Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Part 2)

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

Three new worlds to explore! We’d better pick wisely.

I’ll be covering each world all at once, because it’s simpler – but with the option of three different worlds to explore, you can indeed have each character explore a different world, and not see both sides of the plot in one world in one go. As an example, you could have Sora visit The Grid while Riku is on Prankster’s Island. But first…

La Cité des Cloches – Sora

Quasi, this elephant isn't friendly!

I can’t wait to see how Kingdom Hearts is gonna dance around anything tangentially related to Christianity in this world inspired by The Hunchback of Notre-Dame! I have a hunch they’ll play safe and not have Frollo be anywhere as creepy. That moment in the film of him sniffing Esmeralda’s hair makes my skin crawl. As it should!

I didn't know the Feast of Fools involved rhinos!

Sora meets Judge Claude Frollo, who immediately believes the boy to be a “g---y” due to his odd clothing for the area. I know this word has become a slur in recent times, hence the censoring – I’m hinting to it this one time because the word is important to the story of Hunchback, but I’ll avoid it from this point on. Before Frollo can attempt to inflict justice, he is informed by Phoebus that monsters have invaded the square. Sora rushes there to find Quasimodo on the back of a Nightmare elephant, celebrating as if he had been crowned King of the Feast of Fools. Here? Without a crowd? Huh. Esmeralda comes to help Quasi and they flee into the cathedral while Sora deals with the monsters.

Oh, there’s something about Frollo being consumed by his own rage and racism, and getting covered by an aura of darkness, too.

Geez, they've even infiltrated the cathedral!

Friends stick together! Even if they've only been friends
for, like, twenty minutes.

After defeating the monsters, Sora enters the cathedral and goes up to the belltower, where he finds Quasi showing the place to Esmeralda, before he carries her outside. Sora then interacts with the gargoyles… I prefer the theory that only Quasi can see them move and speak. Sora follows Quasi and Esmeralda and arrives in the square. He meets Phoebus, demoted from the royal guard by Frollo for refusing to go scorched earth on the Romanis. Esmeralda has vanished, but Quasi finds her collar with the map showing the entrance to the Court of Miracles. The three team up to find said entrance.

KH worlds really are the Disney movies abridged, huh. Speeding through plot points with the Keyblade wielders feeling like misplaced self-inserts.

So Frollo thought Sora looked like a Bohemian and was an
enemy, but the giant goddamn bat demon was A-OK?

They find the Court, but their celebration is cut short by the arrival of Frollo, who followed their trail. Sora is unable to do anything but let events play their course. After which, he hurries back to the cathedral to see Paris on fire and Quasi rescuing Esmeralda from the pyre. He tries to follow Frollo inside, but a bat-like Nightmare boss known as a Wargoyle falls from the roof and engages battle with the wielder. It’s tricky, but not too difficult, especially with the fusions.

The remainder plays out like the film; on the rooftop, Frollo attempts to slay Quasi and Esmeralda, but falls screaming down to the fire below alongside the gargoyle he was standing on. Now that’s an ending I like. Quasi approves of Phoebus and Esmeralda’s love, then in his final talk with Sora, says that he is finally feeling like his heart has been freed and he can see the world.

La Cité des Cloches – Riku

The Wargoyle in the distance, normal enemies popping up
on the ground... meanwhile, we're Flowmotion-flying.

Upon Riku’s arrival in Paris, he sees Esmeralda fleeing. When Phoebus asks him whether he has seen a bohemian, to use the proper term, he says he hasn’t. Meeting Esmeralda again, Riku learns that any questions he has could be answered within Notre-Dame. When he goes in there, he meets Quasimodo, who mentions that Frollo, his master, is at the outskirts of town. Riku has a heart-to-heart with Quasi about finding friends who’ll accept you no matter what you look like, then runs off again. On the way to a farm, Riku is attacked by a giant bat monster, one considered by Frollo to be a “warrior of justice” that will get rid of the Romani. Even though that thing looks like a goddamned demon; apparently, that’s cool with the judge.

Riku treks all the way back to the cathedral’s court. He gets there to see the place on fire, and Quasi having just rescued Esmeralda from a pyre. After a short talk with them, the Keyblade wielder runs to the roof, getting encouragement from the gargoyles on the way.

Wished I could say we could just skip to fighting these
two, but I have a hunch that it wouldn't be too wise.

We can literally take to the air to fight this thing. Why?
Apparently the hot air from the burning Paris is enough
to keep Riku afloat. Do't ask, this IS a dream after all...

