‘Kingdom Hearts 3’ Will Have More Keyblade Transformations, According To Tetsuya Nomura

The road to “Kingdom Hearts 3” has been rather long and winding for fans of the video game series, although recent news may make the delayed release date worth the wait. In a recent interview with Famitsu, a Japanese gaming magazine, Tetsuya Nomura revealed that Sora’s signature keyblade would no longer just be a simple weapon in the third installment of “Kingdom Hearts.” In the “Birth By Sleep” installment, gamers saw their first glimpse of an advanced keyblade, when the tool transformed into a vehicle. But now Nomura, who serves as game director for "KH3" reveals that there are even more transformations to come. We watched the first keyblade conversion in the preview trailer for the game, which was recently released at the D23 Expo, Sora’s keyblade become a weapon transforming seamlessly into what appeared to be a laser-shooting gun.

While fans were thrilled with the new weapons upgrade, Nomura revealed there is much more to come for Sora and his notable keyblade accessory. “In the trailer, we saw it transform into the shape of a gun, but there are also some other unbelievable transformations,” says Nomura. He adds, “The other day, when we were checking it out, the staff member said ‘it turns into ____’ and I impulsively replied with, ‘Are you serious?’” In addition to the new keyblade capabilities, which Nomura describes as possessing “infinite possibilities,” the KH3 development team is working on new upgrades for the gamer to experience.

New weapons will not be the only new tactic in the game; the second category of keyblade abilities is described by Nomura as "Attraction Flow" which, according to Nomura, is "an evolution of the Free Flow of 'Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance.'" As reported by Kotaku.com, in Japanese "attraction" refers to theme park rides. And in the trailer, we can see that theme park rides and settings heavily influenced the combat, Sora is seen riding iconic Disney World attractions while simultaneously fighting off enemies. Nomura explained that this "Attraction Flow" could be selected depending on the location or enemy.