While some players won’t tune into the Kingdom Hearts series again until the title includes a “III,” others keep up with the new installments no matter what. Dream Drop Distance is one of those titles that reaffirms your faith in Kingdom Hearts (like Birth by Sleep) rather feeling like an obligation (like Re:coded). If you’ve passed up other non-numbered entries, this game provides an extensive journal brimming with plot summaries and character info. It’s not easy to summarize a 10-year-old series as convoluted as Kingdom Hearts can sometimes be, but Dream Drop Distance does a great job.
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Fans who are tired of Kingdom Hearts side-stories should be glad to know that this is definitely the last game before Kingdom Hearts III. I’m not going to tell you why, but the fact is made very clear. If you want to know the setup for the next big entry, you have to play this game to find out what’s in store for the conclusion of the Xehanort arc. You could just watch some cutscenes online, but you’d be cheating yourself out of a lot of fun.
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/kingdom_hearts_3d_dream_drop_distance/b/3ds/archive/2012/07/17/kingdom-hearts-iii-is-coming-the-game.aspx
8.25 is a nice score, but stop calling the handheld games side-stories. Grrr.