TGS 2011: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Preview

Playing a Japanese role-playing game in a language you are unfamiliar with is a challenge, but for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, we were at least able to get a feel for the combat by fighting a variety of heartless in the streets of Traverse Town. The Tokyo Game Show demo let us choose to play as the moody Riku or the perpetually upbeat Sora. In our gameplay demo below, you can see Riku in action, but we also spent some time as Sora. The first thing we noticed was that combat was fast and flashy, much quicker than what we've seen in previous Kingdom Hearts games. Sora zipped through the air, propelling himself from one lamp post to another. While in the air, he can also do an area attack where he plummets to the ground and knocks back anyone that gets too close.

You'll notice in the gameplay demos below that Riku is accompanied by two bizarre-looking creatures. Sora was also followed by a couple of cute animals (one was a giant panda and we weren't sure what the other thing was), and we're not sure who they were or where they came from, but they proved to be helpful. What also helped speed things up was the fact that Sora can glide on rails, which makes moving from one end of town to the other much faster. But, have a look for yourself at the upcoming Kingdom Hearts for the Nintendo 3DS.