Playing Kingdom Hearts [Dream Drop Distance] after being reminded that the series turns ten this year, I got the feeling that not much has really changed at all. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep was actually a very fresh addition to the series, with new characters and setting, so I had mixed feelings about the story focusing on Sora and Riku again. The demo I got to play, set in the world of The Three Musketeers, was everything a Kingdom Hearts game is expected to be: long, beautifully crafted event scenes featuring Disney characters, exciting battles against swarms of enemies, extremely fun gimmicks, and flashy art direction.

From the looks of the demo, it might even be the flashiest game in the series. The Nintendo 3DS introduces 3D effects to the series, which are very well-done during gameplay, but less so during event scenes where some characters look a bit flat. Technically speaking, the graphics feel less polished than Birth by Sleep but the game looks good nevertheless. The opening movie from Visual Works is top-notch as usual, with some nice ideas such as Mickey Mouse from Fantasia "conducting" the opening from the lower screen.

The demo lets you play as Sora or Riku, but the game switches between the two characters thanks to the Drop system. In the demo, however, you couldn't manually switch between the two on your own, which is a bit bewildering at first. When you change characters, the setting also changes completely, thereby allowing you to progress through the story with Sora and Riku separately, each on his own. The battle system introduces various new concepts to incorporate into and build upon the deck command system originating from Birth by Sleep, particularly the new "free flow" mechanic and the ability to command Dream Eaters. From what I could gather during my brief playthrough, fighting enemies doesn't feel as good as Birth by Sleep but environment interaction and other spectacular moves are definitely a nice addition--coupled with 3D effects--that simply require some time to get used to. This is rather difficult in the demo as it strongly focuses on story as a priority. The difficulty level was pretty high as well. Some of the most powerful abilities are powered by the touch screen and it works out just fine, although a bit demanding in terms of timing.

In the end, Kingdom Hearts [Dream Drop Distance] mostly feels like your usual Kingdom Hearts game, with 3DS capabilities added. It's well-done indeed, but here's to hoping that the battle system-especially the link between your character and the friendly Dream Eaters-will grow more and more diverse, and the branched story will deliver.