Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Part 3)

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5

Will my headache continue? We’ll find out soon enough!

The Grid – Sora

New armor? But I don't feel any more protected.

It’s still bizarre to me that KH has worlds inspired by live-action properties like Pirates of the Caribbean… or TRON. I’ve always been wondering: Does it or its sequel, TRON: Legacy, count as video game movies? Or just “computing” movies in general? (Either way, don’t count on me to review TRON: Ares!)

Apparently, the "dream" version is the real Grid. Just an
excuse to justify the actors of TRON: Legacy being here
and not met the first time Sora visited Space Paranoids.

Sora appears in the Grid wearing the armor of a Program. He spots a Recognizer (a large ship) and gives chase. The programs that come out ask him to identify himself, but when they don’t recognize his name, they treat him as a threat and attack. After Sora dispatches them, he runs into a masked program that flees after gathering data about the boy and his Keyblade. Three characters were watching this encounter: Kevin Flynn, his son Sam, and friendly program Quorra. All are depicted with far less cartoony CGI than any others, which is… so weird, next to the spiky-haired, anime-faced Sora. But, for true KH fans, this is nothing new.

The three explain that the program Sora was fighting is named Rinzler; but it is actually Tron, who has been corrupted by CLU, Flynn’s hacking program, who has become the Grid’s dictator. Kevin and Sam are trying to escape to the real world, but Sora believes he must save Tron. Kevin indicates that the only way to do so would be to recover Tron’s source code, which is protected by CLU. Quorra decides to help Sora. We won’t see the Flynns again on this side.

Programs CAN develop hearts, but I doubt CLU could.
Not with his intentions. No Keyblade for you, mister!

Meanwhile, Rinzler warns CLU about Sora’s presence; the dictator is intrigued by the Keyblade…

High-speed attack!!

Sora and Quorra take a Solar Sailer to CLU’s base. They fail to find Tron’s source code, but they are attacked by Rinzler, who knocks Quorra out before leaving. Sora is approached by the MF and Xemnas again. These two look too alike. Xemnas explains that unlike other worlds met so far, the Grid is not “sleeping”; this is the real Grid, and the one Sora visited before (in KH II) was a copy. Rinzler is the real Tron. Xemnas muses about how funny it is that someone’s memories may not belong to them, and drops another clue as to Sora’s mind and/or heart not being entirely his own? I think?

In a whole game about dreams, somehow, there is one
world we visit that isn't a dream. Sounds dicey.

Ugh, even with all my research, this is still confusing. I’m trying, I swear. I realize that the biggest point here involves programs and whether they can have hearts – this game follows Re:coded chronologically, and that game showed that a digital copy of Sora was able to grow a heart on its own and wield a real Keyblade as a result. So maybe programs ARE capable of such things.

The meanest trick Rinzler can pull is inverting gravity.
But hey, if you're locked onto the enemi, you're gonna
go and hit it anyway, that's how it works around here.

After the Organization XIII guys have left, Sora ends up in the Disk Wars, with CLU and Rinzler appearing in the arena. CLU is willing to let go of his control of Tron if Sora hands over his Keyblade. The wielder refuses. With encouragement from Quorra, who has recovered, he battles Rinzler, in an attempt to get through to Tron. This is this world’s climactic boss fight, which Sora wins, though he fails to speak to Tron through the mind control. However, when CLU attacks from behind, Rinzler protects Sora, then falls down a hole, with our hero unable to save him. CLU leaves to reclaim his soldier, while Sora is comforted by Quorra. The teenager closes the Grid’s Sleeping Keyhole.

The Grid – Riku

Ooh, a surprise shmup battle within an action RPG.
Anything to break the monotony!

Riku lands in the Grid, wearing the armor. Unlike Sora, he has no experience with this place. He is mistaken for a runaway program, arrested, and taken along with another captive named Sam Flynn to a light cycle stadium. The Grid’s despot, CLU, allows Riku to ride a light cycle on the track. The boy gets to it, but is attacked by enemy programs. Deprived of his Keyblade while driving, Riku attacks using the cycle’s guns instead. This ends with a boss battle against a Nightmare. After this fight, Riku blasts a wall and escapes, joining Sam who has also found a way out.

Looks like we're going to take a detour or two.

Sam came to the Grid through a portal that’s still open; his father, who came the same way, has been trapped for twenty years. Sam needs to delete CLU, free his father Kevin, and escape the virtual world. Flashback scenes repeat moments from the film, as usual, like Sam trying and failing to convince his father to escape the Grid. When the dad finally agrees to leave, he says that they’ll need a Solar Sailer to reach the portal before CLU, who must not be allowed to escape to the real world.

Sora and Riku can Flowmotion to ram into an enemy while
spinning on themselves. I call this move The Power Drill.

Riku accompanies Kevin, Sam and Quorra to the docks. On the Sailer, Riku learns that Quorra is the last ISO, a hyper-advanced AI that’s practically sentient; CLU destroyed all the others. They all head to the despot’s Throneship, where they steal an important disk despite Rinzler trying to stop them. They head over to the portal, where they encounter CLU. The program summons a Dream Eater called Commantis, which Riku defeats. Geez, where do these villains get those creatures?