On the rooftop, Frollo looks on at the destruction he brought to Paris (KH steps around saying the names of real places, it’s silly). When Riku confronts him about his inner darkness, Frollo summons the Wargoyle. Its wingbeat causes the judge to fall off the roof, but without repentance or fear; only pride at his plan succeeding. I preferred his fear when he fell with a gargoyle. Two cloaked figures appear from a portal near Riku: One is Ansem/Terra-Xehanort, the other is the Mysterious Figure. Terra-Xehanort says that, whereas Riku has found light, he has accepted the darkness. The MF cryptically adds that Sora is never far. They leave, and Riku battles the Wargoyle. I wasn’t a fan of that fight.

When defeated, the boss falls to the court beneath (where Sora battles it). This resolves the plot, and Riku reunites with Quasi, seeing that the hunchback has found friends and broken the “walls around his heart” imposed by his master. The Sleeping Keyhole reveals itself on the cathedral, and Riku seals it.

Well, we're all set - just gotta beat a big monster and we
will find the Sleeping Keyhole right away.

Homework

If you feel like I’m going fast, well, we’re already halfway into this part with just one world. I am planning to cover two worlds per part. Going back to my statement: If you haven’t dutifully followed every single darn game in the series, you’ll struggle to understand this one. You need to do your homework.

The recap of the first Kingdom Hearts should have come
up right after the Destiny Islands tutorial.

KH3D: Dream Drop Distance keeps a Chronicles section that recaps previous games, in case you missed them; but these recaps are about on the level of Wikipedia, telling only the necessary details. Which would be fine, if this franchise wasn’t juggling eleventy-zillion plot threads and characters, many of which are copies of each other! You have a massive barrage of information coming to you all at once. If you have played those games then it’s a handy reminder, but for someone who is jumping into the deep end of that pool, as I am, these form waves of names and events that end up being more confusing than helpful. I had to rely on trusty old TVTropes to understand what I was presented with – and only some of it, too.

That guy on the right? You don't have to worry about him.
Not for DDD, anyway.

Before he can seal the Sleeping Keyhole in Notre-Dame, Sora encounters the MF again, who mentions that the wielder’s heart is a prison; but not one for himself. Sora gets a vision of a black-haired version of himself corrupted by darkness, appearing like a vision next to the villain. After the MF leaves, Sora seals the keyhole, and we get: *drum roll* Homework! Specifically, a recap of the events of KH: Birth By Sleep, which followed the story of Terra, Aqua and Ventus, the Wayfinder Trio training to be Keyblade Masters, and who were active ten years prior to the main events of the series. The game shows how this Trio was unknowingly manipulated by Xehanort. Most importantly, it drops hints about a villain named Vanitas, which is tied not only to Ventus, but to Sora as well, explaining the uncanny physical similarity.

At this point, I think they should just make a novel series.
Maybe a couple hundred pages will work better to actually
tell the whole thing.

Axel just woke up, and realized he wasn't just a Nobody
anymore. Yet another scene packing names and places and
major events, which you won't get unless you played the
games or do extensive research.

We’re not done! After that, we have a scene showing Axel, of Organization XIII. He has a memory of chilling with friends in Twilight Town until they disappear. This scene adds another recap, this time for KH 358/2 Days (prononced 358 Over 2). Unless you have played the game, good luck making sense of its title. That game focuses primarily on the friendly relationship Axel has with Roxas and Xion, two members of the Organization. The latter two would have tragic fates, with Xion (a Replica/clone of Kairi, Sora’s friend, but with Sora’s Keyblade expertise) disappearing after being defeated, remaining as a memory in Sora’s heart, forgotten by everyone else. That’s… the Cliffs’ Notes to the Cliffs’ Notes, alright?

This took forever to explain! And I want to cover one more world today!

Prankster’s Paradise – Sora

This is not the Jimini you know, Sora! Or at least, he
won't know you.

We’re skipping a big chunk of Pinocchio’s story to jump directly into the most nightmarish part of that movie. Sora lands in the island’s amusement park, which looks whimseical. He finds Jiminy Cricket, who is looking for Pinocchio. The characters in the sleeping worlds are dream versions; so although they may have met the KH characters in the waking world, they don't remember them within the dream. The insect’s only memory of Sora is hearing that name spoken by Pinocchio; the puppet had been asked by a hooded figure to pull a prank on the Keyblade wielder. Sora and Jiminy go look for the wooden boy.

That's a Keyblade grand slam right there!

They find him in a funhouse with trampolines, already sporting donkey ears. Jimini rushes him out while Sora deals with an onslaught of enemies. Immediately after that fight, as he is about to leave, our character encounters Xemnas and the MF. The ensuing talk deals a lot with Nobodies (What is created when one’s heart is lost) and Heartless (incarnations of darkness born from the hearts of sentient beings). Good thing there’s a glossary in this game! The two enemies leave after stating that Sora isn’t that different from them…

If you wonder why Sora can be underwater without any
issue, remember; we are visiting dream worlds. The
seafloor is a fun place to explore, too.

If this thing is a "lobster" (big air quotes), then it probably
isn't a fan of fire. Or thunder. ...Right?

