Drop Gauge returns in Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD HUD in Famitsu screenshots

Hasn't this been confirmed for a long time?? The gauge has been in the demos since E3 even if it wasn't active. They talked about altering its length for consoles versus a handheld, and in some article the other day (which I'm pretty sure was quoted in this site..) it said it was set to around 20 minutes.

Edit: an article posted here on November 23rd quoted famitsu weekly talking about the drop guage and how it functions, and states that it is set to 20 minutes

Edited December 5, 20168 yr by Nathan Hatton

It was in the Premium Showcase video they had of 2.8 at E3, it's not a surprise that it's in the game, it's just odd that it wasn't in some of the screenshots or videos after E3 so I wouldn't call it a return it was always going to be in the game it's a part of the game, hell it's in the name of the game: Kingdom Hearts Dream DROP Distance

Edited December 5, 20168 yr by TheKingdomkid

pre=order canceled

tbh i never had a huge issue with it in the original game so i'm not upset over this. 

The drop gauges taking longer to deplete? Now that's an improvement.

I'm a fan of this system solely for the fact it's distinguishes itself from Chain of Memories and Birth by Sleep with regards to multiple playable characters.

Didn't we know this? Even with it disappearing for a few demos. It's literally half the game.

Totally been 4ever since I've posted on the site. Not surprised by the drop gauge. Didn't they already say it was going to be in the game but they fixed it so you wouldn't drop in the middle of a boss?

I mean... that was a pretty damn key feature. This shouldn't have been news, but I guess the drop gauge not being in screenshots make it pretty misleading.

I think it's good the news team reaffirmed this due to the ambiguity and debate of whether the drop gauge was returning or not over the past year. Some videos and screenshots showed it whilst others didn't. It was a good idea to put out an article to officially lock this in place and confirm to more casual fans that yes, it is definitely in the game. 

To be honest, I never thought they removed this mechanic. The lack of it in gameplay footage for awhile could be because it was disabled when shooting the footage to be used. Or it could be there was a bug while programming it in HD that needed ironing out.

Who knows, but there was never a chance that the drop gauge was removed from the game. 

Since Kingdom Heart HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue's initial announcement at Sony's SCEJA TGS 2015 Press Conference the HUD for Dream Drop Distance HD has brought up quite a few questions. In the earliest trailers for the game, the HUD was entirely missing from the screen, as seen in the announcement trailer.

 

Later on in development, trailers began to display a HUD for Sora, Riku, and their Dream Eaters. However, the Drop gauge was noticeably missing from various trailers, as seen in this screenshot from the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer shown at Tokyo Game Show 2016.

 

The Drop system is a mechanic that was introduced in the original Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS. As the game features both Sora and Riku taking their Mark of Mastery exams within the Dream Realm, the Drop system is a way for players to switch between both characters. Players can drop from Sora to Riku and vice versa willingly, however, players will also forcibly be dropped into the other character's story once the Drop gauge runs out. There are also items available in the game to extend the amount of time in the Drop gauge.

 

With the Drop gauge noticeably missing from the HUD, there had been some debate as to whether or not the Drop system would return. While the Drop system offered the chance to play as different characters more evenly without having to repeat certain storylines like Birth by Sleep, it often caused frustration with players due to the fact that Drops could happen in the middle of a boss battle and force you to start over from the beginning when you returned to that character.

 

However, in the most recent spread for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue in Famitsu Weekly, it seems that the Drop gauge has made its return to the HUD in Dream Drop Distance HD.

 

Kingdom Hearts series Co-Director Tai Yasue also

that Drop times will be altered for the PS4 version of Dream Drop Distance, making them longer.

 

How do you feel about the return of the Drop system? Let us know in the comments!

 

Click here to view the article

 

Thanks for posting this; it may have been known in the past that the duration is going to be extended, but I didn't know it was going to last longer in 2.8 HD and I'm sure others may not have known this as well.