Kingdom Hearts III is a action role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix. It is the twelfth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, the long-running video game collaboration between Square Enix and Disney which mixes the worlds and characters of Disney’s various classic movies with elements of the Final Fantasy franchise. Most noteably, this installment is the first to feature worlds and characters from Pixar properties as well as those from Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The game was first announced, after years of anticipation, at E3 2013, eight years after the release the previous numbered installment, Kingdom Hearts II, and the news that Pixar characters would be joining the series for the first time was announced at the D24 Expo in June 2017, with the reveal of a Toy Story-based world. A Monsters Inc. world appeared as well.
Gameplay[]
Story[]
The Toy Box is the first world that Sora, Donald, and Goofy visit. Prior to their arrival, Rex and Hamm are watching a commercial of Verum Rex when Woody turns it off afterward, Heartless suddenly appear in Andy's room and the toys prepare to attack. At the same time, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in their new forms as toys and they take care of the Heartless. The toys then meet the trio and Rex confuses Sora for Yozora from Verum Rex and talks about playing his game. After everyone introduces themselves, Woody explains that it wasn't always so lonely there. The house used to be inhabited by more toys, and their owners Andy, Molly, and their Mom, but they haven't come home for a while. They all disappeared around the time the Heartless came and Buzz's laser "started actually laser-ing". Sora, Donald, and Goofy decide to investigate the case and Buzz tells them that a man in a black coat also came with the Heartless. The trio decides to team up with Buzz and Woody to locate the missing toys and a pointer from Sarge leads the gang to a mall called Galaxy Toys. Before setting off, Buzz grows skeptical and suggests waiting for Andy, but Woody assures him that they tried waiting and that Sora, Donald, and Goofy might be of help. Upon the arrival to Galaxy Toys, the gang is enthralled by the vast array of toys inside the mall, including toy robots called Gigas. While questioning why the displayed Gigas doesn't move like Woody and Buzz, Sora and the gang are then confronted by Young Xehanort. Young Xehanort then summons a few Heartless to take control of the Gigas. Young Xehanort then leaves the possessed Gigas to Sora and the gang while saying that the world of Toy Box was split into two (they are in an alternate version of the Toy Box created by the Organization XIII), leaving Woody and Buzz puzzled. After quickly retreating from the possessed Gigas's attack, Donald and Goofy informs Sora a possibility of controlling a nearby Gigas to combat them and the Heartless. After battling the possessed Gigas, Woody questions about the world "being split into two" as Buzz begins to suspect Sora, Donald, and Goofy. While having an argument within the team, one of the Green Army Men informs that Rex, Hamm, and Little Green Men have gone missing. Sora and the gang begin their exploration in Galaxy Toys in search of the missing toys. Throughout their journey in Galaxy Toys, Sora and the gang saves Rex from the Supreme Smashers, free a Green Army Man stuck in a Musical Toad, and rescues Hamm from a possessed doll called the Angelic Amber. Upon looking at the lifeless doll, Buzz becomes worrisome and begins to question whether he or any other toy can become possessed and violent. However Sora and Woody reassure him that as long as he doesn't lose his heart, he won't succumb to darkness. Suddenly, a UFO flies across the third floor and abducts the Little Green Men, but Sora is able to destroy it and save the aliens. With the group rescued, Buzz decides to go back to Andy's Room but then notices that Rex is still missing from the group. Sora and the gang find Rex in the game store looking at Verum Rex to prove Sora is a hero. As they are about to leave, Young Xehanort appears and has a Heartless possess Buzz to experiment with the toy's hearts. Young Xehanort then transports Sora into the Verum Rex video game to prevent him from interfering, but he's able to escape and return to Galaxy Toys. The gang learns that Buzz was taken to a dark corridor in the Kid Korral and so the gang head to the dark corridor to rescue Buzz. Young Xehanort reveals that the darkness from Buzz was born when he was separated from Andy, which causes Woody to worry. However, Sora reminds them that their hearts will always be connected to Andy, despite the distance. Sora and Woody, now reinvigorated, dispel the darkness of isolation surrounding Buzz through the light of their friendship, with Woody freeing Buzz. After seeing that empty vessels can truly grow hearts, he takes his leave, but not before leaving behind the King of Toys Heartless as a "parting gift." After the King of Toys is defeated, Sora and the gang prepare to leave to Andy's Room. Sora however, feels remorseful over not having been able to return them home. While they understand the situation, they still remain hopeful of returning to their reality and seeing Andy again and do not regret the chance to meet Sora and his friends, with Buzz now opening up to them. As Sora, Donald, and Goofy take their leave, Woody says that they have become a part of their hearts and asks to be apart of theirs. Buzz wishes them safe journey, ushering his famous catchphrase "To Infinity and Beyond".
