got my PSP just for that game.)

Anyway, I'm thrilled to see where the story is progressing to. From what little I know, it's going to be very interesting. I'm eager to see some of the new non-Disney characters that are being released, too. (Don't get me wrong, it will be awesome visiting new worlds and seeing more Disney characters and places, and I can't wait to do that as well. What I mean is I just find it intriguing, the decision to go beyond having only Final Fantasy characters other than the original characters and the Disney ones.) It sounds like there's a lot of new gameplay, and that will be fun to experience. The new enemies will be fun to fight against; the new companions/allies will be fun to fight with. It's always great when the Kingdom Hearts universe expands. I hope that there are a lot of new Keyblades. I adore Keyblades and greatly enjoy seeing all of the different designs, Keychains, and names. The new music will be wonderful to hear; the music of Kingdom Hearts is always so beautiful.. To top everything off, I get to play as both Sora and Riku! Seeing Riku's side of the story again will be fantastic--his story tends to be so dark and deep and riveting. Riku is probably my favorite character of the whole series (alongside Aqua), so getting to play with Riku as my character/at my control will be awesome.

There's so much that I could say, honestly; Kingdom Hearts is and will always be my favorite series! Really, Kingdom Hearts is special to me in many ways--I even found this site, KHInsider, and in turn met Avalon of these forums because of it!
Thank you so much, Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix, Disney, and everyone involved with Kingdom Hearts for creating this great series, and thank you, KHInsider, for this wonderful website that's always here to provide us, the fans, with so much information and a place to gather and talk about this series endlessly! You are all very wonderful and I tremendously appreciate every one of you!

Originally Posted by skyfoxx

Originally Posted by Xuchilbara

Originally Posted by Antiquity

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Originally Posted by LordPhantomhive

 I excited for Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance for quite a few things, like the wonderful charm that this series still has, the music, and the exciting gameplay with the addition of flowmotion and dream eaters, but if there one thing that really excites me, it the worlds. From Traverse Town for not only to going back to nostalgia but to explore even more beyond what was in Kingdom Hearts 1, to the Symphony of Sorcery where it invites you in with the wonderful music of Fantasia, the silliness of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and the return of Chernabog.

The world I especially excited for is The Grid. I love Tron Legacy especially for its design of the Grid and characters, so it great seeing that world coming into Kingdom Hearts along with some nice Light Cycle action and great outfits for Sora and Riku. I also like how these worlds look to be some of the vaster ones in the series, and probably a good thing too to give the flowmotion aspect some space to mess around with when travelling around and exploring. 

The wait for Dream Drop Distance is almost over and I ready to drop into these worlds and experience what could be another great addition to this series.

Originally Posted by Taochan

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