Kingdom Hearts III’s Limit Cut Brings the Joy of Combat Back to the Series
Kingdom Hearts III was polarizing among the Kingdom Hearts series’ fanbase on its initial release in January of 2019, to say the least. Many were pleased with the entry’s return to the more traditional action gameplay that was present in the KH series’ numbered entries, as well as the smooth and varied combat options and the game’s gorgeously rendered graphics. Detractors of the game cited a lack of difficulty, ill-paced story, and lack of closure in the game’s narrative, among other elements as reasons for the game being an overall disappointment after the decade-long wait since Kingdom Hearts II. However, a common opinion in the fandom was the desire for more side content catered to hardcore players, à la the fourteen superbosses found in the Final Mix re-release of Kingdom Hearts II (KH2FM for short). These bosses tested players on their mastery of every single gameplay mechanic — counterattacking, dodging, guarding, and leveraging the myriad movement options provided to player character Sora in KH2FM. It’s not uncommon to see fans mention that these fights are the peak of the series — tough but fair boss design that rewards practice and diligence. Despite Kingdom Hearts’ outlandish concept as a series and the reputation its narrative has among the gaming community as a convoluted mess, the series has shown flashes of brilliance in action game design.
Here we are a year after KH3’s launch, and the game’s first DLC, Re Mind, is in our hands. Included in the bundle’s Limit Cut Episode are a fresh set of fourteen bosses, and they’re magnificent. Much like the structure of KH2FM’s side content, thirteen of the boss fights are souped-up rematches with data versions of familiar foes from throughout the series’ history. Speaking as someone whose favorite game ever is Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, I can say that the Limit Cut bosses are about as hard, if not harder than the ones from KH2FM. It feels like they have even more ways of attacking, and thus more patterns to memorize. Each boss is a combat puzzle of sorts — learning the “dance” of the fight means dodging and blocking each enemy’s attacks and threading the needle to find the openings in which you can stagger and attack them. Every fight brings a different flavor to the mix — learning the mechanics behind each of Luxord’s minigames, letting yourself not be fooled by Vanitas’ various feints, adapting to the cadence of each of Xemnas’ combos, and testing your blocking abilities to the limit during Xion and Xigbar’s fights means that each fight has its own unique identity beyond superficial elements.
However, it feels like the Osaka Team went the extra mile in designing these boss fights to not only challenge players, but also to hark back to the original fights each boss is based on. Attack patterns return from previous games with an updated twist, so longtime players of the series will have some semblance of an advantage compared to newcomers, but the changes leave much on the table for veterans to learn. Dark Riku’s dive attacks, Xemnas’ laser dome, Marluxia’s Doom counter, Larxene’s clones, and many other familiar mechanics return with a brand new coat of paint and the dial on their difficulty cranked all the way up. Included with each boss is a lovingly arranged remix of their respective original fight themes, furthering the feeling that these fights are throwbacks in many ways, yet will push the player harder than ever.
I’ll quickly talk about the fourteenth boss, the one to rule over all of them. I won’t mention any direct spoilers, but as with virtually every other ultimate secret boss the series has included, the player fights against a mysterious character whose significance will be revealed in future games. The secret boss is simultaneously a terror to face, yet immensely satisfying to learn to beat — your job as the player is to slowly and steadily learn how to dodge and counter each of their attack patterns. It’s a grueling test of everything you’ve learned from the prior thirteen bosses, and the payoff is superb when you finally drop the secret boss’ health to zero.
It’s tough to recommend this DLC for a newcomer — after all, Kingdom Hearts is a series that requires a significant time commitment, well over a hundred hours if you want to get full context for the DLC’s story. That being said, for those who have been put off by the series’ intrinsic Disney-anime melange weirdness, I’ll say that that behind the series’ bizarre exterior lies some absolute gems of enemy design that are worth a look for any action game fans out there.