Some of the battles are so fast that the characters are
damn near blurs on the screen! Makes screenshotting tough.

From there, the plot beats follow the movie. The bridge to the portal separates itself, with Quorra, Sam and Riku on the side of the portal. Kevin gets stuck on the other end with CLU, staying behind, sacrificing himself. However, Kevin tricked his creation by having the wrong disc on him. Sam and Quorra escape to the “real world” (whatever that implies in Kingdom Hearts!) with the real disc, while Kevin absorbs CLU, restoring peace to the Grid. Riku seals the Keyhole.

Outside of the Exam, Mickey, Donald and Goofy receive a lesser from Maleficent’s crow. The evil fairy has kidnapped Minnie. The three head to Disney Castle to rescue her, while Yen Sid ponders on how the timing of this new crisis is too perfect. Too convenient.

Traverse Town – The Return

Enemies everywhere! Worry not, TWEWY Cast, Sora and
Riku are here, with the Keyblades that can defeat these things!

The wielders return to Traverse Town. They meet Joshua, who has news: The Players from TWEWY have found their proper teammates. They can take part in the games set by the Reapers. Sora is told that these games are series of missions that teammates complete together – and this system followed them into Traverse Town. To Riku, Joshua reveals that time flows differently in both versions of the Town, which could only be possible if they were being dreamed by different people.

Nothing like thunder to stop a stampede in its tracks!

Fighting this guy again, huh? Good thing Sora can fuse with
his two Dream Eaters to shoot a ray to wipe out entire
bars of health on bosses!

There are more pressing matters; the teams are encountering the Spellican, a Nightmare that travels freely between Towns and conjures enemies wherever it goes. After Sora defeats its first horde, it moves to Riku’s side. Joshua says that this creature must be cornered so that it won’t be able to flee. Whereas Sora meets again with Neku and Shiki, Riku teams up with Beat and Rhyme, and all work together (through Joshua’s double supervision) to trap the boss between worlds, in the third district. Riku chases the monsters there, but it escapes to the other Town… and encounters Sora on the other side. Instead of fighting, the Spellican summons three previous bosses, which Sora has to fight in sequence. The arena is small, so this fight is tough and annoying, and you have no respite between bosses.

The creature has fled to other worlds, but this victory allows both heroes to seal Keyholes and move on.

It's not a small thing to say that most Disney villains are
badly outmatched against the powered-up heroes and the
hooded villains running around this mix of worlds.

Outside, Mickey, Goofy and Donald confront Maleficent and Pete in Disney Castle. The fairy lets slip that she has heard from Xehanort about the many worlds that can be conquered… and that she would need data on all the existing worlds to do so. Data which can be found in the castle, and which she knows about, due to the time she and Pete spent within data worlds (during KH Re:coded). It's so weird hearing a fairy tale character talk in computing terms.

The heroes rescue Minnie and brace for a fight, but they are helped by the arrival of Lea. The villains choose to retreat. The Disney protagonists are surprised that an ex-Org XIII guy came to their help.

This opens the synopsis for KH Re:coded. An entry also opens about seven “Princesses of Heart", pure-hearted women whose hearts have been stolen in the past to access the mythical titular Kingdom Hearts and create a magical Keyblade. Two worlds are unlocked: Country of the Musketeers and Symphony of Sorcery.

Country of the Musketeers – Sora

This world is based on a 2004 direct-to-video film in which Mickey, Donald and Goofy are the Three Musketeers. Bit obscure compared to other Disney media that gets the spotlight here; my best guess is that it shows how Mickey’s bonds with Goofy and Donald developed. It, alongside Symphony of Sorcery, develops King Mickey’s backstory.

His Keyblade is so much bigger than their swords.

Sora’s arrival disrupts a training session gone wrong between the Three Musketeers (Mickey, Goofy and Donald) and a Dream Eater. Goofy and Donald ran away; Sora is the only one left with firepower to dispatch a wave of Nightmares. Afterwards, the wielder introduces himself to the trio. Mickey doesn’t remember Sora, but guesses that the boy is from another world; the mouse says that he often goes to other worlds, occupying new roles, to lend a hand with their problems. The Musketeers are called away for a mission, and Sora goes with them, becoming their D’Artagnan. A flashback shows Pete, the villain of this story, hiring the Disney heroes as Musketeers and giving them the mission of protecting Princess Minnie. The cat plans to usurp the throne, and intends to use the new Musketeers’ lack of experience to turn them into scapegoats.

Come here so I can slice you proper with my big key!

For being the average baddies of the Disney Universe, these
Beagle Boys sure can take a couple of hits!

We start strong, with Sora defending Minnie’s carriage against a tyrannosaurus-shaped Nightmare. Unfortunately for him, the Beagle Boys climbed aboard while the hero was distracted, and they kick him off the carriage, kidnapping the princess as a result. Sora returns to the Musketeers, and the team tracks down the carriage. They reach a mill and climb to the top floor, where they battle the no-gooders and rescue Minnie.

