Dream Drop Distance Hints at Kingdom Hearts Future

The soon-to-be-launched Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is a clear sign of the future of the entire franchise, according to the development team working on it.

Tai Yasue, the co-director working on Dream Drop Distance, told IGN that, “We’re still thinking about it. I think 3D is really a hint to the future in a way. We developed it as if it were a console game.”

“We made it for the handheld, but for us it was meant to feel like a console game in a way. I think it really took the Kingdom Hearts series to the next level, it feels like Kingdom Hearts II and Birth By Sleep on steroids,” he also mentioned.

Yasue sees Dream Drop Distance (or 3D for short) as being the future of the series but refused to talk about what other elements in the upcoming game would be made a part of the next core game in the franchise.

The developer added some information on the story, saying, “When Nomura came up with the original design document, I think he wanted to have the story revolve around Riku a bit, and the Mark of Mastery. I think he really wanted to connect the story, working on 3D, to the next Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2. So I think there was a lot of secrets revealed in the story of 3D.”

The first Kingdom Hearts title was launched in Japan in 2006 and since then Square Enix has introduced mobile titles based on it and remakes.

A Kingdom Hearts 3 is widely believed to also be in development, pushing forward the overall story of the Disney inspired universe.

Dream Drop Distance is already out on the Japanese market and it will also be offered on the Nintendo 3DS on July 20 in Europe and on July 31 in North America.