New Kingdom Hearts III Trailer Released, In English!

A sight for Sora eyes.

Kingdom Hearts III has been in development for a long time. So long that in the stretch since it was first announced, certain writers have grown to find the whole concept a bit, well, naff (and not just because they can no longer attempt to fashion their dramatically-diminishing hair in the floppy style of its protagonist).

Even those still retaining a passion for Sora and co. have grown worried - a game being in the works for this long rarely augurs well. Should it turn out not to be a shambles, a decade's worth of growing anticipation make expectations hopelessly impossible to match. Does this remind anyone of another relatively recent Square Enix title?

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The fact is, for the longest while, we've simply had no idea how KHIII is shaping up; sightings have been rarer than Glenn Miller on a foggy day. So, with some reassurance comes this brand new official trailer, first released in Japanese by Square during a Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour concert in LA, and today translated into English. It's promising, to say the least.

Ten years might have rendered Kingdom Heart's core gameplay stale, but it doesn't look that way from the vid. Fast-paced, stylish, and full of the sort of cinematic set-pieces one has come to expect from the franchise, the KHIII teaser is certain to excite any long-term KH fans worried about the 'third' game, and perhaps reinvigorate old ones put off by the stream of side-game effluence.

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We saw familiar friends in Hercules and usual sidekicks Goofy and Donald, old enemies in Pete, Maleficent, and Hades, as well as a tantalising glimpse of levels besides Olympus and one very angry golem. Plus that soundtrack! Oof - it's Yoko Shimomura at her best.

Most interestingly, a slate at the end of the trailer promised more news come on 15 July at Disney's own D23 Expo. This, combined with it being released outside the flashing lights of E3, means we probably won't see any more of Kingdom Hearts III at this year's mega-show. It seems the company feel this game is far too important to be lost amid the shuffle in LA - yet it could be set to eclipse anything which emerges from the show.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.