‘Kingdom Hearts 3’ Release Date News: D23 Expo Trailer Reveals Gameplay And Large Scale Combat

KH3 — Sora preparing for a dive while battling a Titan from "Hercules" in the new teaser trailer for "Kingdom Hearts 3." Youtube.com/Screenshot

While I wish that this “Kingdom Hearts 3” trailer was real news or an indication that the game was actually coming out soon, it’s not, but it is still worth watching. The production and thus release date of “Kingdome Hearts 3” has been delayed, but a teaser trailer released at the D23 Expo in Japan gives KH3 fans a quick glimpse of what they can expect from the next installment of the highly-anticipated video game series. The video provides very little indication in terms of actual release date, but it seems like Square Enix released the teaser trailer to assure fans that the “Kingdom Hearts 3” will remain with its original gameplay style, despite being first released over 10 years ago.

The “Kingdom Hearts” franchise’s original gameplay contains elements of both action and role-playing games. The game is moved through a linear progression from one quest or individual story to the next, displayed in a cut scene format. Players normally control the principal protagonist of the “Kingdom Hearts” series, Sora. And fortunately for fans of the series, “Kingdom Hearts 3” features Sora and the gameplay we have grown to known and love. In the teaser trailer, Sora is featured in several combat sequences. The first scene is familiar looking, with the combat system appearing as a revamped HD version. The player screen also looks familiar with the combat menu on the left and the team layout on the right. Sora is seen fighting alongside Donald and Goofy, no new characters are featured in the trailer.

The subsequent combat scene seems to take place in an amusement park, with the Disney presence, this setting makes sense. Sora takes to a large swinging ship for another combat scene, balancing on the bow as he battles. The final scene is rather masterful as a brilliantly illuminated floating train holds Sora, Donald and Goofy in separate train cars. Sora takes on one of the Titans from “Hercules,” but instead of fighting the imposing creature from the ground, in “Kingdom Hearts 3” Sora is airborne. Players will be fighting from the sky for an even more interactive combat sequence, I can’t figure out if Sora is the one jumping from the train or the train itself talking a nosedive, either way it looks awesome.

Despite the exciting news that it looks like “Kingdom Hearts 3” is sticking to its gameplay roots and including large scale combat, the release date is still a viable concern. The trailer video provides the audience with a disclaimer reading, “This trailer represents a game currently in development,” and at the end of the video a second disclaimer reads “Now in Development,” and with that many reminder that KH3 is not done, we are assuming it’s far from being completed. We originally believed that it would be unlikely to KH3 on the next-gen home consoles before 2015, but that was based off a rumors 2014 release date for FF14. Depending on the release of “Final Fantasy XV” fans should anticipate a 2-3 year waiting period for "Kingdom Hearts 3."