As promised, Square Enix has released a new trailer for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC, Re Mind. In just over 100 seconds, they’ve given plenty of action, story and new gameplay to simmer on. We still don’t have a precise date, though, just that it’s coming “This Winter.”
It’s common for the Kingdom Hearts series to add a slew of new information during its re-releases/remasters. However, with a DLC, it looks like we’re getting not just “in-between” details, but dialogue and information that will change the game (and series) as we know it. And more importantly for its many, many try-hard fans, we’re seeing hints at some nifty battles — and new playable characters.
But there’s a ton packed in, even and especially for dedicated fans. What does it all mean?
WARNING: Extremely heavy spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 3 and its Re Mind DLC ahead.
The trailer is shameless about showing scenes of incredible battles we might be able to try. We’ve seen some of these already, especially from the Keyblade Graveyard. But this time, they’re absent of our protagonist Sora’s presence. We see Aqua using a special move combined with Ventus, plus Axel, Roxas and Xion teaming up on Saix.
And as with any Kingdom Hearts expansion, there appear to be new bosses. We’re given a glimpse of two major battles, both utilizing Sora. One is against Vanitas, in which the Ventus-adjacent-and-thus-Sora-adjacent character uses a flurry of Keyblades and illusions to attack. We also see a new quicktime event against Xigbar.
But if you look closely, these battles hav a new tidbit: “Dark Form” for Sora. It’s not Rage Form, the Shadow-like form that Sora turns into. Instead, we see Sora in a darker-shaded outfit, with “Dark Burst” and the other usual commands. Curiously, Dark Form doesn’t use the Drive Gauge, so perhaps this is a mode exclusive to these battles? EDIT: It’s actually the return and evolved Form of Oblivion, a “dark” Keyblade, which was previously only usable by Riku and Roxas in prior iterations of Kingdom Hearts. For Xemnas’s battle, we also see a new uniform and no commands.
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Long-time fans may be eager to see one more familiar “face:” that of Lingering Will, against what appears to be Xehanort in Terra’s body. But we’re not quite sure what it means: Are we playing as them? Is this going on in the distance? But as with any good story cliffhanger, it’s what we’re left with as the screen fades to the logo.
Speaking of story, the trailer already starts with some heavy hits on the lore. We hear the voice of Chirithy explaining that Sora’s, or somebody’s, heart had gone into the past during “that time.” It’s heavily implied that this references the KH3 Keyblade Graveyard scene in which Sora travels into the Final World, which is pretty much Kingdom Hearts universe’s version of purgatory) to save his friends. But it could also mean other things, as the concept of a “heart” in this series is… vague.
And references to the Final World don’t end there. Sora’s seen asking Chirithy about Kairi’s heart, to which Chirithy replies that “the situation is a lot worse.” It’s essentially implying that this is what Sora sets off to do after the conclusion of the primary plot.
Finally, when talking to Naminé (WHO FINALLY GETS VOICE LINES), Sora references the “world of ocean and sky.” That can mean either the Final World or Destiny Islands. And it could be the latter, given Destiny Islands is a recurring theme and location for important events in the game.
Finally, we see a hooded figure — most likely Luxu, whose identity we know anyway but whatever — telling Young Ansem (which is just Xemnas in Terra’s body; you know, normal things in KH) that he can make a change, and something about a “false light” not being reliable. So we’re definitely going to get some baddie lore.
There’s a lot to chew on in this trailer, but we’re light on the actual release details. They simply said “This Winter,” and we don’t have a price point for the DLC. But hopefully, there’s more than enough to look forward to when this eventually does happen.