Back at the castle, Goofy and Donald are in a panic upon finding out that Pete had hired them under false pretenses. They flee, right as Pete shows up. Mickey tries to arrest the big guy, but Pete knocks both him and Sora out. When the human gets up, Mickey is gone, but Donald and Goofy are back. They want to be true heroes and rescue Mickey, who has been taken to Mont-Saint-Michel to be imprisoned. (KH’s attempt at hiding that this story is set in France goes out the window!)

That's okay, that crate is going to disappear thanks to Riku!
Which, by the way raises a TON of questions once we
find out where, exactly, Riku IS at the moment. It is unclear
how exactly those two different realities end up interating.

Taking Pete down in these games is always satisfying.

Sora rushes through the bay and into the prison, rescuing Mickey just in time with the help of Donald and Goofy. Mickey delivers a hopeful speech about how, no matter how short he is, when his friends are helping him, he is a true Musketeer. Sora follows the others into the castle for the final confrontation. Pete activates a trap that would have dropped a giant crate on the Musketeers and Minnie’s heads, but the crate disappears as it falls. Sora guesses that this was done by Riku. The Musketeers head off to keep Minnie safe, while Sora and his Dream Eaters deal with the Beagle Boys (again), and then Pete himself, in a challenging multi-part battle.

After this, the Disney heroes are reinstated as Musketeers by Princess Minnie, and Sora takes part in the “All for one, and one for all” pose before sealing the Sleeping Keyhole.

Country of the Musketeers – Riku

How about I Drop the weight of my Keyblade on those
darn laser tentacles???

All the world's a stage, we are merely Dream Eaters.

For once, we will open this section with the Drop segment. Riku fights a boss on his way to the Country of the Musketeers, and I hated that battle. It’s hard to judge when the attacks get to Riku due to the perspective forced by the Drop, so you often struggle to figure out when to press Y to protect him from the attacks.

Riku lands by the castle, where he sees Pete being sneaky. He enters and gets to a theater stage where Beagle Boys are testing a trap, during which Pete will drop a heavy crate on Donald, Goofy and Mickey. Backstage, he frees Princess Minnie from a treasure chest she had been locked into by Pete and his mooks. Riku chases after the villains.

The Reality Shift in this world has a very Comic Book-esque
feel to it. Just swipe in the requested direction! The panels
are fun to watch, too. Seeing Beagle Boys get flung out
during Sora's boss battle is fun, too.

It took me forever to find my way out of the underground,
because I kept forgetting where I was supposed to go!
Didn't help that it involved a puzzle I had missed the
cutscene for, so I didn't even know it was there.

There is another thing that bugs me with this game: So, we’re following two concurrent sides of the same story, effectively two “incomplete” stories per se, each side of which is relevant to the current hero being played. That’s fine. However, it can become confusing after you switch characters. More than once, in several worlds, I Passed from one to the other, and then realized… Maybe I did remember what I had to do, but I didn’t always remember where I was headed! Where was I going again? The result was wasting precious seconds or minutes in a loop trying to figure out the path Sora or Riku was supposed to take. Often taking the wrong paths, and fighting the enemies that appear on those paths. The issue was worsened by the fact that I didn’t play KH3D every day, so I’d often forget between sessions.

Quick! To the nearest save point before we Drop over to
Sora! (Having stationary save points is absolutely a choice
on Square-Enix's part. I am not a fan. We're way past that
in this era of gaming!)

I couldn’t play all the time, either; I’m playing this game on its original console, and the Nintendo 3DS often needed to be recharged! This created a different issue where, whenever the battery was running low, I would dash to the closest save point. Can’t save just anywhere here, nooo! You can only save at save points, found in specific areas. Eventually I figured out a system where one hero would stick by a save point, especially if they had finished their side of the current world, so that I could do the other at my leisure and not worry about losing progress due to the potential risk of the 3DS running out of battery!

Another annoying aspect that comes with the Pass mechanic is that, if your character falls into slumber while in a battle (which will happen occasionally), you’ll start the battle over when you return to that character. Yes, even if it’s a boss.

In the playthrough I use, this boss was always on the ground.
Me? Half the time, it was on the walls instead. Ugh.

Riku ends up hunting down the Beagle Boys across the backstage area, defeating them separately. After which he fights a giant Nightmare in the storage room. This boss is tough because it teleports around and frequently appears in places you can only reach with Flowmotion. With this boss defeated, Riku makes sure that the trap machine cannot be activated, and makes another quick friendship spiel after finding out about the Musketeers’ catchphrase and how it fits him. All for one, and one for all. One more keyhole sealed.

This franchise sure loves hearts and friendship, huh?

Back in Yen Sid’s office, the Disney heroes have a chat with Lea. The Mark of Mastery exam is not usually set up like what Sora and Riku are doing; but to have a tactical advantage over Xehanort, they needed to seal the Sleeping Keyholes, as doing so paves the way towards the seven Pure Lights of the prophecy. However, it seems that Xehanort has even planned for that, and is meddling with the exam itself; the Disney heroes have no clue where, exactly, Sora or Riku are now…

Okay, that’s enough for today. Let’s see if I can squeeze everything else into the next two parts.