Kingdom Hearts III
"Kingdom Hearts III" was released worldwide in January 2019. Upon release, the game was met with generally positive reviews from critics.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
With "Kingdom Hearts Re:coded", the staff revealed that "Dream Drop Distance" would revolve around Sora's and Riku's "Mark of Mastery" exam, but were worried about how to set it. The idea of Sora going through a dream was inspired by the subtitle of "Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep" and served as a basis for the game. Sora and Riku were chosen as the playable characters in anticipation for the franchise's ending of the "Xehanort arc" as well as to represent the theme of "the light and the dark sides of hearts" which the two characters represent. The former's inclusion was also done due to the character's popularity in Japan. Nomura has stated that the themes of the game are trust and friendship, and that like "Birth by Sleep", the story is on par with that of a numbered title. As a result of the game's plot, both Sora and Riku appear in their younger forms from the first "Kingdom Hearts" game. However, to avoid misconceptions that "Dream Drop Distance" was a remake of the original game, Nomura decided to change Sora's and Riku's outfits for most of the game. Despite using two protagonists, the game primarily focuses on Riku's growth across the series. When starting production, the staff had decided to make the story as complex as possible, leading to the inclusion of several cutscenes which can be viewed by the player anytime they want. In order to make it more accessible, scenario writer Masaru Oka was in charge of the Chronicles feature, which explains events from previous games. The game's story is also meant to connect directly with "Kingdom Hearts III", although its original ending was not approved by the staff and was scrapped. Like previous titles, "Dream Drop Distance" has a secret ending that connects to "Kingdom Hearts III" although the staff found it unconventional in comparison to previous ones.