It’s time to summon our keyblades once again to return to the world of Kingdom Hearts, the epic crossover series created by the unlikely pairing of Disney and Square Enix.
This time, Sora and the gang are appearing in the form of a rhythm game called Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory. Now, thanks to a Nintendo Direct Mini event earlier this week, the game has an official release date.
The game will be releasing on November 13 with preorders currently available.
One of the most popular elements of the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise is its soundtrack. From songs by Japanese pop artist Utada Hikaru to incredible instrumental scoring, the Kingdom Hearts music has a huge fanbase.
Now, you’ll be able to experience the soundtrack of this game like never before through a new rhythm based adventure featuring Sora, Donald, Goofy, and all of the other warriors of light. In the trailer, we also saw glimpses of Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Roxas, Xion, and Axel.
Nintendo also gave us some more information on how the game is going to work. Describing this adventure as a “musical journey in a rhythm based world,” Nintendo showed off a number of stages based on worlds previously visited within the Kingdom Hearts universe.
You can match the rhythm with button mashing to perform powerful combo moves and take down foes as you move through the stages. There will also be a memory dive feature which will allow you to play through memories from previous Kingdom Hearts games. The example shown for this mode was the popular Frozen Let it Go scene from Kingdom Hearts 3.
There are also boss battles, where attacks are based on set musical rhythms. The example shows was Sora, Donald, and Goofy battling Maleficent in her castle, which was a location used in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.
Clearing stages will unlock a music player and story cinematics. You’ll also be able to play both online and in local multiplayer for missions.
Nintendo Switch will have an exclusive Free-For-All mode, which allows you to compete with up to eight players.
The game will feature an original story, which, if you’ve ever played Kingdom Hearts before, you’ll know will factor into the over arching story as we head down the (likely very long) road toward Kingdom Hearts 4.
Players who attempted to ignore all of the mobile and offshoot games between Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3 were in for a rude and confusing surprise when it became clear that they played hugely into the story of Kingdom Hearts 3.
