Kingdom Hearts 3 follows Dream Drop Distance, Nomura discusses combat & tech

Kingdom Hearts 3 is a proper sequel that follows Nintendo 3DS romp Dream Drop Distance, and will conclude the 'Dark Seeker' saga, according to director Tetsuya Nomura.

Speaking with Famitsu, Nomura confirmed that the game will pick up right where Dream Drop Distance left off, and will follow the final battle against Xehanort. He added that right now, the team is still figuring out which Disney worlds to include in the plot.

On combat, Nomura said, "We have a demo version running on the actual hardware, but the action's pretty frantic. The really bold action we've always had is getting even crazier. Kingdom Hearts 3 has three-person parties, but NPCs and other characters join the fight in each individual world, and the resulting action is really flashy and exciting. The enemy AI is a lot more intricate, too, and I think the gameplay will reflect that new dynamic balance. For example, there's a foe that's shaped like a vehicle, and Sora may jump on it and fly around; that's already implemented."

Nomura also has his hands full on Final Fantasy 15, and he stressed that both that team and the Kingdom Hearts 3 team are well aware of each other's efforts, "The FF15 and KH3 teams are aware of each other. They're constantly honing their work at this point in development. Even though KH3 is still pretty early in development, it's already producing some great scenes in Square Enix's internal conferences. We're discussing new developments never seen in any KH before, so keep an eye on further updates."

Those "further updates" may come at this year's Tokyo Games Show, Nomura suggested, but stressed that it's too early to say for sure. The game will launch on PS4 and Xbox One.

Meanwhile, check out Nomura's discussion about why Final Fantasy 13 Versus shifted to Final Fantasy 15.

Thanks Polygon.