Thirteen years is a long time to wait. While that time has not gone without other games in the series, the Kingdom Hearts franchise has gone a long time without a numbered entry. For the sake of context, I had only recently jumped into the deep end that is the Kingdom Hearts franchise, only having...

Nearly 20 years of waiting. I’ve moved on, but Kingdom Hearts hasn’t. While a competent title. You can breeze through a lacking amount of worlds and story within 20–30 hours. There is some side content, there seems to be something lacking.

This is the purest vision of what Kingdom Hearts is all about: absolute joy.

Engaging combat; strong emotional payoffs; tons of side content; beautiful and varied worlds to explore

Too easy; a few worlds are a little repetitive; some awkward voice acting

But you'll be able to ignore the faults. The pacing issues, the varying quality of side-content, and the lack of any real difficulty spikes will all melt away when you get to moments like Elsa singing "Let it Go," or meeting Woody and Buzz for the first time. Or that boss battle.

The graphics consistently astound; even topping Pixar in places; The final act is all a Kingdom Hearts fan could ask for

Takes too long for the story to get going; Tags

For all the new in Kingdom Hearts 3, there is plenty of the old too. The action combat is more satisfying than it's ever been, even if it's a tad easy to skate through the main storyline. For longtime fans of the series, all those emotional payoffs that have been building for 17 years await.

A mature Sora sets out on a new adventure, as Kingdom Hearts III makes full use of next-generation console technologies to deliver more exhilarating, action-packed gameplay and various fun features.

Thirteen years ago, I finished Kingdom Hearts 2, put down my controller, and said: "Wow, I can't wait for Kingdom Hearts 3 !" My brother, who is seven years younger than me, asked: "When is that gonna come out

Exciting Over-the-Top Combat; Visually Stunning In 60fps; Genuinely Humorous Dialogue; Phenomenal Soundtrack; Strong Gameplay Diversity; Beautifully Animated

Too Many Tutorial Pop-Ups with Too Much Text; Some Poor Voice Acting; Some Miswritten Disney Characters; Needlessly Convoluted and Stupid Plot

Can Kingdom Hearts III live up to the lofty expectations of a deeply passionate fan base or does it struggle to provide a satisfying payoff to an adventure almost two decades in the making

Incredible Combat; A huge array of classic Disney characters; Gorgeous world design; A stunning score that ebbs and flows with the story to great effect; Beautiful graphics and effects throughout

May be a bit cutscene heavy for some; Repetition in dialogue and some of the bigger animations wear thin after a few hours; Voice acting and dialogue can feel a bit stilted and unnatural at times; Story can feel very convoluted and packed with jargon

It has been just two months shy of 17 years since the first Kingdom Hearts burst onto the scene and fans have been rabidly awaiting this latest instalment, which has been hinted at and glimpsed since way back in 2006.

In 2002, something weird and wonderful happened, developer Square Enix released Kingdom Hearts , a game that so...

Combat is a spectacle; It looks stunning; It's filled with Disney charm; Unique worlds to explore

Story is still very convoluted; Frame-rate drops; Can feel a bit easy on lower difficulties