Now that Kingdom Hearts 3 has been out and I’ve completed it, I’m happy to say that Kingdom Hearts 3’s combat is the best the series has ever been. It’s the perfect blend of the series and how it has evolved, which involved 17 years of experimenting and introducing new ideas, and it results in an excellent send off to a beloved series. It takes the best parts of each game, and creatively mixes it together for a fluid, flashy, and constantly fun system that never gets old. If we ever do get another Kingdom Hearts someday, I want it to be as exhilarating as 3 is.

What I love the most about Kingdom Hearts 3 is that feels so fantastic to play and it never becomes dull. After 30 hours, I still loved bouncing around each world with Sora and friends, slashing enemies with a dozen consecutive blows while feeling like a badass. And then to top it off, I always got so excited seeing a special attack pop up on the screen to let me know a slick attack with Donald or Goofy, or a powerful spell, was ready to be used. Spells look gorgeous and feel amazing to use. I loved disintegrating an enemy’s health bar with Fire, or freezing one in place with Blizzard before they could strike. I got so excited defeating a boss and seeing that I unlocked the next, more deadly level of a spell. I’m also so happy there’s an MP bar that gets drained as you use it, as opposed to waiting for a skill to reset after use like they’ve tried in various games.

Keyblade transformations are a significant part of Sora’s repertoire of attacks. After walloping enemies for a bit, Sora will have the ability to transform his keyblade into a powerful weapon for a short time. For example, the Shooting Star keyblade obtained for clearing Twilight Town, transforms into a pair of blasters that fire quick but powerful projectiles. And as you defeat enemies with the transformed keyblade, the grand finale of your weapon will be able to deliver a final, punishing blow in a large area, like a cannon. Working well with mobility, this weapon is a ton of fun to use and I loved seeing what each keyblade would be capable of. Every keyblade has transformations that showcase numerous styles of combat, and it’s awesome to see each weapon given further variation beyond one being more powerful than the next.

Attractions are also a big part about the hectic combat, as they act like a fun but powerful treat to finish off a group of enemies. The attractions include tea cups, a pirate ship, a carousel, a rollercoaster, and others. Seeing Sora ride a rollercoaster for the first time blew my mind. He stands on it and fires projectiles as it runs up, down, and across the screen in bright and flashy colors. It’s a brilliant addition that I’m surprised wasn’t introduced sooner because of the ties to Disney. It’s like seeing a Disney attraction come to life and I never grew tired of seeing Sora, Donald, and Goofy swing back and forth in a pirate ship drowning enemies with powerful attacks.

For a series that has been around for almost 20 years, Kingdom Hearts has always had a compelling combat system. The first game’s combat at the time was a fun combination of slashing heartless with the keyblade, and cleaning up the mess with a fun magic and skill system. It felt awesome devastating a group of enemies with your weapon and spells. But that was two generations ago. And going back to play Kingdom Hearts 1, as much as I love it, isn’t as fun because the combat feels boring compared to what it’s evolved into.

It became a repetitive method of a few slashes, followed by a strong attack to finish the combo. But it’s been improved upon with each game in the series, and new ideas have been added to keep the combat feeling fresh. I can’t wait to play through it again on a higher difficulty, challenging myself to flawlessly move amongst the Heartless while sweeping them up with Aero and using Donald’s team attack, meteor, to clean up the garbage.