The second world that Sora, Donald, and Goofy visit is Monstropolis. They arrive outside Monsters Inc. appearing in the form of monsters, but are freaked out by each other's monster forms. Sora is confused by the building reading the sentence "We Scare Because We Care". The trio walk into the building where they see Mike, Sulley, and Boo and Sora thinks that they're scaring her, but change their mind after seeing her happy. Boo, Mike, and Sulley introduce themselves with Boo mistaking Donald for Mike Wazowski. Introductions are cut short when the Unversed appear. Sulley and Mike get Boo to safety and decide to help the trio fend off the monsters. Deciding to send Boo back to her world, Mike and Sulley lead the trio to the Laugh Floor. However, they find Unversed using the doors to scare children for scream energy. Boo's door is sent back to the Door Vault in the process, forcing the heroes to defeat the Unversed and head into the vault. Using stray doors to move around the vault, Sora, Donald, and Goofy find the Heartless have also appeared along with the Unversed. Eventually, they track down what they think is Boo's door, but end up inside the Factory's basement, where they meet Randall, Mike and Sulley's former coworker who was banished for collecting screams by force. Randall gloats about his impending success and return, then leaves as he shrugs off Sora's defiance. Sora and company fight their way through the factory, fending off Randall's traps and minions along the way. Towards the exit, Randall attempts to sic a machine on to them, but fails. When they escape, they find the Unversed have set the surrounding buildings on fire and assist the CDA in extinguishing them. Eventually, they arrive at the Service Area, where Randall unleashes the machine, now animated into the Lump of Horror Unversed. The heroes defeat the Unversed before Sulley sends Randall back into the human world through the door whence he came and Sora locks it to ensure that Randall can never return. Before Sora and company can return Boo to her door, the door is sent all the way back to the Laugh Floor. The group encounters Vanitas, who explains that he had come to Monstropolis to reconstruct his heart and had manipulated Randall; he was responsible for fixing Randall's door. He also reveals to Sora the existence of Ventus, who is still inside Sora's heart, and prepares to extract Ventus's heart to complete his own. Donald and Goofy try to defend Sora, but are forced away. Sulley surprises and stops Vanitas at the last second and throws him through several doors called down by Mike before shredding the last one. Sora, Donald, and Goofy then take their leave, bidding farewell to Mike and Sulley.
During the game's ending, in the Toy Box, Woody, Buzz, and the other toys notice the door in Andy's Room beginning to open. This causes the toys to set in place as Woody winks at Buzz, presumably to be rejoined with Andy and also implying that they are back in their respective world. In Monstropolis, Mike and Sulley return Boo to her door.
Pixar Characters[]
Toy Box[]
- Woody
- Buzz Lightyear
- Hamm
- Rex
- Aliens
- Green Army Men
- Slinky Dog (mentioned)
- Andy Davis (mentioned)
- Molly Davis (mentioned)
- Ms. Davis (mentioned)
- Emperor Zurg (mentioned)
- Battlesaurs (cameo)
Monstropolis[]
Twilight Town[]
Kingdom Hearts[]
- Sora
- Donald
- Goofy
- Young Xehanort
- Vanitas
- Heartless
- Unversed
Gallery[]
Renders[]
Twilight Town[]
Toy Box[]
Monstropolis[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Woody and Buzz were originally planned to be added as summon characters in the Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts II. While the idea was scrapped, their character models can still be found in the game’s coding, albeit without textures.
- A113 is featured in Ms. Davis' minivan, on a road street sign a above a shutter door.
- The ball from Luxo Jr. is featured in Andy's room in the game.
- Remy is the only Pixar character whose world has not appeared in the game.
- The storylines of Pixar-based worlds are written to be canonical to the continuities of the original movies.[1]
- The reason for Randall's banishment is because he tried to collect screams by force, but for some reason, Mr. Waternoose wasn't mentioned despite that fact that he was helping Randall in the film.
- Boo's door is shown to be fully restored, as it did not had any of the visible cracks that were shown at the end of the film.
- In the game, the doors that Sulley and Mike used to banish Vanitas lead to the other worlds that Sora and friends will visit or have already visited in the Kingdom Hearts universe.
- The Pizza Planet truck makes a cameo appearance in the Toy Box world.
- Many of the toys in the Toy Box world aren't alive. This mostly because the characters are trapped within an alternate version of the world.
- The Toy Box's plot takes place between the second and third films and Monstropolis's plot takes place after the film itself.