KINGDOM HEARTS III

One of the most anticipated JRPGs ever is almost upon us. Luke Kemp pins on his Mickey Mouse Club badge and digs up the latest info from Tokyo’s D23 event

Square Enix and Disney’s epic RPG is almost here – meet the Monsters Inc world.

The long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III is finally going to land in your sticky mitts – and it’ll happen this year. The hype machine kicked into high gear recently, with new trailers and gameplay details revealed at February’s D23 Expo in Tokyo. So, what can we expect?

The idea of original Square Enix characters chatting with Disney icons and exploring their worlds without batting an eyelid can take a little getting used to for newcomers. This has always meant an opportunity to experience multiple Disney universes in a single game, however – and the big reveal in this respect at D23 was the inclusion of Monsters Inc. Kingdom Hearts protagonist Sora (looking much hairier than usual) meets with Sulley and Mike – who are accompanied by Boo – on the Scare Floor. The trailer then cuts to gameplay, which contains some interesting blink-andyou’ll-miss-them details.

Sora is accompanied not only by regular companions Donald and Goofy (because who else would you want to have your back in a fight, right?), but also Sulley and Mike, confirming their presence outside of cutscenes and the new maximum party size of five. In addition, we get a quick look at the Monsters Inc world Keyblade transformations. One is identified as Quick Claws;