Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
OK expansion covers old ground, adds maddening difficulty.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind
What's It About?
KINGDOM HEARTS III: RE:MIND gives players a chance to re-experience the ending of the epic 2019 action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts III as series hero Sora heads back in time to search for his friend Kairi. Abandoning his body, Sora finds himself once again in the Keyblade Graveyard, where he takes on familiar bosses -- players can experience some fights as other characters, if they choose -- in hopes of gleaning a little more information and filling in some narrative holes left open in the original game. Once players have finished revisiting the original story, they can move on to a brand new episode called Limit Cut, which pits players against a series of extremely challenging bosses that are far harder to defeat than most of the baddies in the base game. Players who manage to successfully work through this lengthy gauntlet will be rewarded with a short final episode that provides some clues as to where the series might be headed in the future. Note that you'll need a copy of the original game in order to access this DLC (downloadable content), and that having a high level character will greatly help in fighting some of the harder bosses.
Is It Any Good?
If you think this expansion will provide a few more answers to some of the questions left burning at the end of the original game, think again. In order to allow Sora to travel back in time to search for Kairi, Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind introduces a whole new stew of weirdness and inconsistency within a franchise that's already burdened with more oddities and narrative holes than a ten pound wheel of Swiss cheese. And once you get through reliving a bunch of fights and videos most of which will feel very familiar, earning a handful of new story and character tidbits along the way, chances are you'll feel even less certain about everything that's happened than you did before going into the DLC (downloadable content). What might make it all worth it for some, though, is the final (secret) episode, which provides some hints as to wear the series might eventually go after the events of Kingdom Hearts III.
Of course, to get there you'll need to wade through the bonus Limit Cut episode, which has some of the toughest bosses in the entire series. You'll need an in-depth understanding of all the game's combat mechanics -- many of which casual players are likely to have ignored up until this point -- to have a realistic chance of defeating them. Many players are bound to quit in frustration and simply look up the final video on YouTube. In the end, that may be the best way to experience this expensive add-on, which costs half the price of a full game and is essentially just a rehashing of the final moments of the original game plus some tough boss fights and a short epilogue/teaser of what's to come. Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind will be fun for diehard fans and players who can't get enough of the series' combat, but others might do better saving their money.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about marketing at kids. Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind is loaded with pop culture characters that exist outside the game in TV shows, movies, games, books, and toys, so how do you keep from growing infatuated with pop culture characters specifically designed to be appealing to kids?
When is it appropriate to make a sacrifice for a friend? How do you determine how much to sacrifice in order to help someone?
Game Details
- Platforms : PlayStation 4 , Xbox One
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Square Enix
- Release date : January 23, 2020
- Genre : Role-Playing
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Friendship
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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