Sora exits the funhouse and meets the Blue Fairy, who tells him about Geppetto’s fate, swallowed by Monstro. She relayed the message to Pinocchio and Jiminy, who ran off to rescue the puppet’s father figure. Sora follows suit, visiting an underwater area and finding Monstro the whale… Right as it is being attacked by a monster lobster, the Chill Clawbster, which freezes it in place. We battle that boss on the mass of ice it created around Monstro. That thing was a pain in the ass to fight. Good thing the fight gets interrupted 2/3rds in by Sora freeing Monstro and using the whale as a Reality Shift ally to finish the boss in one powerful blow.

Not quite the battle of giants I was expecting, but I'll take it!
We can barely make out Sora atop the large bubble!

The Reality Shift is different in every world, but it always involves the touch screen in some way. In the Hunchback world, you made links between points of interest, allowing fast travel and granting the ability to attack enemies for high damage. In the Pinocchio world, the Shift catches an enemy in a bubble, which the wielder then rolls on, catching more enemies until they pop the bubble for damage. This is how Sora “catches” Monstro and uses it to defeat the Clawbster.

With Monstro freed, it… swiftly eats Sora and the nightmare, but sneezes Sora out. On a shore, the protagonist remembers that Pinocchio’s world fell to darkness after the boy and his family were swallowed, so this is also where the dream is bound to end; this world cannot return until it is awakened. The Keyhole reveals itself and is sealed.

Prankster’s Paradise – Riku

Step 1: Find Pinocchio. Step 2: Make a raft. Step 3: Find a
lighter. ...Oh wait, no, that's in a different game.

The silver-haired hero arrives directly inside Monstro, with Geppetto and Jiminy living in the mouth. The poor man is alone; his wooden child has run off who knows where… but Jiminy’s mention of someone wearing a black coat puts Riku on high alert. The teen goes to look for Pinocchio, with the cricket coming along. They find the marionette child and a cloaked figure, which reveals itself to be another Riku. Before the true Riku can attempt anything, the cloaked one disappears into a portal.

So, uh, is this guy a clone, a Replica, a Heartless creation,
some time-displaced version of Riku, or something? Maybe
a weird mix of those answers, we don't find out till KH III.

Goodie, more recaps – this one for Chain of Memories. It explains the concept of a Heartless, a person that still has their body and soul, but lost their heart. (Sensing a theme through this franchise…). More names are given, like Naminé, Marluxia, Lexaeus, DiZ, and – ugh, it’s like watching an anime but unknowingly starting at its penultimate season. In Chain, Riku was forced to call for his inner darkness while fighting Ansem. Organization XIII can create replicas and used this darkness to create one of Riku, which he later fought and defeated with help from King Mickey. This episode of his life has a bad habit of pursuing Riku, and he has been struggling with his inner darkness ever since.

Geez, Monstro is dealing with some nasty stomach bugs.

OK, so technically the two Clawbsters are not the same
creature. I think it would be funny if they were. Or had
some link. Why else would they have the same surname?

His talk with Pinocchio and Jiminy afterwards reminds Riku that he has an optimistic friend he can always count on: Sora. The wielder tells the puppet and cricket to head back to Geppetto; he’ll deal with the threats. This visit across the toylike rooms in Monstro’s belly lead him to fight the Char Clawbster, a fire version of the boss Sora battled. This boss fights dirty, but felt a lot easier here than on Sora’s side. After that thing is defeated, Riku returns to Monstro’s mouth, where he sees the old man reunite with his wooden son. The sleeping keyhole is revealed, and promptly sealed.

Finishing a chapter grants a Keyblade with better stats and/or a new effect. The current character also gains a boost to their HP, and sometimes, a new slot for their commands, allowing for more variety in battle strategy and options. That’s nothing new to the KH franchise. But the only other game I played worked a little differently (since we were playing a Data-version of a character, his upgrades used a system with data blocks), so it is fun to properly discover it this time… even if the end result isn’t that different.

   Not gonna lie; when I played through the game, a lot of
cutscenes made no sense to me. I was missing too much
information. Now, having seen the rest of the game, and after
lots and lots of research, I still don't understand everything,
buuuut rewatching these scenes now for the sake of these
articles has made them a lot clearer.

We also get a scene in Ansem’s labs of a fully recomposed Lea (formerly known as Axel, of Organization XIII) discussing with someone named Aeleus about the physics of Heartless…er…ness. How someone fully reformed will reappear where they first became a Heartless, unless that world is unavailable, in which case they land in Traverse Town. Lea goes to look for two other ex-Heartless, Braig and Isa, and reads about something called the Door to Darkness for clues. Honestly, I couldn’t tie most of that with everything else that happenss afterwards in 3D, aside from Lea's quest to save his friend Isa, which leads him to join the good guys.

My head hurts. Let’s resume in Part 3, alright?