It seemed like Kingdom Hearts III would never see the light of day. Despite remakes, remasters, and numerous “sequels,” the third numbered entry in Square Enix’s role-playing series eluded us for over a decade, but its release is now imminent. In fact, the game is done.
Writing on the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account November 20, Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura revealed that development has “wrapped up” on Kingdom Hearts III. Alongside the announcement, he also shared an extended trailer that had been playing in movie theaters across North America.
I'm proud to unveil an extended version of the trailer that's been playing in NA cinemas. And guess what? We've wrapped up development of #KingdomHearts III!
If you haven't had the chance yet, now would be a good time to prep by playing 1.5+2.5 & 2.8. See you next month! – Nomura pic.twitter.com/NvZYBut3WI
— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) November 20, 2018
The “Together Trailer” gives fans and newcomers an idea of what to expect from Kingdom Hearts III‘s story, which takes things in an even darker direction while staying true to its Disney roots. We see fireballs rain down and destroy buildings in Hercules’ home, and elsewhere a massive boulder narrowly misses crushing Goofy, Donald Duck, and Sora.
“Now, the battle between light and dark will reach its epic conclusion,” the trailer’s narrator says.
In addition to the Pixar and Disney animated heroes we’ve seen in the series before, it will also include Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He was featured in Kingdom Hearts II, but the power of the current-generation consoles gives him a new layer of realism and his voice sounds a whole lot like Johnny Depp. The game will release as rumors swirl that the Pirates franchise will be rebooted, possibly without Depp at the helm. Perhaps Kingdom Hearts III is actually a prequel to the reboot, and will explain how Pluto becomes the new captain.
Other franchises included in Kingdom Hearts III are Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Wreck-It Ralph, and Frozen. If this does end up being the conclusion to the Kingdom Hearts saga, Square Enix and Disney are certainly pulling out all the stops to make it worthwhile.
“For life and light, together we fight,” the narrator says as the trailer ends.
Kingdom Hearts III will release on January 29 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. No other platforms have been announced, but a Deluxe Edition containing a steelbook, art book, and collectible pin is also available for $80.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.