Kingdom Hearts 3 is just around the corner, and by that I mean it’s probably at least six years away–because that’s how Square Enix runs things. In the meantime, Square will soon release Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix in time to help unravel our chain of memories. With inspiration from the HD upgrade, we have plenty of time to speculate what will happen, and to talk about what we want to see. Below is a list of some of the many things we want in Kingdom Hearts 3.

The Battle Mechanics from Birth By Sleep

The portable entries all shared one giant criticism from fans and critics alike: it’s not Kingdom Hearts 3. That, and they were released on multiple consoles, some being exclusive to the DS or PSP. This meant that if you wanted to follow the  convoluted plot, you’d have to buy a console you didn’t want or need.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to salvage from the portable titles. Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance currently boast some of the best battle mechanics in the series to date. Some of the criticism for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 is that they’re button-mash heavy, and many players would ignore magic. Now, we have a system where you can equip rechargeable skills, which meant players could use them literally without worrying about MP. If Kingdom Hearts 3 can expand on this system, then I’m sure it will provide an engaging experience.

Expansive New Worlds for FlowMotion

Dream Drop Distance was also notable for introducing FlowMotion, which provided an interesting mechanic for navigating the worlds. The problem with it was that some of the older levels, such as traverse town, were so cramp, and the system was more geared to open areas. It also tried to retain some of the earlier platforming elements, which would cause some control issues.

That doesn’t mean we don’t want FlowMotion to return in Kingdom Hearts 3; in fact, it just  seemed all the more tantalizing. Square Enix should take advantage of the next generation of consoles to provide us the open, expansive Disney worlds that would be perfect for FlowMotion. And while we’re at it, let’s fill the expansive worlds with plenty of Disney characters for us to interact with.

Stars Wars and Marvel Worlds, Of Course

Yes, I know. This is not an original thought, and you’re sure to have read this on countless similar articles across the Internet. But if we can put our collective voices together, then Square Enix may find it in their hearts to take notice–and hopefully bring us the Star Wars and Marvel worlds we so crave.

The two universes provide ample opportunity for themes for Kingdom Hearts to explore. Even Star Wars spouts similar lines about light and darkness that’s mentioned every third line of dialogue in Kingdom Hearts. An Avengers-themed world could provide ample opportunity to explore the theme of teamwork. And of course, we could get a lightsaber keyblade for Sora, Captain America’s shield for Goofy, and a, um, something for Donald!

Bigger Roles for Disney Villains

I was a teenager when Kingdom Hearts was released, and like most teenagers I initially couldn’t care about the Disney so long as Square provided me more anime-inspired characters. After playing the later entries, I’ve come to realize that the Disney aspects of Kingdom Hearts are what makes the series so magical to me. The original Kingdom Hearts made the most use of the Disney franchises. For the most part, the Disney villains, led by Maleficent, were the integral antagonists. This helped build a connection between the worlds as Sora and corresponding Disney heroes rushed to protect the seven princesses of light. They waited until the very end to reveal the Sephiroth-look-alike, Ansem, to appease the Final Fantasy fans.

Now that the writers put more emphasis on Organization XIII, they seem to only include the Disney worlds for the sheer hell of it. They seemingly exist for the writers to explore the same cheesy themes that are incessantly repeated throughout the series. In the grand scheme of Kingdom Heart’s universe, they don’t mean much more besides existing as the next playable level. You may stubbornly refuse to kill off the Organization XIII characters, Square Enix, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some more interaction between them and the Disney villains; they’re just as important if not cool.

New Themes and Mature Character Development

Kingdom Hearts seems to become more convoluted with each entry into the franchise.  It is possible to get a grasp of it, but players may need to constantly read, write, and edit wikis. It’s possible, but it’s not ideal. In the meantime, Square Enix can start shifting gears from providing the same plot twist of some character being “connected to Sora” and start focusing on the characters themselves. Let’s start with the simplest: romance. How come the writers seemed to have completely forgotten about Sora and Kairi’s possible romance? Maybe spread the love to the other characters as well; perhaps Riku wouldn’t be so mopey about the darkness in his heart if he had someone else to share it with.

And on top of that, let’s introduce some new themes as well as the old. The writers have explored the same themes of the power of friendship from the beginning. The characters are getting older, and with that age comes maturity. I would think that it’s about time that the themes could reflect some maturity while maintaining the Disney charm. If they don’t explore any new themes in Kingdom Hearts III, I’d kind of understand as it is supposedly the last game with Xehanort as the bad guy, but I would hope they’d think of something else in the next game.

The Final Mix

Square Enix releases a Final Mix version of each console entry. The reason for this was understandable: the Western audience would receive content that the Japanese didn’t have access to; therefore, they would later make it up to them to selling the game to them (again) but with a slew of new content. Such tidbits would include extra enemies, new cutscenes, awesome keyblades, enigmatic boss battles, and secret trailers–such as the one that’s basically the ending sequence of Birth By Sleep. The problem is Square Enix never brought them overseas, even though I along with many others would’ve gladly parted with our $50 for more Kingdom Hearts excellence.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is the first time Western audiences will be able to purchase the Final Mix. We might as well continue the momentum with Kingdom Hearts 3.  We’re also in a generation of gaming where DLC runs supreme. Players from both sides of the world will be able to get the content we so desire, and Square Enix can pocket our happiness in terms of cash. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t want a Final Mix version of the game to be released on store shelves—some of us still appreciate physical copies of games.

What Do You Want in Kingdom Hearts 3

We have more that we want to see in Kingdom Hearts 3; however, they are far too many to include. So what would you like to see in Kingdom Hearts 3? Let us know in the comments below!