Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance arrived on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012 as the seventh game in Square Enix’s Disney crossover series, and it carries a heavier job than most handheld spin-offs. It is a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts coded, and it doubles as the setup for Kingdom Hearts III.
That is a lot of weight for a 3DS cartridge. Dream Drop Distance mostly holds it.
Trailer, via スクウェア・エニックス.
Sora and Riku Take the Mark of Mastery Exam
The premise is clean. King Mickey and Yen Sid prepare for an impending threat by putting Sora and Riku through the Mark of Mastery exam. The two are sent into the Sleeping Worlds, where they face enemies and allies never seen before. Complete the task, and they are deemed true Keyblade Masters.
The threat has a name. The game takes place after Kingdom Hearts Re:coded and focuses on the exam, in which Sora and Riku must protect parallel worlds in preparation for the return of Master Xehanort. A younger incarnation of Xehanort, first introduced as the optional “Mysterious Figure” boss in the North American and European releases of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, serves as the primary antagonist, joined by his Heartless, Ansem, and his Nobody, Xemnas.
The plot runs concurrently with the original game via time travel, which is either clever or exhausting depending on your patience.
The Drop System Splits the Screen Time
Dream Drop Distance keeps the action RPG and hack and slash bones of the series and adds a split. Players alternate between Sora and Riku through the Drop system. A Drop Gauge depletes over time and can be replenished with items. When it empties, control switches to the other character. Players can also drop manually at any time.
Drop Points, earned by defeating enemies and completing optional objectives, buy bonuses that last until the next drop, like a slower gauge or increased attack and defense.
The Command Deck from Birth by Sleep returns, letting players customize a deck of actions, spells and items. Flowmotion lets players bounce off walls, grind on rails and spin around poles to move fast. Reality Shift uses the touch screen on certain objects or weakened opponents, with a minigame unique to each world: dragging to fling a target like a catapult, touching hidden words to take control of enemies, and a rhythm game that makes fireworks appear.
The Dream Eaters are the real addition. They serve as the main enemies, but up to three good ones, called Spirits, can be recruited per character. Spirits are created by combining Dream Fragments with an item or spell, either by experimenting or using recipes found in the game.
Seven Worlds, Most of Them New
There are seven playable worlds. Most are based on Disney properties, rendered as a “world submerged in sleep” after destruction by the Heartless. The new ones draw on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tron: Legacy, Pinocchio, Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers and Fantasia. Traverse Town and the World That Never Was return from earlier games, and the opening tutorial is set on the Destiny Islands.
The cast splits in familiar ways. Mickey Mouse appears in three incarnations: king of Disney Castle, musketeer, and Yen Sid’s young apprentice from Fantasia. Donald Duck and Goofy show up too. Maleficent and Pete return as antagonists, Yen Sid supports, and several former members of Organization XIII, including Lea and Ansem the Wise’s apprentices Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus and Ienzo, come back in human form.
One oddity: unlike other major installments with their extensive Final Fantasy cast, only a Moogle appears.
What the 3DS Hardware Bought
Square Enix decided to develop Dream Drop Distance after being impressed by the quality of the Nintendo 3DS. The studio used the console’s functions to increase the action elements from Birth by Sleep, and both the gameplay and plot are meant to show what Kingdom Hearts III would be like.
The graphics land near on par with the PS2 titles, and the 3D effect is used more for “going into the screen” rather than things popping out. Falling from high places and flying long distances get the immersion treatment.
| Release | Date |
|---|---|
| Japan | March 29, 2012 |
| Europe | July 20, 2012 |
| Australasia | July 26, 2012 |
| North America | July 31, 2012 |
| Element | Dream Drop Distance | Birth by Sleep |
|---|---|---|
| Command Deck | Returns | Introduced |
| Action focus | Increased | Baseline |
| Drop system | New | Absent |
| Dream Eaters | New | Absent |
| Reality Shift | New | Absent |
Sales were solid where it launched. The game sold over 250,000 units in Japan and 180,000 in the US on its debuts. A high-definition remaster, Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, was released as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection.
Where the Game Earns Its Keep
The Dream Eater system is the best thing here, and it is not close. Recruiting Spirits, feeding them Dream Fragments and watching them fight beside you gives the game a collection loop the series had been missing. It also gives the Sleeping Worlds a reason to exist beyond scenery.
The Drop system is the weak link. Forcing a switch mid-fight is a mechanic that sounds dramatic and plays like an interruption. Yes, you can drop manually and yes, Drop Points buy a slower gauge, but those are workarounds for a problem the game created. The gauge is a timer dressed as a story device.
Reality Shift is uneven by design. A touch minigame unique to each world means some worlds get a good one and some get a rhythm game. That is the cost of variety on a handheld.
The plot criticism that followed this game is fair. Dream Drop Distance is a bridge, and bridges sag. It spends its running time arranging pieces for Kingdom Hearts III, and the time travel conceit makes the concurrent timeline harder to hold than it needs to be. The payoff is real for series veterans. For anyone else, it is homework.
Still, the pieces that work, work well. Flowmotion makes traversal feel loose and fast in a way the series had not managed before. The Disney world selection is strong, particularly Tron: Legacy and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The 3D implementation is restrained in the right way, using depth rather than gimmick.
This is a confident handheld entry with one mechanic that should have been optional. The Dream Eaters carry it. The Drop gauge drags it.
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