'Kingdom Hearts III' Trailer and Gameplay: New Keyblade Transformations and Summons in D23 Trailer

By Kevin Reyes, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 20, 2018

During this year's D23 Expo, which took place earlier this month, Disney and Square Enix released a new "Kingdom Hearts III" trailer that premiered the previously leaked Monsters Inc. World and showed off some of the story. But what some people might have missed is the amount of new gameplay mechanics that the trailer has, some of which for only a very brief moment. Here is a list of some of the things people missed.

One minor detail that the new trailer shows is the presence of a thematic command menu. Previous trailers only ever display the command menu, often found on the lower left-hand side of the screen, in the default style that the original "Kingdom Hearts" game has. However, the one shown at the D23 Expo goes through various aesthetic changes as Sora and company travel through the different worlds. The Monsters Inc. World, for example, has the movie's iconic scream canister on display on the menu, while Corona, the land where the movie "Tangled" takes place in, has a woodland forest with a more fairy tale style.

As far as real gameplay goes, the trailer does a good job of showcasing some of the new Keyblade transformations that Sora will have access to. The first of these, called Quick Claws, grants him two claws that he can use to move and slash toward enemies and seem to be associated with the Monsters Inc. Keyblade.

The other transformation associated with the Monsters Inc. World is Twin Yo-Yos which, as the name implies, gives Sora two massive bladed yo-yos. The trailer also shows off the transformation's ability to capture and crush an enemy between the two.

One final new transformation is Mirage Tower, which is associated with Corona. With it, Sora can summon a massive tower, similar to the one that Rapunzel herself is trapped in, that fires rays of light to the field.

Outside of Keybalde transformations, the trailer also shows the returning mechanic that it summons. The D23 trailer in particular debuts the reappearance of Ariel from "The Little Mermaid," now relegated to the role of a summon as she surrounds Sora in a whirlpool of water. One other summon might be unfamiliar to anyone who has not played any "Kingdom Hearts" games outside of the numbered series, as Dream Eaters, creatures that appeared in "Dream Drop Distance" make an appearance in the trailer as well.

The trailer is filled with numerous other details that are easily missed at first glance, including what looks like an epic boss fight in the Toy Story world as well as gameplay mechanic to keep Boo laughing in Monsters Inc. to power up the doors, similar to how the movie itself ended.

"Kingdom Hearts III" has no planned release date so far.